I just got asked to give a quote for 60 mobile homes. Reasonably, the agent said her client was not interested in knowing every defect, but would like to know general conditions like “does air condition work?” she said.
My first response was I could do a 4-point inspection like HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical and Roof. This is still a time-consuming task for 60. Even so, I’m not certain the fairest and most competitive way to quote this job.
My Thoughts:
There’s some unknowns, not sure if they’re occupied. Don’t know if they have electricity turned on.
Method 1: Do an exterior visual walk-through and follow up with inside inspection of each on different day. Would need the key, or coordinate access of course. Which is why I could just do the exterior uninterrupted.
Method 2: Efficient exterior inspection of all 60, then Spot check about 10 or 20 select homes. They are 2016 and older. I could choose the ones which appear to have more age.
Quote/Charge: I think the 4-point is overkill for that many, $400 x 60 $24K, nice, but not practical.
Even $100/home being $6000 is kind of high depending on investment needs. Since they just want to know the general condition, that could relate to me only breezing through and looking for items that catch my attention including AC units. I don’t think I would do it for less than $3000.
For the record, I’m not comfortable doing breeze through inspection because something will get missed. It would be in the contract to saying “not responsible for isolated items”, such as if an AC does not work on home unit #44 after purchase.
I’ve done the Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae photo inspections for $300-$400. Usually for 12 to 15 building apartment complexes. They always say “we just need 50 to 60 photos”. I don’t like it, but their only goal is to make sure the complex owner has kept up their deal on keeping grounds clean and safe. But, the mobile home park is for an investor. The only other commercial I’ve done was a 178K sqft mall, different animal with all the extras.
Assuming all 60 homes have crawls and you intend to look in them, I would allot for about an hour per a home, if you want to be minimally thorough. That would be, looking at the roofs, testing HVAC and plumbing, opening the electric panel, looking for moisture intrusion, looking in the crawl etc.
Then you have to figure report writing. This can be a massive time suck with 60 different homes. I would figure about 45 minutes per a home for report writing, as a baseline. Some may be less, some may be more.
So that adds up to about 100 hours, give or take. Now figure what you would like to make per an hour.
At a simple rate of $100/hr, you are looking at $10k
As has been stated, you need to define or figure out what they expect.
That’s just a terrible idea.
That’s a flawed view point, as $100/unit is a steal for any professional evaluation of the most important components.
I get the sense these will be rental units (“does the A/C work?”), but you’ll need more follow-up with the investor for a clear scope of work. Only then can a rate be established.
It looks like you are in the Lake Charles area. As you know, natural disasters have picked on that area over past few years. I have spent a fair amount of time performing FEMA inspections there. Flooding and wind events do not play well with mobile homes. I would not be giving any kind of limited inspection. A lot of the homes probably cannot be insured. The chance for something to come back on you is definitely there.
Yep, when all else fails, just try to break it down into time and what you would like to be paid for your time. Myself personally, I would come down a bit from the stated total time x $ per hour if it looked like the units were newer and well kept. But 60 homes is a lot and keeping all of the reporting straight (right issues with the right home) is going to be painstaking.
Just FYI, my problem with the agent saying “my client doesn’t want to know every defect” just an overview and AC conditions. I’m thinking, after the inspection is complete and I missed something, am I going to be held liable? So, the contract would have to be clearly written to define what’s included and to what extent.
You need to be compensated for time wasted fiddling with keys, barking dogs, people not home, or refusing entry. How well the park administrator manages the people could be a 2x 3x or 10x difference in how effective your inspection is.
Outside only vs. Mixed is a big deal. Even getting a ladder on each roof or walking the property can result in tenant access issues.
I don’t think $100/home is too much. 60 homes is a LOT of work to arrive at, inspect and report on. Even if you could manage to get 10 a day done, you’re there an entire week on-site and will spend some non-trivial amount of time organizing and doing the report writing.
I would rather do 5 homes with pools and 4pts and be done by 2pm to make my 3k.
Your inspection fee should not exceed the value of the information the client needs to make a decision. Avoid creating a scope of work for repairs. You are providing a condition assessment.
If you cannot access the client directly, provide them with a clear, easy-to-understand scope of work and fee. A park has many considerations, such as utilities, common areas, paving/parking, community clubhouse, etc.
This is the main reason I started the topic. Although I’m a member of and certified CCPIA inspector, it was and still is, a challenge to wrap my mind around performing inspections as you just described.
Some questions I ask myself to enter that mindset “is this a good return on investment property” and “What items could the property owner be sued for?” “What city or state violations could be exist that would result in fines?”
The CCPIA should be your SOP, which you can and will modify unless you have another SOP.
It helps to understand an owner’s perspective but then work within your credentials and SOP. We do not make those decisions for the owner, and the things you mentioned are often not the highest priority. They want ROI. Unless you understand their financial matrix and risk aversion, stay in your lane.
If you modify your contract to accommodate a limited inspection your E&O provider needs to sign off or you could be exposing yourself to unlimited liability.
I concur with Jeff. I have done 2 trailer parks. What buildings are being purchased outright? What is being leased? What grounds are owned? Any septic systems? What type? How old. When was the last chec k up?
Make sure you research the buyer. A few years ago, an out of state investor started buying mobile home parks here in Iowa. As soon as they purchased the parks, the lot rent went through the roof. It was extremely predatory as a lot of the residents could not afford the new rates, but also could not afford to move their homes out of the parks. The residents of the home were rightfully pissed at everyone involved in the transaction.
It was bad enough that the state had to pass new laws on how lot rents can be raised.
I would treat it similar to a multifamily apartment complex, only individual structures, obviously… Sounds like you need to detail what you’re inspecting and what you’re not so they can’t come back to you saying they were expecting something to be inspected. Sounds like a pretty good deal to take up your day! I would not charge by the unit, but would just give them one price, expecting to get approximately 70% or greater of of the properties inspected. I would just take a photo of any units that were not accessible for an interior inspection to list them as limitations in your report. You can still do the exterior and roof for those. The only thing that sucks is crawlspaces! Good luck with the job!