I’m in MD and I am having trouble with the quote for a home that is 1.2 Mil and 5200 sq ft. Im charging $890 but getting push back. Is this too much?
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Maybe a touch low if anything. But it depends on the home. Sq ft and list price doesn’t tell the whole story.
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year bulit?
Not at all. I and many here would be much more.
Hold your head up high and sell your experience/expertise!
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Thank you for your response. I wasn’t sure since buisness has been slow.
I appreciate it.
Sergio Barajas at
Always Welcome, Home Inspections. LLC. MD
Maryland.
As Marc stated, how old is the home? A recent built may be a $100 less. An older home may be $200+ more depending on what all they want inspected.
You’re still going to get competing inspectors willing to do it for $450-500. The client gets what they pay for…
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It was vuild in 1998.
Sergio Barajas at
Always Welcome, Home Inspections. LLC.
Maryland.
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Right. It looks great on line but photo shop can do alot. I mostly get homes under 2800 sq ft. This will be an 80 mile drive also. I may be a touch low.
Sergio Barajas at
Always Welcome, Home Inspections. LLC.
Maryland.
That is about where I would be for a relatively new home, if slab on grade (no crawlspace), No pool, and up to a three car garage. And local. (say within 20miles). if 20 or more years old, add about $2-3 hundred). I’m normally higher than my competitors (About $25% higher). If you are confident and put out a quality report with attention to detail. (meaning this is going to be your only inspection that day, I’m normally be onsite for between 4-5 hrs for a home of that size and at least that amount of time putting together the report. (no, I do not do 2-3 homes a day). I have not ever discounted my price just because they have a quote from another inspector (or say they do). If you are just starting out, you may need to compete with the prices of other inspectors. I simply do not negotiate my price and tell them I don’t apologize for "Not Being “Cheap”.
As I stated, if you have the confidence and experience, you should be able to explain to them that the issues found/discovered on 95% of homes, are going to amount to much more than what an inspection will cost them. But a quick and dirty, (cheap inspection with an on-site report will easily miss a thousand or so $$ in defects and issues). Price of a good, Professional Inspection should really not be an issue…Any 2 issue found that will need at least Two professionals (say an electrician and a plumber) to correct is going to surpass what the inspection fee would be. throw in a couple bad windows and the client is getting a bargain at any inspection price.
I have also found that if you are on the high end, you will weed out a lot of the inexpensive flips, old crappy nightmare dwellings and foreclosures aka; Dogs that take for ever when writing reports. You will mostly be doing higher end homes that have been owned by those that have been able to afford the upkeep and maintenance, (less issues) and will be dealing with more savvy clients that are not on a shoestring budget.
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$1,027.00 fee
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Stick to your price. Not worth driving an hour and half one way for anything lower than you quoted.
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Yup. There’s a guy out here who is doing a flat fee of 500. Doing 2 to 3 day when it gets busy. It’s ticks me off when he aldo offers discounts.
Sergio Barajas at
Always Welcome, Home Inspections. LLC.
Maryland.
From who, exactly? Your client or someone else.
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Wow. Thst was well said. I am a new small buisness 2nd year. But I’m very detailed. I have great reports by spectora and because it’s my buisness I give 110% to every client. I worked as a home inspector 5 years in total and love that Im helping people be informed. I love what I do.
I will stick to my price range.
Thanks everyone.
Sergio Barajas
Always Welcome, Home Inspections LLC
Cell Phone (410) 671 5743
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I would be closer to $1,200
Last month I did a $3.4m 6,425sqft with a crawl and two radon test for $1,550 plus $150 for termite. You have to remember that a the lager the house the more systems that need to be inspected. Multiple HVAC systems, Multiple laundries, Second kitchens or butler pantries. Don’t under sell your worth.
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That makes sense. Thanks.
Sergio Barajas
Always Welcome, Home Inspections LLC
Cell Phone (410) 671 5743
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With this information the same thing I tell potential clients. I charge $9,832.33 but that can go down once I have all needed information for an accurate quote.
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Hello Sergio.
That’s a great question. Setting your prices correctly is a tricky business because homes are so different from each other. You don’t want to underprice because you will lose money. You don’t want to overprice because people may choose to hire someone else.
I’ll share with you an example of how I approach this and calculate a fee that reflects how much time I expect to spend and get paid accordingly.
An old, abandoned 1500 sqft home on the other side of town with a short crawlspace and years of renovations done poorly might sell to a flipper for $200k.
Old
poor condition
bad neighborhood
crawl space
long drive
5 hour inspection (plus some driving time)
A new-construction lake home is scheduled to close in two weeks across the street from me. Full walk-out basement to the back yard and dock. $2 Million
New condition
short drive
2.5 hour inspection
The new home is half the work but 10x the list price compared to the flipper special. How do you set a fair inspection price?
Charging by list price alone will generate an inspection fee 20 times more than if you were charging based on the amount of work you predict it will take. So you need a more complicated system that accounts for more than just list price or just sqft, or just any single metric.
My formula takes into account:
Drive time
Age
SQFT
Zip code (poor Zip codes and high crime areas cost more. There are a couple zip codes I add $200 to politely price myself out of the job.)
Foundation type (crawl spaces cost more)
Vacant or occupied
Condition of the home (look at the price/sqft vs norms for that location)
Condo’s are $100 less (they take less time)
Floating homes are $50 more because I need to take a boat or paddleboard (I actually like these jobs).
If a home is priced low, I assume it’s in bad shape and charge more.
All of this is to consider factors that will influence my time commitment to take the job. I want to pay myself the same $/hr for a little crap-house or a new mansion.
for 5200 sqft, built 1998, 80 miles away , crawlspace foundation… I’d be at $1240 for the inspection fee. The Key is selling ancillary services. they can easily add up to more than the base inspection. See my sample worksheet for a 1990’s home 80 miles away, 5200 sqft on a crawlspace (below)
Another big thing to consider is your experience. 5 years from now, ten years from now you may be able to charge a lot more than you can now. You are new to being a business owner and you have to build up your reputation before you can demand more money than your competition. This takes time. Not all inspectors are equal. You seem like a hard-working and detailed person, so you should aim to increase your fees as you gain experience and build up your business over the coming years.
You may have a different approach and that is fine. You are the boss, so you make the rules. The method above is working for me. Let me know if you want to chat (phone or text).
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My published, online price for this inspection would be $1225.00 in my area. If I feel the need to compete on price, which is often, I would drop my (starting) price to $1195.00 which sounds much better (in their minds) and may give another $50 discount to get their business if they’re a first time realtor client of mine. After that, full price $$$
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I have an online “instant quote tool” on my website as well. The screenshot I posted is the result of typing in the address, home size, age, and foundation type and any extra services wanted on my Instant quote tool. The website calculates the driving miles from my office and runs my formula including a tax on dangerous zip codes.
If I see that someone has entered a quote request and did not book the inspection, and I want the job, I may reach out and see if they want to talk about inspections so I can let them know why the price is higher than the budget-priced inspectors in town.
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