Originally Posted by
Nick Ostrowski
Not that the first two weeks of the year are a measuring stick but I am slowly losing a grip on my normal optimistic outlook of seeing things turn around for business in my area any time soon. Two inspections done this month and a last minute cancellation yesterday that just adds insult. I have no idea when or from where the next job will come. Every article I read about credit woes and the mortgage industry seems to speak of things getting even worse. The major banks are reporting huge losses and consumer confidence shrinks by the day. I think this officially marks the burst of the housing bubble. The only hope I'm hanging on is that the closer we get to Spring, maybe things will show some uptick.
This is like the first year in business all over again, only worse. I expected to be slow then. Sorry to be a downer guys. Your mind starts wandering with too much unrequested time on your hands.
I know what you are saying.
Even though I'm still doing enough to pay most of the bills, the worry is there since this business is the only income to support my business and family (no income from wife). I'm glad that the savings from the past years are helping out for those unexpected items but still hate to see the savings getting smaller.
I was surprised that there were some home inspectors around here that kept talking about doing well and then see one just went out of business.
I also use to be on the cheaper side when it came to houses under 1,500 sq ft and then become more on the expensive side when it came to houses over 2,500 sq ft. Some of these inspectors that talked down at home inspectors that charge too little are now offering discounts that are $25 to $50 less then me on the smaller houses.
From the information I have seen about other home inspectors businesses throughout the U.S., when it comes to the individial, the average home inspector (3 years in business and
more) brings in around $50,000 to $80,000 per year. It will be interesting to see how those numbers change this year.