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Joseph Peake
10-26-2012, 06:29 AM
I answered an ad on an employment website for "visual inspection".

The company name is unknown. They're paying $5/per inspection - yes, $5.

Take 6 pics of the forclosed home; log into their website; upload pics and input notes.
They claim that some people are regularly doing 60-70 per day.

I kid u not.

I told them, "I don't think this is for me".

As I recall, similar gigs paid $50/inspection some years ago.

The market in this area is nearly deceased; typically, we lag behind the rest of the country by 3 yrs so I'm seeking a gainful way to utilize some of my spare time.

Any ideas?

Garry Blankenship
10-26-2012, 03:49 PM
My idea would be to go straight to volume on this. Start with the roughly $25.00 per inspection you would incur in vehicle & other costs ~ then deduct the $ 5.00 per inspection they will pay you ~ Stay Home ~ then send the $ 20.00 per inspection you saved by not doing the inspection to me for safe keeping.

Lon Henderson
10-26-2012, 04:49 PM
Sub out the work for $4 and pocket the buck profit. If they actually have guys willing to work for 5 bucks, then there will be guys willing to do it for $4.

Amazing!

Consider that these fools are driving, walking, using a bus, between 60-70 inspections to make the equivalent (or less) than an average simple home inspection.

I took up one of those company's offer, a few years ago, for an inspection of a foundation. Eight photos with commentary uploaded to their site after filling out an extensive online form. Total time (driving, inspection, filing the report) two hours for fifty bucks paid 30 days later.
I said "lesson learned and good by."

Dan Cullen
10-28-2012, 05:33 PM
Was the company recently acquired by Bain Capital by any chance?

Paul Kondzich
10-29-2012, 09:06 PM
Its worse here,$4 is what they are paying. When I was in Colorado in 2008, I did these for a Company at $60 per. Did them while driving by, no big deal, no crazy deadline. About a year ago when I got back to Florida, I answered a similar ad. No numbers were given until you sat in on a conference call. When they said $4 an inspection I about fell over, but it got worse, they required you to have E&O Insurance to take pictures on the outside of the house.
Florida is a licensed state now, and does not require E&O and these people want you to have it. I think you had a week to get each batch done, which could be 300-400. I said its not for me also, and the lady who was giving the presentation said "we have people making 4K a month."

if you worked 30 days a month, thats over 30 a day, not counting gas, planning your route, and uploading pics every night. What a joke...
Apperently they find people to do them...

Lon Henderson
10-30-2012, 06:24 AM
Its worse here,$4 is what they are paying. the lady who was giving the presentation said "we have people making 4K a month."

if you worked 30 days a month, thats over 30 a day, not counting gas, planning your route, and uploading pics every night. What a joke...
Apperently they find people to do them...
That's when you ask for some names so you can talk to them about how they do their business. Seriously, is 24 hours enough time to inspect 30 properties and upload reports? If you figure 30 min per inspection, with drive time, on site time, grabbing lunch, filling the gas tank, talking to home owner, neighbors, etc you are at 15 hours before you have uploaded a single report.

Paul Kondzich
10-30-2012, 07:41 AM
That's when you ask for some names so you can talk to them about how they do their business. Seriously, is 24 hours enough time to inspect 30 properties and upload reports? If you figure 30 min per inspection, with drive time, on site time, grabbing lunch, filling the gas tank, talking to home owner, neighbors, etc you are at 15 hours before you have uploaded a single report.

No point in talking to anyone. The reason they are paying $4 is because people are willing to do it for $4. If the company is fine with a big turnover and constantly training new people, that's their business.

Lon Henderson
10-30-2012, 08:28 AM
Well, I would ask because, I don't believe it. I don't think anyone is making $4k a month at $4 an inspection. They would have to back that claim up with me.

Dom D'Agostino
10-30-2012, 02:28 PM
Seriously, is 24 hours enough time to inspect 30 properties and upload reports? If you figure 30 min per inspection, with drive time, on site time, grabbing lunch, filling the gas tank, talking to home owner, neighbors, etc you are at 15 hours before you have uploaded a single report.

These aren't "inspections" by any stretch of the imagination. They are simply exterior photos (sometimes one, sometimes two) and a trained squirrel can do them.

No reports, etc.