Thread: What would you charge?

I was contacted by a siding company that deals with pvc clad seamless steel siding. This is a warranty claim and they want an independent 3rd party to inspect for possible repairs or replacement. Probably will have an hour into this for pictures and a written opinion. What would you charge for this?

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((Travel time + time at site + report creation time) x your hr rate) x 1.25 for later inwuires that you will deal with = inspection charge.

I get calls for stuff like this fairly frequently and usually end of turning it down. I find that I just can't reasonably charge enough to justify taking a slot in my schedule.

But it does depend on how buy I am, too. If it's the middle of December and I'm not working I could see doing it for $150 or so. Also, how far from home has a lot to do with it.

I'd probably throw $200 at them to start. I'd probably do it for $120 or $150 if it was close enough that it would only be an hour or hour and a half. Like Matt said, they're usually looking to pay a lot less.

Off topic, how about these lease inspection calls? They want to pay like $25 to go somewhere and take a few photos. Good luck with that.

Same as my minimum fee for the time slot that they use up. If I'm booked for a little job then I can't book even a small inspection in that time slot.
$290 for me but then I likely would not get the job and I can live with that.
I can get all the work I want at minimum wage

$250 to show up and $150 per hr after, consultation over the phone afterwards also at $150 per hr
And that's cheap
What are we day laborers, or professional consultants?

Originally Posted by Gerald Wilcox

I was contacted by a siding company that deals with pvc clad seamless steel siding. This is a warranty claim and they want an independent 3rd party to inspect for possible repairs or replacement. Probably will have an hour into this for pictures and a written opinion. What would you charge for this?

That depends on your particular situation. If you sit at home all the time then a lesser amount may really help you out. But in saying that you have to think about it a bit first.

As some have said, the entire morning is about to be used up or an afternoon. Report, inspection, driving time, follow up. It sure does sound like at the least you minimum inspection fee.ere are hundreds of companies that will charge at least twice what they will pay you and do nothing. You do all the work. All they did was get the contract for all these inspection and then meant hounding the heck out of them relentlessly until they go the contract.

I have a friend, that does remodel work. I should say remodel only if I were to do it with him. Most of the time he does handyman work. When he calls me for help he wants to pay 15 an hour. He charges 65 an hour. I made 15 an hour 37 years ago. I won't go there. Wants to use my knowledge and expertise and make 4 times on the gross of what he pays me or three times what I would make. Thats why I don't help him. Greed is a crusty thing.

Originally Posted by wayne soper

$250 to show up and $150 per hr after, consultation over the phone afterwards also at $150 per hr
And that's cheap
What are we day laborers, or professional consultants?

I agree and think we are all worth this..... but let's talk reality. How do you get $150/hr for phone consultation?

250 to show up and 150/hr from there? Does this really fly? You're telling me someone pays you 400 for for an hour's work? I know the US dollar is not what it use to be but this just seems unrealistic. More power to you if you can pull this off and maybe there's a regional component here but in my market I'd starve trying to pull money like this.

Originally Posted by Gerald Wilcox

Probably will have an hour into this for pictures and a written opinion. What would you charge for this?

These single item warranty type gigs always seem to take longer than you think.

Phone calls, emails, scheduling, travel time, talking with the home owner, installer or vendor, lots of photos, write a report (the kind you don't normally write, so it takes longer than normal), etc.

1 hour will be more like 4 when its all done.
Charge accordingly.

Dom.

If they just want photos (no written opinion) I don't see that its much different then a draw inspection. You know what those pay.

I am gonna dive in here as I see this all to often. When I owned my custom cabinet making business after year one I spent $0 on advertising, why? Referrals the clients came to me. Eight years later when I sold the business I went into building and renovating full time, same thing happened. The point is not just referals though but that when a client contacted me they had already convinced themselves that I was the person, or , business that they wanted for the job. I believe that even internet customers follow the same general pattern. I just finished a radon inspection locally for which I charged $230 . That is more than double the rate my competitors charge up here and my standard rate for a home inspection is $345.00 while his is $199 both of us have the prices listed on our websites.

When a client calls you it should take very little selling to assure them they have already made the right choice and you have to set your price so that you make a reasonable profit on every job. Do I get every job, no, I know many clients call the low price guy first and many will go with him but, that is ok I don't care if he works twice as hard and wears out his truck while scrambling to make a profit. That is his business not mine.
Bruce Grant
Done Right Home Inspections
www.muskokahomeinspections.ca

I'd be at 300 minimum - For the first two hours and a report... 75 after 2 hrs. (I will not inspect anything without issuing a report. To much hastle, after the fact, with "but you said's" with an oral report)

It takes up an appointment and there are only so many appointments a day. Hardly makes sense to book a 175 job of you have to pass on a 500 inspection to do it.

However, I do uderstand that if you are a newbee or your not doing the kind of business you need, the 175 is a lot of money if nothing else is comming in. (we have all been there)

Originally Posted by Gerald Wilcox

I was contacted by a siding company that deals with pvc clad seamless steel siding. This is a warranty claim and they want an independent 3rd party to inspect for possible repairs or replacement. Probably will have an hour into this for pictures and a written opinion. What would you charge for this?

This is fairly simple work. You will go to the house, take pictures of what you see and then right a short report on what you found.

As for offering an opinion, if you are not an expert in PVC clad steel siding then how can you offer an opinion? If you have the manufacturers guidelines, etc you might be able to do it.... This is a slippery slope....

Most warranty type inspections want you to document what you find and to also figure out the customers expectations and if they were met or if they are higher than what the vendor has promised.

If you do not see anything wrong or if you see installation problems or defective product then you simple report it. That is about the scope of a warranty inspection. One thing you never do on a warranty inspection is to offer the solution to the problem, this is not your job.

My fee would be my hourly rate of $175 an hour plus travel. I would expect this to take around 15-30 minutes on site and then about 30 minutes to put it all down and email report letter to the client.

I just finished a warranty claim on some defective wood flooring in a home. On site was 20 minutes, and it took about 45 minutes to write the report. I also had about an hour of research and 90 miles of drive time. I billed $445 for this job and it was actually a little less I was told than the client (Dura Wood) was expecting. Not bad for a few hours of work and a nice drive down the highway to a part of the state I had not seen.

It is not always about the money as much as it is with what I have to do for that day. If I have nothing on the books then I look at the fee as secondary to what I might experience or learn. But this is just me, I'm in this gig for the long haul and not the quick dollar.