Thread: New, and are you seeing this a lot?

New to the posting, Live out side Nashville, TN. Been reading from the sidelines for a while and want to thank every one for the input, I have gained a lot of knolwedge from this site. First question in what i hope to be first of many,( or if things go well than not to many) Are you seeing a lot of inspections where the client half way thru the inspection says they have seen enough and are not planning to buy this money pit? In the last 3 weeks i have had 2 do this and was wandering what the general thought on the subject? Side note : Scott if you ever get a minute would love to pick your brain at lunch sometime.

hey randy welcome aboard

in all cases, make sure you have presented your inspection agreement to client prior to even starting and they know your inspection fee is in concrete before you begin and if they say stop..check please.thats what mine states. looks like we all have to review our agreements and add another bail out clause for early inspection termination.does it ever end

charlie

Due to the fact that a lot of my clients attend the inspection, and it's hard to take back knowledge once it's given, I get payment before the inspection starts. Ain't no refunds if they back out halfway thru, most of the time. Hey, I just saved them from buying the money pit.

Kinda depends on the situation.

Yes i too am getting paid up front, but due to the fact that you dont do a complete inspection due you offer discount on next inspection or other options?

I'm sometimes open to giving a discount on the next one. I'm usually happy to not have to go home and spend 4 hours detailing 75 years of neglect of a house.

It depends on the situation. One thing I can tell you from experience is when something odd happens in this business, it will happen several times in a short period and then not again for years.

I just had one today that I gave a price break since I did not have to go in the crawl on a pier and beam.
I spoke to the client early on and was aware that he was very concerned about getting the house to qualify for FHA since it was an estate sale that was not willing to do any repairs.
I could tell from driving up on the road that there was no way a blind appraiser would have given this a green light before the mortgage meltdown, much less now that people are watching!
I made the decision not to do the crawl after the first few minutes and discounted that from my normal fee.
I missed making a little extra money, but it was worth it not to have to suit up in the crawl gear on a house with no A/C with the temp at 103!
I am kind of like Rick and a few others here, I price the crawls high enough that I hope I don't get the job since I hate crawls.
If I lived where crawls were the norm, I might have to change my tune, but thankfully, I live in the land of slabs!

Originally Posted by Randy White

New to the posting, Live out side Nashville, TN. Been reading from the sidelines for a while and want to thank every one for the input, I have gained a lot of knolwedge from this site. First question in what i hope to be first of many,( or if things go well than not to many) Are you seeing a lot of inspections where the client half way thru the inspection says they have seen enough and are not planning to buy this money pit? In the last 3 weeks i have had 2 do this and was wandering what the general thought on the subject? Side note : Scott if you ever get a minute would love to pick your brain at lunch sometime.

You will find POS homes that just make you sick. If it is my idea to end the inspection I will tell my client this; "Why don't we all cut our losses and end the inspection. I will only charge you half the fee (or an hour of my time) and I will issue a short letter type report stating the major problems with the home. This might happen once a year to me.

A few times in the 14+ years that I have been doing this I have also stopped the inspection on my own accord, mostly for my safety and have walked away from the job. When this has happened I have not asked for any fee. Each time my clients understood and have called me for other inspections.

The rest of the time I just do the inspection, get paid and issue the report.

When I have a client that keeps selecting POS homes I tend to not offer a discount. They are just trying to buy cheap and now a days cheap gets you a POS repo home! They know that it is a POS when the first open the door, yet they still think that it is a "good deal".

Right now I have one couple who have had three homes inspected, all POS repos. One of their parents has told them to only buy a repo home, because it will be such a good deal! As of last Friday they have paid me right at $1,050 for home inspections! From what their agent has told me they were not happy with the last home (needs new roof, new tub, all appliances are gone and has an FPE panel), so it is on to number 4! She also added that they might not be able to afford another home inspection!

Randy, give me a call 615-302-1113. I can always use a free meal, the soup kitchen only serves every other day during the summer months!

I'm like Scott no discount for the next inspection. These buyers are looking for a deal on these trash homes. And if they want me to keep inspecting these things then they can pay the free for the work.

These REO. Every room has 20 issues to list it gets old after a bit just looking at junk.

Best

Ron