Thread: Rip off by PARR Inspections/Dewberry

It is well known, that “PARR Inspections” acts recklessly and preys on people who hope to earn an honest buck. Parr Inspections mobilizes too many inspectors and leave most of them with too little work to even cover their lodging and travel expenses. I got curious about who is behind this “PARR Inspections”.

This is what I found:

- Two companies own “PARR Inspections”: Dewberry & Davis LLC Dewberry ( tel.# 703-849-0247 srose@dewberry.com) and the URS Corporation URS Corporation

- The Associate Vice President of Dewberry, Mr. Jason McNamara, is now Chief of Staff at FEMA. FEMA: Jason McNamara

- PARR Inspections is listed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as being a small company SBA - Could Not Set Session Cookies despite the fact that PARR Inspections received a $750 million contract from FEMA in 2007!!!

From 2001 to April 2007, PARR Inspections did 2.5 million inspections. I don’t know how much PARR received from FEMA for that, but the current contract is for $750 million for a 4.5 year period spanning from April 2007.

PARR Inspections pays only $57.50 per inspection. But how much does it receive from FEMA (= taxpayers)?

Here is my assessment: PARR did 2.5 million inspections from 2001 to April 2007, roughly six years (this period includes hurricane Katrina), Parr Inspections certainly will make fewer inspections over a 4.5 year period spanning from April 2007. By assuming the same average rate of inspections, over a period of 4.5 year, PARR will do 1.9 million inspections. (4.5 years/6 years * 2.5 million inspections=1.9 million inspections)

For 1.9 million inspections, PARR receives $750 million from FEMA. This is equal to $395 per inspection!! And the inspector gets $57.50 or less than 15%!

To me, it is appalling, that this crony “PARR Inspections” with its executive, now chief of staff at FEMA, keeps 85% of what the taxpayers pay them and leaves peanuts to the people that do the inspections.

All of you should raise hell about this on-going throat squeezing of people who try to earn an honest buck. Contact media, politicians and Dewberry & Davis LLC about this injustice.

Similar Threads:

• Re-Inspections
• Code of ethics planned for property inspections - Stuff.co.nz
• Pre-Listing Inspections
• Home inspections key to helping buyers make sound decision - Chicago Daily Southtown

Originally Posted by taxpayer

It is well known, that “PARR Inspections” acts recklessly and preys on people who hope to earn an honest buck. Parr Inspections mobilizes too many inspectors and leave most of them with too little work to even cover their lodging and travel expenses. I got curious about who is behind this “PARR Inspections”.

This is what I found:

- Two companies own “PARR Inspections”: Dewberry & Davis LLC Dewberry ( tel.# 703-849-0247 srose@dewberry.com) and the URS Corporation URS Corporation

- The Associate Vice President of Dewberry, Mr. Jason McNamara, is now Chief of Staff at FEMA. FEMA: Jason McNamara

- PARR Inspections is listed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as being a small company SBA - Could Not Set Session Cookies despite the fact that PARR Inspections received a $750 million contract from FEMA in 2007!!!

From 2001 to April 2007, PARR Inspections did 2.5 million inspections. I don’t know how much PARR received from FEMA for that, but the current contract is for $750 million for a 4.5 year period spanning from April 2007.

PARR Inspections pays only $57.50 per inspection. But how much does it receive from FEMA (= taxpayers)?

Here is my assessment: PARR did 2.5 million inspections from 2001 to April 2007, roughly six years (this period includes hurricane Katrina), Parr Inspections certainly will make fewer inspections over a 4.5 year period spanning from April 2007. By assuming the same average rate of inspections, over a period of 4.5 year, PARR will do 1.9 million inspections. (4.5 years/6 years * 2.5 million inspections=1.9 million inspections)

For 1.9 million inspections, PARR receives $750 million from FEMA. This is equal to $395 per inspection!! And the inspector gets $57.50 or less than 15%!

To me, it is appalling, that this crony “PARR Inspections” with its executive, now chief of staff at FEMA, keeps 85% of what the taxpayers pay them and leaves peanuts to the people that do the inspections.

All of you should raise hell about this on-going throat squeezing of people who try to earn an honest buck. Contact media, politicians and Dewberry & Davis LLC about this injustice.

This is old news. If folks would investigate before jumping in you would have discovered all of this. Heck, just on this discussion board I bet you will find a dozen or more threads on Parr, PB and FEMA inspections. Sorry you had a bad experience, most that have done this type of work feel the same.

This was posted on the NACHI board as well.
Thanks for the warning.

This poster ("taxpayer") appears to be the same person who posted a long-winded (and very poorly-written) rant on Inspection News (and numerous other inspection-related message boards) last summer. I think the title of his thread was "The Truth About PaRR Inspections" (and I think that was his screen name, too.)

Originally Posted by Bruce Breedlove

This poster ("taxpayer") appears to be the same person who posted a long-winded (and very poorly-written) rant on Inspection News (and numerous other inspection-related message boards) last summer. I think the title of his thread was "The Truth About PaRR Inspections" (and I think that was his screen name, too.)

You may very well be correct, but does it really matter who this person is? Is he making any false accusations?

Although I never worked for PaRR, I did do some work for a few similar companies. Truth is, after a while I began to hate what I was doing and had to stop. Luckily, I managed to find (actually, they found me) a company that offered much better.

"Taxpayer" sounds as much like a PB plant as a concerned taxpayer. I'm not even going to address the waste, inefficiency and private profiteering that goes on at the federal level. Administration of the FEMA IHP program is no exception.

PaRR and PB are basically the same with only very small differences. I've worked for both over the last 10 years and despite having done 1000+ inspections for PB I prefer working for PaRR (as of Jan 2011 PB's Pegasus software made PaRR Central look downright elegant). There are other small differences but none really worth noting. One thing I will say though (I've heard that both companies "share" the same building in Winchester) is that PaRR is the "new guy" on the block...microscopic in nature compared to PB which is entrenched in many facets of federal "service". Think Halliburton.

As for the job itself I understand many people's frustrations as I've been there myself. I've never heard anyone at either company misrepresent the job or make false promises. To the contrary I've heard many times at Parr a supervisor telling people hey...it's all part of the territory.

The bottom line is that you show up on time, get your equipment and figure it out on your own without getting noticed. And then 200 or 300 or 1000 inspections later (over a period of a year or 2 or 5) a supervisor will look at your performance and experience and realize "I've never heard a thing from/about this guy...he must be good"...and you'll move up from the mass of faceless #'s to the B-Team. Along the way you will have been deployed and barely broken even (you'll be lucky to make $1000 a week on your 1st deployment). And you will have been thrown into all kinds of BS situations BUT if you persist this can be a very rewarding job.

Both companies are mainly looking at 2 things - Turnaround time (how long you hold an app before completing the inspection) and QC (how accurate your inspections are per FEMA Guidelines)...and NO customer complaints. If you can do 8+ inspections a day and have good turnaround and QC then they will probably keep you around or be inclined to deploy you in the future. If you can do 10-12+ a day then you will be kept longer and re-deployed sooner. If you demonstrate the ability to do 16-20+ inspections a day every day for weeks on end then you will be an A-team go-to inspector who will be releasing yourself and be one of the first inspectors deployed to even the smaller disasters. A further benefit of this is that they will keep you moving (not a benefit) to all the "bubbles" where there's enough work to do 20 a day.

Observations of most "experienced" inspectors are that most of us drive our own vehicles to disasters. We get to our 1st inspection of the day just before the sun is up (even if it means driving an hour at 4:30AM) and eat snacks/sandwiches between inspections so we don't lose time at lunch...and then work until the sun goes down so we can make appointments until 9:30 and then hopefully get 7 or 8 hrs sleep. Too many (newer) inspectors start the night before with 12 on their pad and show up at 9AM for their 1st appt. If I have 12 on my pad I'm going to schedule 9 or 10, start at 5AM and complete 16+ inspections the following day. Both companies love that **** and that's the type of work ethic that will let you make a career out of this.

Yes, at first you will feel "used" and wish you were one of the "favored inspectors" that got the "gravy jobs". PB actually seemed a little nepotistic but I can guarantee you that PaRR relies on past performance to assign work and even then it's luck of the draw. I've established myself as professional who can handle ocean front mansions on Long Island as well as the 3rd world ghettos of North Philadelphia with no customer complaints, good turnaround and QC while doing 20 inspections a day consistently...but will still get thrown out in rural Alabama where its 40 miles between inspections. Luck of the draw but if you do your job well without complaining you can work 3 months a year and clear over $50K.

For sure it's not for everyone and it does take a while to get established but that is the nature of the beast. A big disaster is only going to happen once a year or 2 or 3. When it does they need 500 or 1000 or 2000 inspectors. 2 or 3 weeks later they only need 200. They're only going to keep the ones that know what they're doing and that takes time. Back in '08 a lot of experience inspectors were lost in the eQuip process. It's still a good time to get in near the ground floor. I have no regrets.

Originally Posted by John Rodgers

. . . as of Jan 2011 PB's Pegasus software made PaRR Central look downright elegant

PB replaced Pegasus with Inspection Depot. I used Inspection Depot this past fall when I worked Irene and Lee and I think Inspection Depot is a huge improvement over Pegasus.

Originally Posted by John Rodgers

I've worked for both over the last 10 years and despite having done 1000+ inspections for PB I prefer working for PaRR. . . I've established myself as professional who can handle ocean front mansions on Long Island as well as the 3rd world ghettos of North Philadelphia with no customer complaints, good turnaround and QC while doing 20 inspections a day consistently...but will still get thrown out in rural Alabama where its 40 miles between inspections.

Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I am going on 9 years doing this work and I have done about 1900 inspections for PB. (I have not worked for PaRR although I have taken a workshop or two with them.) I have inspected ocean-front mansions on Long Island (just this past Fall after Hurricane Irene) and I have worked rural Alabama (after Katrina).

Hi Bruce. I've read several of your posts and our experiences do seem similar. I found this site by Googling "PB PARR" to see if there might be anything to the rumors that other contractors might be getting into the IHP fray. Looks like a company called Shaw was trying but I've not been able to determine if the new contract has even been awarded yet.

Long Island, huh? I was working the Massapequa area before you guys came in and (thankfully) they moved me out of there. Got in the Friday before Labor Day and was driving 2 1/2 hrs out 80 to PA to find a room. Then for the rest of the week I was driving an hour to Jersey. The workflow and logistics of that whole deal really turned off a lot of potential inspectors from this job...gone home with that bitter taste never to return (not knowing that anyone who's been around any length of time has had to endure the same foulness). But that's the job. Take the good with the bad. One day your out on Long Island inspecting some Wall Street banker's mansion and the next your in North Phillie shaking roaches out of your pants legs after each inspection(hoping you don't get some kind of fleas (or shot by a crackhead along the way).

Anyway, glad PB finally got rid of Pegasus. PaRR Central really did make it look like a corded phone. All the best!