Thread: The Profession of Home Inspecting

Good morning fellow inspectors
I would like to submit an article about The Profession of Home Inspecting and how the fees we charge relate to other "Professionals"
I have discussed this for several years with our local Nashville-Middle Tn. group,but to no avail.
If the article gathered any interest,I would love to submit subsequent short articles reminding members just how far out of line we are with other professions on the fees we charge..
I have been a home builder/developer for the past 40 yrs. and started my inspection business in 1990. My inspection income had always been a great supplement to my income from building. And for the past 20 years,I have always preached to the local group about the low fees they were charging.
Now, due to the economy, I have stopped building for a while and I can verify that inspection income is woefully short of my established needs. Thank goodness I have other income.
Hopefully the article will build confidence in inspectors and allow us to charge appropriate fees for what truly is a great "Profession"
I look forward to your comments

Bobhaley@comcast.net
Real Estate Inspection Services L.L.C. -
RealEstateInspectionServices

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Where is the article?

I would very much like to read your article. Have you posted it yet?

Leon It is a long article and I could write about it for days. I don't know if this site would allow me to post the entire article.
However, it does look like we have a common item for discussion and it has brought forth a lot of comments.
The bottom line is that I am trying to get all home inspectors to accept that we are truly a profession. We just don't charge professional fees !!
A lot of that mentality comes from the fact that many of us are tradesmen without a college education.
We need to realize that our education in the field and all the other required education we need to remain licensed etc.,is just as important for what we do as a law degree is for a lawyer.
So we have the education, experience,knowledge etc. to perform a professional home inspection. we just don't charge a professional fee !!
We charge a laymen's fee.
Again these fees we charge are based upon:
what everyone else is charging
I am making more now than I was at the plant ,or for the G.C.
I can't charge more,I might lose business
I can assure you that lawyers, accountants, stockbrokers,realtors,small business owners,consultants, etc.don't have any more education, experience, knowledge in their field than we do in ours,yet their fees are much greater than ours.
WHY !!

Paste the article in the post. Nothing to loose for trying.

I often wish I could inspect "on contingency": $1.00, or 33% of adjustment to contract price based on reported defects.

Originally Posted by bobhaley

Leon It is a long article and I could write about it for days. I don't know if this site would allow me to post the entire article.

Post the article on your website and post a link here if it is too long. You don't have to have a link from your homepage, just make it a page on your website that only if you know the specific address, can it be accessed.

My area of operation, Raleigh NC, is ranked as the major metro area with the 4th highest percentage of residents with degrees. 42% of residents have degrees. Home inspectors in my area need to be able to effectively communicate and interact with degreed clients.