Thread: new member w/question

i am about to start my business and have a question or two?? do you use a contract when you are asked to do an inspection and how do you tell the person about payment and when payment is due..

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Originally Posted by terry elliott

i am about to start my business and have a question or two?? do you use a contract when you are asked to do an inspection and how do you tell the person about payment and when payment is due..

Hi Terry,

WELCOME!

A home inspector has two lines of defense against a claim:
1) A good contract
2) A good report

Your contract should disclose the scope of your inspection, standards that you will follow, things that are excluded, when payment is due and much more. Visit my web site and you will find an article on contracts that may be of use and a sample of my contract - you are welcome to copy and use each for free.

Bob Mulloy
ALLSAFE Home Inspection - Homepage - ASHI Member, Massachusetts, ASHI New England

As Bob said, get a good contract. When you are called for an inspection, let them know that payment is expected at time of inspection. Don't send off the report until you receive payment. Some people will forget to pay once the get the report.

Terry,

As others have said plus Read your governing Home Inspection Law carefully and more than once. Each State has it's own requirements some with specific language.

Terry,

If ever there were a place (state) you needed a good contract it is in your own friendly confinds of the state of California. Talk about sue happy...

My recommendation for you would be to see if you can pigg-back or benchmark off of some of the local boys (Gunnar, Jerry Mc, etc...) and find out if they could assist you with some of the requirements and needs that you will need to make sure you have covered. No matter what or who you benchmark off of, you need to hire an attorney to review and/or write your contract for you.

A good contract is not optional where your are concerned. Think of it as important as getting the check itself. No contract... no report-no check.

rr

I didn't notice your location until RR mentioned it. My understanding is that the CREIA contract is very good. I believe that you do not need to be a member to use it.

Redding is not exactly around the corner, but feel free to contact me if you are in the area and you can ride-along.

Also, if there is a local CREIA chapter (or other association) get to know the inspectors there.