Howdy Jeff

Your 100% right about it does came down to you get what you pay for.

Good post keep up the good job.

Have a good one

Thank you, I was starting to think that nobody wanted to comment on this because of the subject of cost? lol

I guess the big question is how do we let future clients know what sort of service we offer for the cost.

Howdy Jeff

It all really comes down to having and giving ture Customer Service. But we also have to show that we go beyond the every day customer service that most give.

If you use specialize tools to do your inspections let your clients know that you do.

 Lets say your at a home to do a  inspection. The broker(s) butt into a conversation about the home inspection  Act like they know more about it than you. Just firmly and very politely put things in perspective. In this way the client know you do not get upset with brokers. There more likely to tell there family and friends about you.

Have a good one

very true, it takes communication to get to the main goal.

Jeff - Our business is just as professional as the lawyer down the street or the school teacher teaching our children. That client will live in that home (biggest investment ever) for 365 days of the year. Put a value on that home and the small cost for a home inspection. If they don't see it that way you could answer every objection they have and they will still go with the lowest HI. Your time, effort, training and resources are worth the value you put on getting the job done. You won't win everybody over. Sometimes the ones that are looking for "cheap" will cost you alot of problems down the line. Great blog.

Keep up doing a good job for the clients you do represent. The longer you are in the business the easier it is to sell yourself and your service. Longevity counts.

Very well said, thank you for the good words.

Personally I feel that inspections are under priced for the service provided. Like you siad, the longer one is in business the easier it is to sell the service.

Who knows what the future holds in the inspection industry.

Thanks again

jg

Jeff, For more discussion on this subject check my blog at http://activerain.com/blogsview/94259/Discount-Inspections .  I don't think enough can be said about pricing inspections at what they are really worth.  People who do lowball pricing are hurting themselves, and all of us.

You only get what you pay for !!

Quit worrying about the guy down the street.

There's always a certain number of customers who focus ONLY on price.

The longeivty mainly counts because you become more experienced at explaining the difference between your level of service and the discounter down the street.  You learn NOT to disparage the other inspector but to SELL YOURSELF!  People don't like it when you disparage others.  Stay away from it.  Just sell your level of service and move on.

Do what's you think is right for YOU!

I understand that everyone is looking to save a buck these days. Personally there are areas where I'm not going to look at the cheapest and consider I'm getting the best. If they were the best, then they would use their ability (not thier price) to get the sale.

Hi Jeff,

I agree with everything you said except the following: "My service is based on honesty, which is priceless"  I will argue and say that it is not priceless.  Honesty is expected.  If a prospective client does their due diligence in interviewing, reseraching and maybe asking around prior to hiring you, the minimum level of expectation they have will include, but is not limited to, good customer service, competence, knowledge, a decent report, etc.  Honesty, integrity, ethical conduct are part of the ingredients in this recipe'.

Unfortunately, many prospective clients only ask about price.  They don't know what else to ask do they? Fast fowarding - How do you differentiate yourself from the bottom feeders in the eyes of the prospective client?  No matter what you say, some will go with the low baller.  Good luck to them. Maybe they will get what they paid for. 

It could cost them more more $$ later on saving that $25 or $50 bucks up front.  If you are in business or not, we are salesman and we have to educate the general public on the value of not hiring based purely on cost.  The cost of an inspection is a mere fraction of the cost of the home.  I've observed that it's often a fraction of the cost of annual property taxes they can expect to pay.

Well said Hank.

Jeff,

It's a good idea to be prepared when someone is calling to price shop.  Remember that some of those calls are your competitors so don't always think you are losing an inspection on that call.

Before answering the $$$ question ask the caller some questions and let them know what you provide and how you provide it.

Hopefully you will build a trust with them very quickly and get that inspection.

AND YES ... the inspection should not be this inexpensive.  How about a percentage just as the agent is getting that is none negotiable???  venting a bit there.  But some guys are not thinking long term when they cut their prices.

There is a generally agreed industry standard of the 80% rule. If you are scheduling over 80% of the inspection calls you receive then your prices are too low. Record your calls that you received, the calls that you loose and the calls you sell. If you are selling over 80% of the calls raise your prices. I thought this was a totally idiotic thing for someone to tell me two years ago and thought, hey, I am doing great! I am selling EVERY SINGLE CALL. It can't get better than that. But lo and behold we raised our prices 10%, no complaints and still over 80% calls were sold. Raised our fees again 5% and then 5%. Now we are the highest priced home inspectors in our area and we are doing great! we get about 77% of our calls sold and are making more money than we did before we raised our prices AND working less hours! Every now and then someone will call and try to get us to dicker on the price but we tell them that they can call our competitors and they will be cheaper and if you want "the cheapest home inspection around" then hire them. When they hear "cheapest home inspection" they will usually take a breath and then ask ok, so what do you do differently? And now we have someone ready to be taught.

Remember there will always be an inspector that is cheaper than you are. Do you want to be a WV or a Rolls Royce? A lot of times those clients that want a cheap job are trouble just waiting to happen as they will come back on you with a burned out light bulb that you should have found or a missing screen on a kitchen faucet that you should have found. Personally, I would rather deal with the higher price clients and of course normally the homes are nicer to inspect as well.

Frank:  I wanna be a WV.

Here's my thoughts, in detail, on the cost issue.

Kentucky Home Inspector on How Much Does An Inpection Cost???

If you are the cheapest kid on the block, well, it's your business.  When you leave another one will take your place.

I just don't spend a lot of time worrying about the other guy.  I SELL MYSELF AND MY SERVICE!!

so true, cost is not a worry for me. The service sales it best.

But when you get the price shoppers calling they don't want to here about why they should choose myself.

Someday we will get what we deserve for the inspections. Since liability is around 4 years, the rewards should be greater.

Thats my dream.

Goood luck to you all in 2008

You'll never get it it you don't ask for it.

Ya gotta set your standards and then stick to them, whatever they are. 

Use another avenue to put food on the table instead of cheapening your service.  One you get it out there that you're cheap, you'll play hell getting the price up to where it needs to be.

Good Morning - time for me to comment again. What I think some consumers are thinking right now is ask  go with the best price because "I can do it." They know everyone is a little hungary with the housing market in a down turn so check around for the best price. We need to continue to verbalize what they are getting, tenure, experience . I notice many are asking how long I haved been in business which gives me the opportunity to stress my tenure. Our cost of doing business has increased; we don't and can not work for Non-Profit so stick by your guns and continue to sell all the positives.

If one guy in your area lowers his price then the next guy goes even lower and then you follow suit, then what happens when the market comes back up?

HEY! how come your prices are higher now than last year when the market was slow? Uh, well, you see . . . I had to compete and you know, it was kinda slow and I needed the work and well, you know

so the client then asks, well you evidently made a living then at that lower price and now you want more, just because the market is better, aren't you kind of being dishonest or like the gasoline companies that appear to say to the consumers, hey, if you want it you will need to pay for it.

I am the highest prices home inspector in my area. I act like it and I dress like it and I work like it. A price shopper comes along and I don't dicker with them. Now, in an extreme case which I decide on my own, I have given a discount, such as someone dies and the spouse has to sell and wants a presale inspection I do give them a break, or I have a realtor that uses me all of the time, she is a big producer and if she says, hey, she has cut the commission to help this couple and could I help as well, I believe her and I will chop a few bucks off. but the average Joe that is just trying to go cheap, I send him to my competitor here in my area that is the cheapest priced guy here. I figure, let's work that guy to death and he will figure it out he is loosing money.

I had one realtor email me just yesteday asking to schedule 5 homes in the same subdivision she is paying for them all and would I help her out. Presale inspections of vacant homes. I told her those will come to $1960 and I will do them for $1800 and she said go for it. I have the code box codes and will do then this next week when I can work them in.

For you inspectors out there that have never done this you need to. Go on line and you can find programs that you can use, and some will cost you $25 or so, but it is called the cost of doing business. Basically it is an excel spread sheet with a ton of stuff to answer.  then it will show you how much it costs you per inspection. My cost per inspection is $103. After you get that figure then you figure out how long it typically takes you to do an inspection and what you want per hour and that is how you do your fee schedule. So, if a 2000 sf home takes you 3 hours to do on average, and you want to make $50 per hour then you need to charge $253 for that home. Now of course some homes will eat your lunch because of a buyer or seller that is asking a million questions or wants to "see what you are doing" but some other homes will be a cake walk, vacant and brand new no one around to slow you down, so it all works out I think.

The problem in my opinion in this Home Inspection business is that some inspectors have no clue what to charge and so they say, hey, $150 for this home, it took me 3 hours to do and that is $50 bucks an hour so this is great I have never made $50 a hour at Wal Mart or Lowes, or as a city parks director etc.. but they do not see that they are making a lot less that what they figure come time to pay bills. Then it is these inspectors that are so cheap that makes it a burden for the other guys to deal with when they get questions of How Come You are so expensive???? well it is not that we are so expensive it is because that other guy IS SO CHEAP!

oh well, you get the drift.

have a great January!

all great input & thank you all much. keep it comming it all helps me get a clearer picture.

Just a few minutes ago I received a call from a potential buyer who suspects the home they want to purchase has mold (stains). Her next question was "are you expensive"? The mentality of most home buyers is alarming. They will have no problem paying $20,000 to sell their home in the future, but now are looking to save $50-$100 on  the most important part of the real estate transaction. I give up!!

Commercial Building Inspection Chicago

It is amazing at where in our system we find people cutting corners.  In a home inspection I would want the best.

I have been repeatedly asked to justify my cost by clients that have a hard time spending on a home inspection. Generally I have no problem finding at least one item that they can have fixed or negotiate that would cover the cost....

So to all those out there contemplating the cost of a home inspection ..... THEY ARE FREE !!!!  you are getting the cost of

1) Training and knowledge about your house.... go find that type of class for free

2) ammunition to get an item repaired or the ability to negotiate the price to cover the repair.  You can't really ask for that without a report.

3) The piece of mind that a trained unbiased person (Licensed in some states) has taken a look at your home. 

Tommy Lee Jones or Steve Busemy stated in SPACE COWBOYS -- how does it feel to be sent into space in a vehicle built by the cheapest bidder?

I had a call the other day that the caller stated "you have been highly recommended because you do such a thorough job with great easy to read reports".   I spoke to them for 20 minutes giving them help and direction.  I get a call back in 2 hours stating they found someone to do the inspection for $50 less and would I match the price?   I guess the recommendation of getting a good inspection and a known quality doesn't mean much to someone trying to save $50 on a $150,000 condo. I did not lower my price as I knew that I would fill the slot with a FULL FEE inspection.

Oh well.