I got a call today for an inspection of a 26 unit apartment complex. Each unit is under 1000 square feet. I have approx 10-12 days to get the job done. I have never done this type of an inspection before. First, how do I price it? Second, what is the best way to perform the inspection. My office is approx 1 hour and 15 minutes from the site. Any advice on pricing and method would be helpful.
[quote=pmagrone]
I got a call today for an inspection of a 26 unit apartment complex. Each unit is under 1000 square feet. I have approx 10-12 days to get the job done. I have never done this type of an inspection before. First, how do I price it? Second, what is the best way to perform the inspection. My office is approx 1 hour and 15 minutes from the site. Any advice on pricing and method would be helpful./quot
Paul;
My guess would be in the range of .18 cents per square foot plus travel time.
26,000 square feet at .18 =$4680 or $180 per unit. + travel expense. ?
All said and done .22 cents per square foot. And that is assumming there is a powere plant for this complex and attached or de-tached structures relative to the units. Site walk, utilities, grounds, ancillary.
Hope this helps.
Marcel 
P.S. Dale Duffy might be able to give you advice also, he is closer to your area.
You will get varying opinions on this one. First you need to decide if you are going to do your own roof or hire a roofer, and are you going to sub out any of the other areas.
Usually I would do this job myself, maybe take along another insepctor to move things along. You should have a set fee for the complex, like $450.00 and $100.00 per unit if they are 1 bedroom and $125.00 per unit if they are 2 bedroom. Pricing will also be influenced by the type of inpsection they are asking for. Many times appliances are omitted from these inspections.
Another thing to consider is, are you doing the pool, if there is one, are you doing common areas. You need to disclaim enviornmental issues and the fire / sprinkler system.
Good Luck
Easy money Send to me:) 
My biggest factor would be the heating and cooling system does each unit have individual systems or is there a chilled water loop/ heating water loop?
I would simply recommend calculate how many days for you personally to complete and then base the amount on what you would normally make for the amount of days required to complete.
I always view the commercial building before quoting prices a must.
Just based on the very little information you have provided I would think that I could complete 26,000 square feet in roughly 5 days of inspecting + report time.
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Huge help!! Thanks.
Bill is right on the money cost wise in my opinion. I believe if you bid it higher than this someone else will be doing the job without a doubt.
I take another inspector, we follow each other through each unit, he checks the windows, doors, receptacles and switches, kitchen appliances by just turning them on and off, the dishwashers are turned to the rinse cycle while checking the rest of the appliances, when your done with the other appliances it is time to switch the dishwasher to drain, and document if it functioned. He looks for any active leaks in the kitchens, I look for active leaks in the bathroom(s).
I document the interior conditions, bathrooms, kitchens, water heater, functional flow from fixtures and I also open the distribution panel to inspect. Turn on the Air Conditioning as soon as I enter the unit, check supply and return before I’m done in the unit, and reset the thermostat back to the original setting. If there is a gas furnace in the units (which is very rare) I turn it on after the cooling is inspected, in Arizona 95% of the units here have Heat Pumps, so inspecting the heating is not possible in the summer (disclaim). If there is electric heat with condensers, check the Heat.
My helper also checks the attic if there is access (gable roofs), roof sheathing, insulation, any visible pipes and wires, ventilation ducts, etc.
Units under 1,000 sf. usually take a half hour each with two people. I use a tablet PC with HomeGauge software, use the duplicate section option in the software for each unit and I’m done with the report on each unit as we move along.
When the interiors are done, so I’m not bothering the tenants any longer we both inspect the roof, exteriors, parking lot, etc.
I would stay there until dark if necessary, because I would not want to drive for 3 hours back and forth again. It would not take us more than one day and I would touch up the report on my way home while my helper is driving. By the time we are home the report would be done.
On to the next project tomorrow…
Dale…Now we know your tricks, how you can drive that big ole ford fancy pick em up truck, and how you get to go on all those trips.
Send the new nachi guy in the attic while you do the air conditioned areas…
Remember the key words representive sampling.
Suggest… they be used as part of a ryder.