Charging For Unfinished Basement

[cmccann]

How do you guys charge extra for a unfinished basement? It's the foundation....among other area's like the plumbing, electrical, sewer lines, heating and cooling. Do you charge extra for the attic? 95% of the homes in Michigan have a basement, maybe it's a regional thing.

[kbowles1]

Originally Posted by cmccann

How do you guys charge extra for a unfinished basement? It's the foundation....among other area's like the plumbing, electrical, sewer lines, heating and cooling. Do you charge extra for the attic? 95% of the homes in Michigan have a basement, maybe it's a regional thing.

I treat it just as I would a crawl space..........charge extra to inspect it.

[gbrasseur]

Not to beat-up the issue, but I agree you charge too little. As for square footage of the basemant......are you going to inspect the basement?=yes. Should you charge for inspecting it=yes.

Maybe when the realtor questioned it you should have asked if he wanted the basement excluded off of the report?

[jrivera]

I'll inspect anything FROM THE STREET....and it's only $100.00 bucks....it's gets written up on a flavored napkin that I immediately ingest after I get paid........


Mic

[dbush]

I'm with Chuck McCann. It is a part of the foundation; of course, around here, we have mostly crawl spaces and I can't charge extra for those, so how do I charge for the unfinished basement.

[kkenny]

We normally go by county records which will include the square footage of everything under the roof (minus an attached garage.)

I think most of us just accept the fact that if there is a crawl we are going in for no extra cost. Let me clarify before getting into a simantics discussion. I have inspected homes with both unfinished basements and crawls. Because I charge for total square footage, per county records, I am charging for the basement, but not the crawl. If there is a crawl but no basement I am still going in the crawl for the price of the house and if there is no crawl the price is still the same. I don't know any who charge extra for a crawl, not that there aren't any or that there is anything wrong with it, but i don't.

The crawl is just one of those grey spaces.

Back to TJ you definately don't charge enough, espescially with the 2 hour round trip. Well you guys don't have speed limits up there, but then again it could be longer if you have bad weather.
I would never presume ( LOL ) to try to influence you on your pricing because you know what your market will allow,but it does seem like you are lo-balling yourself. Just my opinion, please don't shoot, I know you guys carry guns out there too.

Kevin

[jrivera]

You win some and you lose some


Mic

[Frank M. Carrio, CMI]

Originally Posted by tchristopher

Thanx for all your help & comments. Out here in this part of the West, you still have to spoonfeed new ideas to them.
I'm getting $175 for up to 2k sq. ft, $225 for 2k to 2500, $250 for 2500 to 3k, etc.
Thanx again,
T.J. ..

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT.....
With these prices I am AMAZED that you are still in business. You are probably in the 32% income tax bracket, plus you have all of your business expenses, professional insurance, liability insurance, vehicle insurance, etc. to consider.
Once again, and with all due respect at these extremely low prices I do not see you lasting long in this business.

Some of the other inspectors have stated that you should not charge "extra" for basement and attics. I am in agreement.

You should not "break down" the inspection into components, electrical, mechanical, structural, etc.

You are REQUIRED to inspect the house according to the NACHI SOP. Do so and all of the questions about basements, attics, etc become a moot point.

Good luck….and PLEASE…raise your prices.

PS:
My absolute minimum us $329.00 and I make a damned good living.

[jrivera]

Originally Posted by fcarrio

My absolute minimum us $329.00

and thats just for me to go out and kick the shed !!!!! after that the house is extra


Mic

[Frank M. Carrio, CMI]

Originally Posted by jrivera

and thats just for me to go out and kick the shed !!!!! after that the house is extra


Mic

Hi Mickey!

We seem to have some new inspectors on this BB. Would you like to share some of your prices?

[jrivera]

Well Frank, you know that that is going to depend on your market area and what they can stand. What may be common and customary in one area may not hold true in another.

You need to base YOUR prices on what you feel you need to make a buck.

Crunch the numbers, overhead (underhead), advertising (what some people can do with imagination is quite effective and awesome)

Shop other inspectors (don't listen to what others in the field tell you---like R.E. or someone who's trying to get you to low ball), attend meetings

This place, for 289 you can't beat it, read the BB it's there, it's in there somewhere........


Mic

[tchristopher]

TJ here again, Here in WY. the cost of living is low, as are wages, & I've tried to sneak my lowest rate up & split my sq. footage up into: up to 1500 sq. ft. then, 1500 to 2k & (instead of my initial first rate of up to 2k sq. ft.) It didn't go over with the realtors, I know, I know, read on.... Actually on my charges I use total sq. footage listed on the MLS sheet, (including basement finished or unfinished) & nothing for crawlspace. I think my biggest holdup is depending on the realtors for refferrals. I better watch myself, I am married to one, whew! I'm sure glad I looked over my shoulder after I typed that, LOL!!! I think my best bet (being in a small town) maybe to bypass them & work on the mortgage & title co's, whatta ya think. Did forget the fact that WY. way back when, wanted to succeed from the Union. Last census was less than 1/2 million people in the whole 97k sq. mile state. The slow pace here is great but not beneficial to making a living, and they are not real hot on the idea of change. Gotta go here comes that pesky realtor again..
T.J....

[tneyedli1]

Originally Posted by tchristopher

Hey Folks,
I have a question I need help with. I will probably answer my own questions as I ramble on. I left a contract at a local realtors office to present to an out of town client coming to town breifly today to get it signed & leave a check. When the realtor saw that the fee was for the entire square footage of the home (3926 sq.ft) including the unfinished basement, I thought I was going to have to do CPR on him, he was furious that I would charge to inspect "unfinished area". We live in a small town & everyone knows everyone & there's only 2 inspectors (another NACHI inspector friend of mine). Isn't it customary to inspect "the whole house" not just living space???¿ I was charging $325.00 & no mileage for a 120 mile round trip...I tried to get client info to just deal with the client but couldn't. That would have made it cleaner & I will insist on doing it that way next time.
Thanx,
T.J ("Spittin' Feathers") Christopher...A+Home Inspections..

You did the right thing. Your contract is with the purchaser. Stick to your guns. Crawl spaces usually have many potential problems (read court cases) if left uninspected and undocumented, so it makes sense to include this unconditioned space costed into your fees. I do.
I await the day when a realtor argues that an electrician, plumber, etc. is told that they charge too much.
T.Neyedli

[David P. Valley]

I don't charge for unfinished areas, but I can tell you that my travel price for the 120 miles would be an additional $100.00. With the size of this home and the travel involved...I would have been in the low 500's for this inspection.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

OK, you guys. How do you define unfinished? No sheetrock? Unheated? I've seen stud wall basements with unfinished ceilings that are heated. How do you handle that? What about finished walls and ceilings that are unventilated? David, do you charge for "finished" garages?