Pricing

[msaxton]

Hi to all,
Just getting going here, and have a few questions as far as pricing,the first basic one, what to charge as far as a flat fee or do most of you use a sliding scale pertaining to square footage, I do realize that different geographical areas have different pricing(Supply and demand)
also if you do an inspection and that sale doesn't go through then a few weeks later another prospective buyer wants an inspection on the same home through the same realtor do you charge a reduced amount for an updated walk through or do another complete inspection, I guess to me that would seem like gouging to do another complete inspection. if you do a reduced walk through do you provide a limit as far as how long after the initial inspection you will do this walkthrough. thanks for any info provided
Ok, I should have done the search of the archives under pricing first before i posted this, found quite a bit of info there, sorry if i wasted space here by not searching first, but any new comments are welcome

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by msaxton

do most of you use a sliding scale pertaining to square footage...

Use a sliding scale. (Unless you want to charge the same for a 2 hour 1,500 sq. ft. home inspection vs. a 4 hour 5,000 sq. ft home?)

...if you do an inspection and that sale doesn't go through then a few weeks later another prospective buyer wants an inspection on the same home through the same realtor do you charge a reduced amount for an updated walk through or do another complete inspection

Charge your regular rate. You better do a complete inspection--who's to say a leak has't sprung since your first one? Abeit, the second inspection should be easier and the report should be a snap, you might find something you missed the first time.

[bemelander]

Pricing
I charge by the sq ft 0-1500, 1501-2000, etc. Check your competition and price accordingly.

Second inspection same house.
I may offer a small discount but treat it as a new complete inspection.

Bill

[Brian E. Kelly]

Originally Posted by bemelander

Pricing
I charge by the sq ft 0-1500, 1501-2000, etc. Check your competition and price accordingly.

Second inspection same house.
I may offer a small discount but treat it as a new complete inspection.

Bill

What Bill said.

Many HI's post their prices on their web pages.

[Rick J. Hinck]

Depends on your market area. In central Illinois I keep it simple- single price unless unusually large or small. I charge a little lesser price for condo's -no garages, exteriors, etc.

[rpaul]

Originally Posted by bkelly2

What Bill said.

Many HI's post their prices on their web pages.

I personally do not put my prices on my website for 2 reasons.
1. If a person see your prices, no need to call you. (This is the number one
reason!)
2. If there is no advertised pricing you have a flexible base and can adjust
for whatever need arises.
3. You may want to change your prices as the market changes.

For a base of finding out what to charge, call your competitors and get some prices. For first starting out, I found the coupons worked really great! Everyone likes a deal!

Rick

[Brian E. Kelly]

Originally Posted by rpaul

I personally do not put my prices on my website for 2 reasons.
1. If a person see your prices, no need to call you. (This is the number one
reason!)
2. If there is no advertised pricing you have a flexible base and can adjust
for whatever need arises.
3. You may want to change your prices as the market changes.

For a base of finding out what to charge, call your competitors and get some prices. For first starting out, I found the coupons worked really great! Everyone likes a deal!

Rick

Seems like 3 reasons.

[Russel Ray]

I charge by the square foot. Condos are less than houses. Updates of old reports receive a 25% discount as long as they occur within 60 days of the date of the previous inspection.

[rwand1]

My base fee is based on a minimum of 2k sq. feet. It goes up from there. I also charge more than my competition. Experience cost money!

I do not up charge for older homes, nor do I do single item inspections.

I do not believe in giving to much info away for free on my website. My knowledge, experience, and time cost money. The idea in my opinion is to provide enough info on your website to get the client to call you. You can almost always get the inspection by getting the client to call.

[David C. Macy]

I have some standards in my pricing but there are a lot of other factors.

There are times when I spend more time inspecting an older home with a less than 1500 sq. ft. than I do with a newer home that may be 3000-4000 sq. ft.

So my prices do vary depending on age & Sq. Ft.

Are they doing other services? This may save them some additional $$$$

Also I have numerous coupons.

I may price match with my competition.

Location may vary the price. Is the house close by or am I driving a far distance to a lousy part of town.

Also when I am doing a phone interview the client is interviewing me and I am interviewing them.

If thet dont seem to have a clue.. I believe one can tell a lot about there clients in a 5 minute conversation.

I think some of the pricing an inspector charges depends on the amount of time they have been in business.

If you are new you may be charging less. An expierenced inspector may be well established and vharges more because he is more expierenced.

What type of tools are you using may determine an exttra cost.

So there are numerous factors in pricing an inspection and I feel the whole industry should be getting as much or more than an apprasial. Which most dont.

Thanks

Dave

[rwand1]

If your pricing is unrealistically low or lower than the competition you are telling prospective clients you are inexperienced.

Higher price equates to higher degree of professionalism.

[Brian E. Kelly]

Higher price equals higher price, or higher overhead, or franchise fee or ad infinitum. Lower price equals lower price, or lower over head, or sole proprioter, or ad infinitum.

I price by the sq/ft, pool, spa, I believe I will start adding an age charge.

I believe you should be in the fat part of the pricing curve for your area. Now if you are well established and have many inspections under your belt by all means charge the top prices like Raymond, as your reputation warrants it.

[rwand1]

Reputation aside, you also have to look at overhead, value of service versus fee, value of service versus price of house, risk undertaken. This biz is an undervalued service. We collectively take a greater risk than Realtors.

Realtor charge a percentage. House prices increase yearly on average so the commission is indexed to price increase in houseing prices. Inspection fees for large part are fixed.

How about increasing inspection fees by $5 or $10 per month? By end of year you have increased your fee by $60 or $120! Cha ching, cha ching. When I charge my fee, no one seems to bat an eye or say boy that is pricey, fwiw.

[Brian E. Kelly]

I think Raymond makes some good points, I also think when you just start out you should try and be somewhere in the middle with your pricing for your area. That coupled with the judicious use of coupons should help you capture market share.