100 Day Warranty

[Duke Griffin]

Originally Posted by rhensel

Why do people see a person who gets more inspections as a "soft" inspector? Ever think he is better? Better at inspecting, better at report writing, better at dealing with people, better at conveying the report...

I see it all the time....Well he is super busy...he must be kissing the Realtors butt....Maybe he is just better. Instead of making excuses, find out what people want and give it to them...

Well put.

[Gary Farnsworth]

I talk to people, home buyers, and clients all of the time. First thing everyone of them asks is "how much are your inspections" or "what is your price"? If you are high, they will not use you, because your reports are detailed. If you are cheap, they will use you, because they know they have a better chance of you writing up a soft report. You can explain all the services and extra things you do, but it is still all about how much.

Here in KC, it is ONLY about price. Nothing else. Even state laws now in Kansas state that you only need to check one outlet, one window, one switch, etc. per room. When you sign the application, you have to "abide" by the standards of practice. You have to write up soft reports, by RE request, or by law. To any agent, cheap is better for them; not for the buyer. Lawmakers are blind to this, and only listen to the special interest groups with the cash for their campaign coffers.

I go way beyond our new standard(s) here in Kansas, since it keeps lawyers away. But write soft reports, it invites lawsuits. I give my clients a choice; a basic $169 inspection or one for $400, that is detailed. I am thinking about offering another choice of $2,995 that is technically exhaustive, takes 10 days to write, and raises my liabililty. Dan B. offers something simular, but I believe no one has taken him up on the $3k one.

[W. Michael Chris]

Originally Posted by jlevy1

I sincerely hope that you are more attentive to your inspections, than message board posts. I stated that I thought that the reason he was getting the work is he dropped his price!

Don't forget that I know this guy. We went through school together, and mentored together. The majority of his work is agent referrals...hmmm.

I still blame his pricing over his potential butt kissing.

Now that another round of quality motivational speaking is done...maybe we can get to the subject of pricing.

My question would be, how's your marketing compared to his? ... that might be another reason he's busy, I've noticed many agents have dropped commissions in order to gain buyers.

[Russell J. Hensel]

I will continue to state, he might be better than you...he marketed to Real Estate Professionals........Hmmmmmmmm......You mean that he MUST be crooked to do this? If Real Estate People use him, then he has to be writing soft reports...that makes me laugh. I do not know how it is elsewhere but the ONLY reason I get the work is I give attention to detail reports. Realtors who sell multi million dollar homes cannot afford to have their reputation tarnished. I have done about 25 inspections in the last 1.5 years that have been OUT OF STATE...People fly me and my guys in to inspect their homes. They realize the extra money goes A LONG way. They want to be covered.

I have a $19,000,000 estate to inspect within 2 weeks here in Florida and it has a couple of Log cabins which I will fly in a specialist for...due to my lack of knowledge...

I think the #1 failure of business is EGO...people THINK they are giving people what they want when they are missing it by a large distance. I bet your guy is giving people what they want...hence he is getting more business...YOu attribute it to "soft reports" because my God he can't be doing things better than you!...I am not attacking you at all, just trying to get you to look at things differently.

Originally Posted by jlevy1

I sincerely hope that you are more attentive to your inspections, than message board posts. I stated that I thought that the reason he was getting the work is he dropped his price!

Don't forget that I know this guy. We went through school together, and mentored together. The majority of his work is agent referrals...hmmm.

I still blame his pricing over his potential butt kissing.

Now that another round of quality motivational speaking is done...maybe we can get to the subject of pricing.

[Russell J. Hensel]

Now you want to talk about pricing.......what about it? People are going to do it cheaper. Plain and simple. You must either compete in price or give people something worth paying more for...its really that simple...

[Greg Keene]

I don't charge my clients for the warranty - I just raised my price $25. I am one of the highest priced in my area - but I market the crap out of myself. I market to agents (gets me on the list), I sell my value to my clients, agents know they can call me for answers (even if I didn't inspect the house) and get straight info, they know I am the go to guy, I teach classes to realtors, I network around town, I make my clients sign a hold harmless clause for agents, I write tough and long but fair reports, I let my clients know they can call me anytime for questions. I give the warranty, but let them know I don't warrant the house, I warrant my inspection. I give them a copy of Ben's book. When I finish an inspection, my clients always ask for more cards, then send me referrals. I add a lot of value for my high price. And I have booked one a day for the last 10 days ( I really only like doing one a day).
As any marketer will tell you (not just Ken), they have to know you, like you and trust you to give you money. It is not all about price - it is about perceived value. Treat every person better than you want to be treated and you will succeed mostly by word of mouth. If all you sell is price, you make yourself a commodity that can be shopped. If you sell value, you make yourself a service that is shopped for.

[John Ethier]

Originally Posted by gkeene

I don't charge my clients for the warranty - I just raised my price $25. I am one of the highest priced in my area - but I market the crap out of myself. I market to agents (gets me on the list), I sell my value to my clients, agents know they can call me for answers (even if I didn't inspect the house) and get straight info, they know I am the go to guy, I teach classes to realtors, I network around town, I make my clients sign a hold harmless clause for agents, I write tough and long but fair reports, I let my clients know they can call me anytime for questions. I give the warranty, but let them know I don't warrant the house, I warrant my inspection. I give them a copy of Ben's book. When I finish an inspection, my clients always ask for more cards, then send me referrals. I add a lot of value for my high price. And I have booked one a day for the last 10 days ( I really only like doing one a day).
As any marketer will tell you (not just Ken), they have to know you, like you and trust you to give you money. It is not all about price - it is about perceived value. Treat every person better than you want to be treated and you will succeed mostly by word of mouth. If all you sell is price, you make yourself a commodity that can be shopped. If you sell value, you make yourself a service that is shopped for.

Very well put. I think the whole price issue has gotten sort of turned on its head in this thread. I don't think anyone implied that raising your price will bring more business. I'm quite convinced that the lower price will probably bring more volume, but at what cost? The question of price came up when Ben said he raised his price to cover the cost of the warranties. It's all about providing more value to your client.

I also believe that agent-referred clients will expect a lower price because agents will tell their clients that an inspection should cost around $200.

Any time someone talks to a salesperson about anything, they always end up with a watered-down version of the truth. I used to work with a bunch of salespeople, and while they were all good people, it was funny how they could not give you a straight answer about anything. If you asked them what time it was, you could see the wheels turning in their head: "Hmmm... I wonder what time he WANTS it to be. Maybe I should make it sound a little closer to quitting time." They try to make everything in life sound more appealing to whomever that happen to be speaking to at the moment. It's just in their DNA.

[Russell J. Hensel]

Originally Posted by gkeene

I don't charge my clients for the warranty - I just raised my price $25. I am one of the highest priced in my area - but I market the crap out of myself. I market to agents (gets me on the list), I sell my value to my clients, agents know they can call me for answers (even if I didn't inspect the house) and get straight info, they know I am the go to guy, I teach classes to realtors, I network around town, I make my clients sign a hold harmless clause for agents, I write tough and long but fair reports, I let my clients know they can call me anytime for questions. I give the warranty, but let them know I don't warrant the house, I warrant my inspection. I give them a copy of Ben's book. When I finish an inspection, my clients always ask for more cards, then send me referrals. I add a lot of value for my high price. And I have booked one a day for the last 10 days ( I really only like doing one a day).
As any marketer will tell you (not just Ken), they have to know you, like you and trust you to give you money. It is not all about price - it is about perceived value. Treat every person better than you want to be treated and you will succeed mostly by word of mouth. If all you sell is price, you make yourself a commodity that can be shopped. If you sell value, you make yourself a service that is shopped for.

Greg what comes very simple to you is hard for others to follow. They see you booked 10 days out and will call you a "soft" inspector. I see that your a true professional and people will pay for that...congrats on a business well run

[Steven A. Milek]

Hey James, I'm also seeing the price undercuting. I lost a house that was 4200 sq ft. I quoted it at $425.00 which I thought was good and since the buyer was a 1st timer I took another 10% off. Then I get a phone call the they got a quote for $250.00. Give me a break. I couldn't do it for that price. Don't feel bad. I feel your pain. Since Im already at the home I try to throw in free inspections such as visual mold and chinese drywall. Some clients like this idea. It makes it seem like they are getting more bang for the buck.

[John Ethier]

If the cost of a home inspection could be paid for at the closing like all the other real estate transactions, I bet we could charge a lot more. How many people would sell their homes by themselves if they had to shell out thousands to an agent upfront? But obviously we don't want our payment to be subject to the deal falling through... I was just sayin'

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

When did home inspections become a "Warranty"? I do not guarantee nor warranty items inspected. I didn't furnish it or install it, why should I warrant something that is only visually inspected.

Crossing that line is something I'll never do, let the builder, or seller warrant items, I will will not be a third-party to builders or sellers under any circumstances. The risk doesn't come close to the reward, and furthermore I'm not licensed to sell insurance.

[Greg Keene]

Joseph - I understand exactly where you are coming from - but look at it another way - You have probably lived in your house for several years (my guess) - how often does something go wrong - my guess is seldomnly - I don't warrant the house - I warrant my inspection - if I miss something (seldomly), they have backup - What is the odds that something will go bad in 100 days - very slim - it is risk/reward - not for the homeowner, but for me. My reward? A great rep, many referrals and my clients feel that they have been given high value for high price. My risk? $17. Ben assumes most of the risk. I go back and talk to the client and look at the problem before a claim goes in and most of the time I can show them that it is something that should not be covered. I set their expectation. That is client control. I tell them in advance I can't see behind the walls, under the ground nor the future. I set their expectation about what is viewed and what is covered. I have given a bunch of these warranties and had 3 claims - and only one deserved a payment. And ALL the clients (even the claims made clients) were tickled to death. I have never been sued (in this current life) and still carry E&O.

I don't think anyone should run their business any way other than the way they want. But I also think some need ideas to enhance what they do. This works for me. If this helps others, Great!

BTW - I don't sell insurance, I provide peace of mind.

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by gkeene

Joseph - I understand exactly where you are coming from - but look at it another way - You have probably lived in your house for several years (my guess) - how often does something go wrong - my guess is seldomnly - I don't warrant the house - I warrant my inspection - if I miss something (seldomly), they have backup - What is the odds that something will go bad in 100 days - very slim - it is risk/reward - not for the homeowner, but for me. My reward? A great rep, many referrals and my clients feel that they have been given high value for high price. My risk? $17. Ben assumes most of the risk. I go back and talk to the client and look at the problem before a claim goes in and most of the time I can show them that it is something that should not be covered. I set their expectation. That is client control. I tell them in advance I can't see behind the walls, under the ground nor the future. I set their expectation about what is viewed and what is covered. I have given a bunch of these warranties and had 3 claims - and only one deserved a payment. And ALL the clients (even the claims made clients) were tickled to death. I have never been sued (in this current life) and still carry E&O.

I don't think anyone should run their business any way other than the way they want. But I also think some need ideas to enhance what they do. This works for me. If this helps others, Great!

BTW - I don't sell insurance, I provide peace of mind.

Having been in business since 2002, when my phone rings it is most likely just another referral from a satisfied customer. I will never have to worry about someone being angry at a $17 warranty which didn't live up to it's expectations, I'll leave that you "peace of mind geniuses" who appear to have it all figured out.

[Greg Keene]

Joseph - your are more cynical than I am - I didn't think that was possible - my $17 warranty has never failed to live up to its expectation, (and never had an angry customer) because I set the expectation (you must have missed that). Having been self employed (in many past lives) for almost 40 years, I still don't call me a "genius", just pretty damn smart - and successful - and the people I work for aren't customers (think McDonalds), they are clients, and they are treated that way.

I don't want to change your mind, just provide info for those that haven't been in business since 2002.

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by gkeene

Joseph - your are more cynical than I am - I didn't think that was possible - my $17 warranty has never failed to live up to its expectation, (and never had an angry customer) because I set the expectation (you must have missed that). Having been self employed (in many past lives) for almost 40 years, I still don't call me a "genius", just pretty damn smart - and successful - and the people I work for aren't customers (think McDonalds), they are clients, and they are treated that way.

I don't want to change your mind, just provide info for those that haven't been in business since 2002.

Glad it works for you, and thankfully most warranties have been banned here in Florida.