Crye-Leike REALTY just became biggest buyer of InterNACHI's "Now..." book.

[Nick Gromicko]

Compared to inspectors, REALTORs out purchase InterNACHI's best selling book almost 3 to 1.

Now that You've Had a Home Inspection.

[Nick Gromicko]

I guess they can afford $1.89.

[Gary Farnsworth]

No, agents are doing more home inspections than home inspectors. They are exempt from most rules, and with NACHI giving out free CE courses, they are now educated themselves. Why have their buyer spend hundreds of dollars for a home inspector, when agents can offer it for free, or just let the other agent, who does radon, termite, and home inspections, in their office, do it for nothing, as long as the buyer purchases the home via the agent's office????

Now that agents know the price of the book, it is no longer a big deal for inspectors to hand out the book for free. After a while, when books get into the hands of agents and buyers, the buyers themselves can look around, and do the inspection without a home inspector.

[Merwin T. Scruggs]

Nick; We are trying to purchase the books - GREAT DEAL!!!! I know Dick Leike (from days gone by - haven't seen him in years) and he is a great businessman. I plan on getting in on his approved vendor list for home inspections as soon as I get my Tn reciprocal since I am in Mississippi and you have to have both to do work for Crye-Leike. NACHI is GREAT for Business!

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Originally Posted by gfarnsworth

No, agents are doing more home inspections than home inspectors. They are exempt from most rules, and with NACHI giving out free CE courses, they are now educated themselves. Why have their buyer spend hundreds of dollars for a home inspector, when agents can offer it for free, or just let the other agent, who does radon, termite, and home inspections, in their office, do it for nothing, as long as the buyer purchases the home via the agent's office????

Now that agents know the price of the book, it is no longer a big deal for inspectors to hand out the book for free. After a while, when books get into the hands of agents and buyers, the buyers themselves can look around, and do the inspection without a home inspector.

Totally agree! NACHI is helping put their own members out of business.

[Nick Gromicko]

Worrying that one of many inspection books on the market will cause agents to perform inspections for their clients and thus put inspectors out of work, has to be the goofiest thing I've ever heard. LOL.

Agents are buying the book by the tens of thousands because they want to give it to their clients... not because they want to by-pass inspectors. I don't even know why I am responding to the goofiest worry ever concocted. LOL. The book promotes the inspection profession and in particular, InterNACHI members.

Anyway, we now have REALTORs promoting InterNACHI members by way of this book... I'm off to sell 10 million to the real estate industry at below cost.

[Frank Magdefrau]

Originally Posted by mscruggs

Nick; We are trying to purchase the books - GREAT DEAL!!!! I know Dick Leike (from days gone by - haven't seen him in years) and he is a great businessman. I plan on getting in on his approved vendor list for home inspections as soon as I get my Tn reciprocal since I am in Mississippi and you have to have both to do work for Crye-Leike. NACHI is GREAT for Business!

For the record- You have to pay to be on the preferred vendor list.

Duty to the Public

1. The InterNACHI member shall have no undisclosed conflict of interest with the client, nor shall the InterNACHI member accept or offer any undisclosed commissions, rebates, profits or other benefit, nor shall the InterNACHI member accept or offer any disclosed or undisclosed commissions, rebates, profits or other benefit from real estate agents, brokers or any third parties having financial interest in the sale of the property nor shall the InterNACHI member offer or provide any disclosed or undisclosed financial compensation directly or indirectly to any real estate agent, real estate broker or real estate company for referrals or for inclusion on lists of preferred and/or affiliated inspectors or inspection companies.

[Nick Gromicko]

And don't worry, the agents aren't going to reveal to the consumers how little they can be purchased for.

[Frank Magdefrau]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Compared to inspectors, REALTORs out purchase InterNACHI's best selling book almost 3 to 1.

Now that You've Had a Home Inspection.

Nick- Crye-Leike makes home inspectors and other vendors pay a couple thousand a year to get referrals from them.

I went into the Olive Branch, MS Crye-Leike office to hand out these books for free and I was told since I was not on the preferred vendor list I could not leave anything at the office.

[Nick Gromicko]

That's funny. They are buying a book that they won't let you give to them for free.

Anyway, if you ever really want to target agents in a real estate office that won't let you deliver to them without paying a fee, simply mail it to each agent USPO. Agents are independent contractors and so by Federal law, the office manager can't open or throw out their mail.

[Frank Magdefrau]

Originally Posted by gromicko

That's funny. They are buying a book that they won't let you give to them for free.

Anyway, if you ever really want to target agents in a real estate office that won't let you deliver to them without paying a fee, simply mail it to each agent USPO. Agents are independent contractors and so by Federal law, the office manager can't open or throw out their mail.

That's what I do, I only use direct mail to Crye-Leike.

What kind of deal can I get on 100 more books?

[Gary Farnsworth]

Nick, agents here are doing home inspections here around KC. Agents from offices in Missouri are doing radon checks for $75 for other agents and their clients. Agents in Kansas are exempt from home inspection laws, and are doing home checks for free, via their buddy contractors. Some agents are inspectors, some inspectors are agents. Some inspectors are engineers doing home inspections, and are not guided by any rules or regulations. Giving out free books, to agents in particular, just educates them more about homes, and what defects to look for. I realize that giving out a book is not a home inspection, but it will just give agents and their clients more comfort in knowing that they do not have to get a home inspection, and to expect home maintenance/defects. I would feel better if we, the inspectors, handed out the books ourselves. IMHO.

[Nick Gromicko]

Gary writes:

I would feel better if we, the inspectors, handed out the books ourselves. IMHO.

Do it.

Frank asks:

What kind of deal can I get on 100 more books?

$1.89 and you get 5 free so it works out to be $1.80 each, less than our costs to print them.

When I was a home inspector, if I had a deal where I could get an entire book to promote and legally protect my business for $1.80... I would have ordered a truck full. www.nachi.org/now.htm

[Gary Farnsworth]

I have. I bought 200 weeks ago, still have some. I do business with dozens of offices. Each office has about 80 agents. I figure giving every agent in every office I do business in (3,000+) that would cost me $6,000 plus gas, time. Most inspectors, myself included, cannot afford to do that at this time. It is a good idea, but business is very slow. December was my worse December in over 8 years. So far this month, with licensing starting, I have only had 8 inpsections. I can only afford to give two away at every inspection; one to the buyer, one to his/her agent. December home sales lowest in 40 years.

http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3...s-real_estate/

I have mailed some; cost me $5.21 to mail each one.

[Nick Gromicko]

I hear ya. And I sympathize with the situation to an extent. But I'm probably the worst person to help you. As you know, I own a variety of other companies and all of them do better when times are bad. Your competition right now, especially in your area of the country, is so weak that you can just knock them over with very little effort. In the inspection business, just like the real estate business, when times are good, every bozo can come along while you are frantically busy, and steal an inspection here and there to get going. Same with new agents. The new agents who break into the market do so only when times are good and the existing agents are having trouble defending their realm.

When times are bad, the whole thing reverses. It is a wonderful opportunity right now. The strong inspectors should be smashing the weak ones.