Pricing Question???

[Mark C. Ferro]

Can anyone give me an idea on how they would price a small apartment style fourplex? We normally would charge $300 to inspect an apartment style condo, but since we're already on site and inspecting 4 all at once we were thinking that $300 x 4 might be a bit steep.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Mark

[ROBERT W. NEWLAND, JR.]

I had a quad on the hook recently but the deal fell through. I took RR's recommendation and would have charged $199.00 for the building and $149.00 for each unit. Total charge would have been $795.00. Seemed fair to me based on the size of the building (each unit was 1br/1ba).

[Charles R. N. Crooker]

Originally Posted by mferro

Can anyone give me an idea on how they would price a small apartment style fourplex? We normally would charge $300 to inspect an apartment style condo, but since we're already on site and inspecting 4 all at once we were thinking that $300 x 4 might be a bit steep.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Mark

Mark, try $375.00 for the building with 1 unit and $75.00 for the next 3, add 50 if over 50 years old.

[tneyedli1]

Originally Posted by ccrooker

Mark, try $375.00 for the building with 1 unit and $75.00 for the next 3, add 50 if over 50 years old.

Mark:
Charge the full rate on the first unit and do a full inspection on it and charge $75. to 80. for each additional unit.
Works for me.
T.Neyedli
www.alphahomeinspections.ca

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by mferro

Can anyone give me an idea on how they would price a small apartment style fourplex? We normally would charge $300 to inspect an apartment style condo, but since we're already on site and inspecting 4 all at once we were thinking that $300 x 4 might be a bit steep.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Mark

Mark

Why do you think that it's steep?

If you called an electrician to your home to have 4 receptacles replaced at $50 each do you think he would charge $50 for the first and discount the other three? I don't think so. I could go on with other examples but I'm sure you get my meaning.

Charge like a professional and don't settle for anything less, $1200 sounds good to me. Go for it!!

[klott]

Just deduct what it would cost for 3 trips in fuel and it will be fair.

[klott]

Robert N. if the licensing issue goes thru for Ga., we are going to be over run by new inspectors charging $149, and they will get most of the realtor refferals. The only way savvy consumers will be able to recognize your experience will be your prices. There will be fewer inspections to go around, so in order to survive, we will need to get more per inspection. Someone will jumpin in a minute and warn me about price fixing. Well I plead guilty, we need to fix this problem! I'm tired of the $250 mentality here in Atlanta, I'm tired of Realtor's determining what I can make just so they can look good to their clients! Why are we the only professionals around who work for bargain basement prices? HE!! it cost 10 times as much to install Septic tank as it does for an inspection here! Pardon the pun, but that is pretty *****ty if you ask me. Yes we have a serious problem with pricing and it needs to be fixed. I wish all inspectors made about 2%. Some say we have to compete, true but Realtor's do also and they still get 6%. They compete with service, because they have already fixed their pricing problem. Forgive my ranting this morning, I'm tired of working so hard for so little!

[Jeffrey S. Campbell]

similar to what others are saying we would charge something around 300.00 for the building and 50-75 for each unit...

you would often discount the additional units as you often have only one heating system, sometimes additional electrical services... all things you need to take into account... only one basement, one structure... etc...

[Mark C. Ferro]

Thanks for all the replies, they are all helpfull. I agree with what most are saying. I like the charge for a full inspection then add additional fees for each unit. I think somewhere around 650-700 sounds about right.

[Joseph D. Skrypka]

Hi Mark

I did a 4 plex last year in St. Catherines and charged $400 for the first unit and $75 for each additional unit for a total of $625. No push back at all from the client. Others I've spoken to in our area use a similar pricing approach.
Good luck!

[Doug Edwards]

Several different ways to figure it up. I did a 6 unit complexe recently. Charged a flat fee of $189 per unit so I made $1134, gave the client a 50 dollar rebate/discount, so my take home was $1084. She is a repeat customer/investor and was tickled to get a discount. She was happy, I was extremely happy. The tenants were happy, hell even the dogs were happy. Win, Win, Win.
Your liability does not diminish one tiny bit if you cut your prices. I recommend looking at buildings like this before giving a price. Sometimes the money just isn't enough to do it, especially if it takes a week to write up all the reports and discrepancies. Some you want to give to the competition.