meeker industries-70 $ mitigation

[William E. Siegel]

The only problem with that is people do not know the difference. After all, a wind mit is a wind mit. Everyone doing them should know how to do them. Same thing with a 4-point or home inspection. Most of our clients are not educated and in todays market, only buy by price and not value. Only after they encounter a problem do they wake up and realize that they did not get a good job. You can talk to clients until you are blue in the face and they still will take the guy who is $10.00 cheaper. As checking on our competition, we don't need to. Our prospective clients remind us every day what the other guy is charging.

[Dennis J. Bonner]

well put bill

[John Shishilla]

Originally Posted by wsiegel

The only problem with that is people do not know the difference. After all, a wind mit is a wind mit. Everyone doing them should know how to do them. Same thing with a 4-point or home inspection. Most of our clients are not educated and in todays market, only buy by price and not value. Only after they encounter a problem do they wake up and realize that they did not get a good job. You can talk to clients until you are blue in the face and they still will take the guy who is $10.00 cheaper. As checking on our competition, we don't need to. Our prospective clients remind us every day what the other guy is charging.

You are 100% right!

I just read a post complaining about contractors in Ca doing inspections, being a contractor/inspector I see from both sides of the fence. I see contractors doing inspections wrong, I see inspectors doing them wrong. I see builders not building right and ripping off the customers. I see code inspectors missing, skipping and failing the wrong stuff. After the day is done, what get me the most is the guy that says he knows and does not. Who thinks he knows and does not. I redo inspections, wind mits and four points EVERYDAY, because some "inspector" did it wrong or was never qualified to do it in the first place. This only make the customer mad and then they bad mouth the inspector(after the fact). Home inspectors or contractors need to learn to properly do them and be completely qualified before doing them. Making assumptions only makes you look bad and brings down the whole industry. Nachi has great vast resources, we need to use them to help each other, and help the insustry or Home inspectors will always be thought of has a guy with a truck, flashlight and a ladder.

[William E. Siegel]

Just had one of those $70 inspectors out to an inspection yesterday in Pompano. Sorry I did not get his name. Put down on the report that the house has straps. There is not a strap to be seen anywhere in the attic. Client saved $30 bucks (I would have charged him $100 with the home inspection). Wish there was a way to report these guys.

[Dennis J. Bonner]

I did one a wind inspection today and the ho had the roof portion filled out by the roofing contractor for free. The roofer gave them straps and swr.. I could not find any straps in attic, or on the contract/permit docs, nor was there any mention of any swr or any application which meets the criteria... I'm starting to think this whole racket is mickey mouse.

[John Shishilla]

I see that stuff every day. Roofers have no clue. I had a GC wanting me to inspect several units for him. He wanted to know what he could do to improve these units. I believe he was trying to learn to fill out the form. He would have gotten better answers had he been honest.

[Russell J. Hensel]

I think they are all going to find out when a hurricane hits....I bet this is a way for insurance companies to deny some claims. Its all good for now....sooner or later all things catch up with people...

[Matthew Parlefsky]

Originally Posted by dbonner

numerous guys are springing up offering insurance inspections for dirt cheap. Many of whom are not trained and or experienced to perform them correctly. They are fly by night and are driving down the cost. It is my opinion that insurance inspections will soon all cost $50 or less and an inspector will earn 10$ an hour, thanks to people like meeker.

Only speaking about the wind mit inspection...Don't think it's "people like meeker" I think, people that are used to the $150 price set by My Safe Fl...should be honest with themselves. Who spends 30 mins on a wind mit?? While I'd love to get $150 for 15 minutes of non-analytical work and 5 of scanning and e-mailing, I am happy to add 10 wind mits a week @ $75 to supplement my home inspection income. I'm sure in metropolitan areas and for larger inspection firms there are more cost factors to consider, but there are alot of 1-2 inspector firms in suburban areas of our state like it is here in Brevard County where it's possible to operate at 25% margins charging $75 each. It's not about being the cheapest, it's about being fair and efficient. Let's not compare a wind mit to a home inspection. Ancillary service?...

[Matthew Parlefsky]

Originally Posted by wsiegel

Just had one of those $70 inspectors out to an inspection yesterday in Pompano. Sorry I did not get his name. Put down on the report that the house has straps. There is not a strap to be seen anywhere in the attic. Client saved $30 bucks (I would have charged him $100 with the home inspection). Wish there was a way to report these guys.

Report it to the insurance agent if possible. You might just win a customer. I have performed re-inspects for free on a few directly for the agent and, what do you know, now she refers all her wind mits and 4 pts my way.

[Mathew Hawley]

We have inspectors here doing wind mits for $60 and wind mit/4pt combos for $75. I guess they are desprate for work in this economy, it's a shame.

Inspectors like that ruin this industry as a whole.

[Greg Bell]

I haven't done a four point for sometime. I'm not going to play the pricing game.

[Christopher B. Thomas]

We do many wind mitigation inspections ranging from $85 to $125 on average. In that cost we also review every inspection report before it is issued. It would be great to get more than that for an inspection but in many areas the market won't bear it.

What I don't understand is how someone can offer a moneyback guarantee?

[Mike Meeker]

Hello to all. I am Mike Meeker President of Meeker Industries the guy offering the $70 inspections. www.meekerindustries.com. I can be reached at 954-922-0584 for anyone who may have questions or wish to speak to me directly. I am a Florida Licensed General Contractor. I have been in the construction business since the late 80’s. I primarily did stucco work for most of the major home builders in the area. Lennar, Pulte, Centex and Arvida to name just a few. That has given me 20+ years watching and being involved in every part of the construction process. I did not get my experience from a weekend course or similar method; I got my experience from being in the business. I have literarily been involved in the construction of thousands of homes. I have been doing inspections ever since many of the major builders have slowed or stopped new construction. I strive for accuracy in every report I do even if it does not make everybody happy all of the time. I agree that almost 100% percent of the inspections I come across are wrong but I always try to be as accurate as possible. When I started doing this I went to 30 of 40 different insurance agencies and talked to the people and gave out my cards and such. I began trying to get $125 for a full wind mitigation report and found out most agencies had guys that gave them incentives or gift cards or just charged a lot less than $125. When I started advertising on the web I tried $125 again and did not have any takers then I tried $100 still not many. I finally started getting business when I decided to try to be the lowest price out there. I am not afraid to work hard, I would rather do three inspections in 2 days for $70 each than 1 inspection in a week for $150. The reason I can do inspections at such a reasonable price is because I do all of the work. I build the website, schedule the appointments, offer free advice, do the inspections, put together the reports, email out the reports with thank you letters, and do all of the office work that is needed to run a business. I do not have to pay other people so I can pass on the savings to my customers. Here is an offer for anyone out there that is not qualified to do the inspections or just does not have the time. Contact me and I will do them for you at a great price usually $70 depending on the location and you can charge your clients whatever you want. I am open to any business opportunity as long as it does not jeopardize my license or go against my moral principles. I am open to any comments or questions and will always try to respond quickly and honestly. Thank you for the opportunity for me to give my side of the story.

[Mark Wahl]

Gentlemen -
I see this all the time as i am in the same area as Dennis. We face that and the others that charge $199 for any size home for a home inspection. Once we get the licensing hopefully approved, it will weed out the wantabe inspectors. The problem is that we are also certified through MSFH and the carriers no longer accept that. Up hill battle all the time.