How about a deal with Supra for keys.
This was brought up in another thread. It really is the main reason to be a real estate association affiliate member. Is there any way we can this for Nachi members?
You are better off not having one. Too much liability for you if you are the only one in the home; especially if it is occupied. The agent and the buyer need to be there, not only for the inspection and explanation of defects, but for your protection. You can be accused of stealing anything these days when you are in someone else’s home. IMO.
You will also be paying a yearly dues, monthly fees, and siding with the agents. There will be more opinions on this one.
Have you ever had a goofball agent forget theirs? I had one and it cost me 45 mins. of farting around waiting for an associate to show up and let us in.
45 minutes wait?
Why?
time is money…
and if in the Morning, it will make you late for an afternoon Inspection.
Gee…ya think.
The Realtors will not allow access through their lock boxes without paying them. It is better for Nick just to take over NAR. Resistant is Futile! :mrgreen:
You don’t need InterNACHI to join your local real estate association. With few exceptions (MLSs are locally owned)… they’ll take your money. I don’t see how one could be in the inspection business without a SUPRA key.
That is true as long as SUPRA keys are made available. Since they are not available to any inspectors up here, it is an even field. I wouldn’t mind having one for vacant homes but would not want to use one for an occupied home without an agent present. I am too busy inspecting to watch clients who are off doing their own thing measuring and making mental notes on what they are going to change.
On a related topic, here is a great marketing idea (I did it myself and it works). Ask your local board of REALTORs to give you a seat on the board. Argue that inspectors should have representation on the board. If their attorney refuses… ask him/her for a non-voting seat on the board. He/she can’t much object to that… you’d just be sitting on the other side of the microphones. Getting on that board then gets you an avenue to submit an article each month (some boards publish something for members twice a month) in their newsletter and/or on their website. Here are some great articles www.nachi.org/articles.htm you can use. Delete my name off of them and put your name on them as author.
Never needed one in Chicago.
They all use combinations on the lockbox.
Must depend on your locale as Supra keys are just a rumor to me.
For 7% of the gross selling price, the real estate salesman can at least show up to unlock the door, ya think? I know that planting a sign in the yard is hard work and all, but holy crap …
I don’t know about other states but here in Nevada the Las Vegas area allows Inspectors to use Supra but it’s expensive around $800 for the year with membership. Here in the Reno area the association doesn’t allow home inspectors to have one yet.
There are still some local board of REALTOR associations that don’t permit inspectors access to SUPRA keys. If you are in such an area, email me fastreply@nachi.org their contact information and I will write a letter on your behalf asking that they make an exception for you. I point to www.nachi.org/honor.htm in my letter.
yep and we are one of them, in my 11 years of doing this I have never had the neeed for a sup key ect…
Nick:
Almost 10 years of inspections, 3,500 total, and not one with a supra key. Someone needs to be there, besides you. Things break. How many times have we seen a $20 bill just sitting somewhere waiting for the taking?
There is just too much liability.
I have entered vacant homes with a combo lock, with both the listing and the buyer agent’s permission. Some homes have both supra and combo. You cannot believe how many times I get permission from the buyer’s agent to enter, but not the listing agent. See post #2.
If you arrive, and have permission to enter, call the agent number on the yard sign, just to verify you are there and it’s OK.
The seller gives you written permission to enter when he/she accepted the buyer’s offer and entered into a sales agreement that had an inspection addendum.
More & more in the areas I service the Realtors choose not to show up. I would say 1 in 50 inspections the Buyers Agent will show up, and usually towards the end of the inspection, and 1 in 200 the Listing Agent is present.
I would say 95%+ of the homes I inspect that are occupied, the sellers are either not at home or leave at the time of inspection.
The only problem I have is when I have clients that bring their kids & let them run wild, which I put a stop to immediately. Other than that I’ve never had a problem.
My first year I didn’t have a SUPRA key and was told by many realtors that if I wanted to be seen as a serious Inspector that I needed to get one.
I’ve had a goofball agent who forgot to come…My first year I didn’t have the SUPRA and it irritated many agents, I didn’t care because I wanted to get to know the Realtor face to face as I was starting out my business. Now that I have it, I don’t depend on the Realtor’s timetable and I can get to the inspection earlier. I schedule my inspections to avoid rush hours :cool-cat: