Pricing

Here’s a subject everyone is interested in!  First of all, you need to consider that a home inspection is an INVESTMENT and not an EXPENSE. If you hang onto my report long enough and refer to it a couple times a year, it will pay you great dividends!! Pricing, basically, is based on age and square footage.  There are a few nominally priced add-ons for some not-so-common amenities.  This is why I need the MLS # or the address of the house, if it’s a FSBO, so I can look it up on the internet and give you a fair and accurate price up front.  When it comes to sizes of homes, a small home has all the main components in it that a medium size home has.  A small home has 100% of the “overhead” time involved as what any size home has.  For these reasons, a 400-700 square foot bungalow is the same price as a 1200-1500 square foot ranch.  The price for a 1500-2500 square foot home is only “peanuts” more.  After 2500 square feet, the price starts rising exponentially per 1000 square feet. Remember also, that if I’m inspecting a 2000 square foot ranch, I probably also have 2000 square feet of attic and 2000 square feet of crawlspace to inspect, at no additional charge.  These square foot numbers for these uninhabitable spaces continue to grow with the size of the home, with limitations when the home turns into 2 or 3 stories.

Usually when a home is built, it takes 3-4 months to complete it.  Larger homes in the 4000-8000 square foot range take 5-10 months to build.  There are many inspectors out there who seem to think they can inspect any home in 4 hours or less, including travel time and also having the report finished.  I feel fortunate to complete a State Licensed Home Inspection (no report or travel time included) in 6-10 hours.  (It will take 12-14 hours or more when the house is 4000 square feet or larger – depending too on the age and mostly the condition it is in.)  An inspection is not just a “defect list”, but each system and component has to be inspected, identified and described, even if there is nothing wrong with it.  I take a ton of pictures to help me complete my report, the next day when I am back in the office.  Sometimes clients want to come along on the inspection.  That’s okay, but do know that it is somewhat distracting to me and I may miss some items and then have to impose on the seller to come back the next day.  However, you may come along, but just allow me to do my job and you will learn a lot.  I may only have to point out 3 or 4 things each hour, but in between, I will be “focusing” and you might get bored.  If you are especially a “visual learner”, then I encourage you to come along.  Many people are worn out at the end of the day, tracing all my steps.  They are dragging, hot, sweaty, tired and even red in the face from overdoing it, and they didn’t even go on the roof, or in the attic, or in the crawlspace!  I carry 6-8 rotating thoughts in my mind at one time as I inspect, visualize and memorize 600-1000 items or more on each job.  I do custom mark each picture I take.  The best for you as a buyer would be to come at the end of the day for a 1-2 hour wrap up.  As I tell my clients, this wrap up is not all-inclusive, as I am only on the inspection to collect puzzle pieces and then take them back to the office for assembly the next day.  So what I say on the job can, and sometimes does change, for the better or for the worse, as I have time to sleep on it, do research in manuals, and then put the pieces together.  The puzzle can look different all assembled, than what the individual pieces looked like on the day before.

When it comes back to pricing again, people wonder will they get their money’s worth?  That’s a good question.  Let’s take a look at that.  There are always those out there who are strictly looking for the cheapest price and they really don’t care what kind of inspection they get, as long as they can say they had an inspection.  Some sellers have told me when they bought their home, they didn’t even have it inspected.  Then when they get an inspection response from the buyer (who hired me) identifying the hazards I found that they (the buyer) want the seller to fix, then the seller is sorry that they didn’t have the house inspected when they bought it.  Some sellers and realtors have even been upset with me for reporting the items. I just report what I see.  Remember, I am an unbiased inspector. If I don’t report it, then I might get stuck having to pay for it. Anyway, let’s say you hire the inspector who’s all done in 4 hours (including the report) for $300.00.  My inspection will definitely take more than 4 hours, and will definitely cost more, but it will be much less "per hour" than the other home inspector. As I mentioned before, it will take the whole day to do a legal State Licensed Home Inspection and the whole next day to do a legal State Licensed Home Inspection report. I will supply you with the glossy custom marked photos, and all the maintenance advice and attached homeowner articles, and even tell you how to fix many of the items that you can’t ask the seller to fix.  Now I ask, “who’s charging too much”, “who’s giving you more than what you’re paying for”, and “what’s the best deal”?

You can take the high road, or you can take the low road.  The decision is yours.  But respectfully said I know some people just feel they can’t afford an inspection and that’s really too bad.  That’s really not the area to try and cut costs when purchasing a home.  I really wonder how they will be able to set aside the money it takes to maintain a home? Some people truly are better off to rent than to try and bite off owning a home.  I inspect many foreclosed homes every year.  Think before you buy.

My clients are picky people.  They are fussy people.  They want it done right.  They know a good deal when they see it.  I keep busy 12-14 hours a day minimum, and 6 days a week.  It’s all client referral and word of mouth.  I have to work that much to pay my overhead anyway.  I run a conservative business, but my overhead costs are still at 65%, and that doesn’t include costs I have for health, life or disability insurance.  Much of this cost is in continuing education, classes, seminars, training, testing, and license renewal and membership renewal fees, so that I can be the best I can be for YOU.  I spend at least 5 hours a week with my nose in various manuals, code books, and reading articles relating to the building business and inspection business to serve YOU better.  I don’t know it all and that’s why I keep studying and reviewing.  I spend 4-5 DOZEN hours in structured settings each year, mostly in Indianapolis.  When I get words of appreciation, notes or letters thanking me, letters of recommendation, or even a monetary tip for a job well done, it really helps me to keep going on and helping people with the biggest material purchase they will ever make in their lives. The biggest appreciation I receive is when people refer me to others that they know, because they know they received a competent State Licensed Home Inspection and more.