Landing a new home inspection client usually comes down to only two things. Can you do the inspection within the time allowed in their purchase contract? Is your price reasonable?
In a Porch survey of 998 home buyers, 72% only considered one inspector before deciding who to hire. That fits with the home inspection industry opinion that the first home inspector to talk to a buyer will usually get the job. So why do so many home inspectors stress so much about their pricing?
Do you Guesstimate or Complicate Your Pricing?
A lot of home inspectors seem to “just know” what the price should be once they’ve talked to someone about a job. I’ve heard more than one inspector say “That will be $350 for that size home” while talking on the phone and driving down the highway. It’s pretty much just a guesstimate so they can get to a yes or a no and get on with their day.
Others have incredibly complicated pricing models that take into consideration almost everything they could know about the property and the job. How far away is it? How many square feet is the home? What is the age of the home? Is there a crawl space? And more!
It can turn into a game of twenty questions and your potential client might not even know most of the answers. That is not way to help a new client feel comfortable and confident that you will help them through the home inspection process.
Keep it Simple
Autopilot starts you out with the most common industry pricing model. There is a base price that goes up based on how much larger the home is above some minimum. You only need one piece of information about the home, the square feet, and the pricing calculator does all the math for you.
You know your market best. Is the base price too low? Is it too high? Adjust it to what makes sense in your area. Is the minimum square feet ending up being too large of a home? Adjust it to fit the types of homes you typically inspect.
Why Simple Pricing Works
Simple pricing helps land more inspections because your new client feels comfortable with you and does not get overwhelmed. Remember, the home inspection process is just another step in the Homebuyer’s Journey. When we help our clients feel comfortable and cared for an extra $25 or $50 becomes a small price to pay. You become their home inspection hero by guiding them through the home inspection process.