2005 Inspection Revenues Exceed 1 Billion Dollars

[hausdok]

Good News - 2005 was the first year that we can be certain national Home Inspection revenue exceeded One-Billion Dollars!!!

Good Job Guys!

The total number of detached single family residences sold last year was 6.18 million. Add to that condominium, and other types of cooperative housing sales of about 900,000, and the number of residential real estate sales slammed past 7 million.**

I realize that 80 to 90% of resale homes sold have a home inspection, in some markets. But on a national level, factoring in rural markets and the fact that condo sales generate only about one home inspection in five sales, the actual number of homes sold with a home inspection performed is about 60%.*

To arrive at an average fee, I used the following data*:

On the low side,

• 1. In Las Vegas, Nevada, the average fee is around $220.00.

2. In the state of Texas, the fees average about $260.00.

3. In Oklahoma, the average fee is about $250.00.

On the high side,

• 4. In the Bay Area of California, the average home inspection fee is $480.00.

5. In the Virginia and Washington D.C. area the average fee is around $420.00.

6. In Seattle, the average fee is about $385.00.

Therefore, using simple math, (Not statistical calculations), the average fee used to arrive at the One-Billion Dollar estimate is a Home Inspection fee of $260.00.

I realize the math is conservative, but I wanted to be prudent and sure any numbers we brag about are certain to be true.

So, 7 million homes sold x .60 = 4.2 million home inspections last year x $260.00 each = $1,092,000,000.00 in home inspection fees earned last year.

Think about it, that’s several hundred thousand dollars of fees in each market every month. What’s your marketing plan to be sure local agents know about your professional service?

Let’s open a dialogue.....

* This is an educated guess. There is no unbiased data collected on a national basis.

** Based upon phone surveys and statistics of the National Association of Realtors®.

Dr. William P. (Bill) Ball, the Professor of Home Inspecting, is a real estate consultant, author and publisher of books and newsletters.

Phone: 800-347-2455

Email: HomeInspector1@cox.net

Website: www.BillBallOnline.com

Inspector’s Field Notes - This article is drawn from a newsletter for Home Inspectors published quarterly by Positive Press. For Advertising rates or Subscription,($32,00/year), Email: HomeInspector1@cox.net or phone 800/347-2455.

Permission to reproduce will be readily granted, just contact me by the Email or phone.

TIJ is grateful to Mr. Ball for sharing this article with the TIJ community.

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Anyone done the math on this? If there are 25,000 inspectors in the U.S. which was the figure usually bandied about a few years ago, that means the average inspector grosses about $43,680 a year. If there are more - perhaps the 30,000 that I've heard estimated recently due to an influx of new burger flippers and such - then we're talking about an average annual gross of $36,400.

No wonder most home inspection companies are one man shops and 80% of new guys fail. There's not a whole lot of corn meal to spread around.

Comments?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[kurt]

Originally posted by hausdok

Comments?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Yes. How does one proclaim themselves a "Doctor of Home Inspecting", and actually call themselves "Doctor", and not feel ridiculous & idiotic?

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by kurt

Originally posted by hausdok

Comments?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Yes. How does one proclaim themselves a "Doctor of Home Inspecting", and actually call themselves "Doctor", and not feel ridiculous & idiotic?

Get with it, Kurt. He's "Dr. Bill Ball" but he's a "professor" of home inspecting.

We wouldn't want anyone to think that the guy was an egotistical, self-centered megalomaniac or anything.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[n/a30]

I wondered about the same thing Kurt.

It would make sense to become educated with a BS in architechure or engineering. Then a Mastere of either, then a Doctorate of Building Science if such a thing exists. Building Science degrees even on the BS level are very rare, because they are too limiting.

A year ago I spoke to an inspector who said that he had a docturate. He may have had a docturate in something like religion or some other arts area. I didn't press the point since I didn't want to embaress him.

[kurt]

Yeah, there was a guy in Chicago who flogged his engineering status for home inspections. Kinda funny since he was a petroleum engineer.

There's a new guy in Chicago flogging his "airline captain" status. His advertising indicates that since he flies (well, actually flew; he was a United guy) the "largest & most technically advanced airliner in the world", he was more than qualified to inspect homes. As one might easily imagine, he has become the realtors favorite.

[AZGuy]

A realtor told me about a structural engineer who inspected a home for him, and it was a total disaster. The engineer did "destructive" testing in order to find out whether the home had poly piping. He moved the washing machine, cut into the drywall, and examined the plumbing inside the wall.

This resulted in $50,000 in flood damage after the washing machine drained into the home instead of down the drain.

This is a mistake that an experienced home inspector would never make and it's just one more reason to hire the right guy for the job.

[hausdok]

OK,

Not defending the engineer, because I think he was a "maroon", as bugs would say, for cutting into the drywall, but you're going to have to explain that one to me. How would cutting a hole in the drywall cause a washing machine to drain into the home? Are you saying that he didn't reinstall the discharge pipe into the standpipe correctly? If that was the proximate cause, how would they have known that it was the engineer's fault and not the homeowner's? I had a homeowner call me once to say I'd missed the fact that there wasn't a standpipe in his brand new home. Drove all the way out there only to discover that he didn't know he couldn't figure out that he had to pop the knockout plug out of the standpipe so he could insert the hose.

$50,000 worth of damage? I've seen washing machines overflow before and never heard of it costing that much to clean up the damage. What'd they have, Brazilian rosewood floors in the laundry?

OT - OF!!!

M.

[ozofprev]

Since I have commercial, instrument, single and multiengine, land and sea ratings, I have to say that that makes me one of the best inspectors in New York. Now, wouldn't it suck if I really believed that?

Since there is no homogeneity in qualifying for this trade, claims like these are only natural. But we cannot 'up' the standards, I have been told, because that would put too many current home inspectors out of business. So these sorts of claims will likely continue for a long time to come.

I have been told by a brilliant PE (hint, P.E.) and top HI that his mentoring experience has shown that engineers, in fact, do pick things up more quickly, but that their engineering degrees alone are insufficient. Sounds reasonable.

It seems that Jowers has the right 'first step' in requiring some minimal education. The simple ability to logically debate issues is more than several in this trade can muster. (none of those here, of course!)

Originally posted by kurt

Yeah, there was a guy in Chicago who flogged his engineering status for home inspections. Kinda funny since he was a petroleum engineer.

There's a new guy in Chicago flogging his "airline captain" status. His advertising indicates that since he flies (well, actually flew; he was a United guy) the "largest & most technically advanced airliner in the world", he was more than qualified to inspect homes. As one might easily imagine, he has become the realtors favorite.

[hausdok]

Hi Gary,

I've long felt that what we do is somewhere between knocking nails and engineering with a twist of building science thrown in. I'd like to see the home inspection gods, building science gods and the engineering gods put their heads together, come up with a whole new kind of designation for home inspectors, outline an education path to it and bring some learning uniformity to the process.

I'd like to see it. Doesn't mean I ever will, but there's always hope.

OT - OF!!!

M.

P.S.

I'm still kinda baffled with the $50,000 worth of damage caused by cutting the hole in the drywall, though.

[Inspectorjoe]

Al Austin wrote:

A year ago I spoke to an inspector who said that he had a docturate. He may have had a docturate in something like religion or some other arts area. I didn't press the point since I didn't want to embaress him.

Al, I wouldn’t worry about embarrassing someone. I’ve found that there are people out there who are absolutely immune to embarrassment.

You’ve got to realize that there are people in this world who claim to stand for one thing, when in reality their actions prove just the opposite. I even know of an inspector who professes to adhere to the highest ethical standards, but for some reason also conjures up his own one-man inspection organizations.

Sad, isn’t it?

[hausdok]

Eeeaaassy![V]

[AZGuy]

hausdok (cute nick btw),

All I know is what I related to you except that I forgot to mention it was a vacant house and that the engineer allegedly didn't put the drain hose back into the standpipe correctly. As to whether it could result in $50,000 in damage... that's what I was told. Oh, and now I remember that the realtor said that the buyers turned on the washing machine before going to bed.

Obviously if this was a second-floor laundry room and mold was involved, it would "supposedly" be necessary to tear the entire house down, file an EPA report, rocket all the construction debris out of orbit towards the sun, return the land to its orginal state when the first Native American saw it... well, I'm wandering aren't I? But you're right, $50,000 is ridiculous in my opinion but you have to admit it's an unfortunately plausible possibility these days.

[hausdok]

Originally posted by AZGuy

$50,000 is ridiculous in my opinion but you have to admit it's an unfortunately plausible possibility these days.

Yeah,

I keep hoping a Mercedes town car will graze me while I'm crossing the street or smack my car in the ass, and give me a bruise or two, so I too can become a new American millionaire. [:-crazy]

[Chad Fabry]

hausdok (cute nick btw),

AZguy, I'm sure you're really nice and it's great to have you here. There are, however, a few things you should probably know. One of them is that image is everything and we're all (except for the women) far too manly to say "cute" to one another. A compliment must be along the lines of an uncomfortable "good job" maybe with a slap on the back. After that's done, you should feel a little uncomfortable, cough, and change the subject.

And, Morrison told me once that we shouldn't talk about our underwear.

[Darren]

Chad,

Inquiring minds want to know how you & Jim got on the subject of underwear??

Darren

[fqp25]

What's "Underwear"???[?][?]

Heee Hawww!!!