A friend asked me the other day why I don’t advertise in any of those free online classifieds, and I started to wonder. If it’s free, is it really worth it? So I perused some of the local online classified and found a bunch of home inspection outfits that I had never heard of.
It seems that here in Windsor, home inspectors are springing up like toadstools after a rain. Every time you turn around there is a fresh batch of newly minted “experts” ready to offer you a spectacular deal. Myself, not being a spectacular economist, I can’t figure out how these folks are able to earn a living at that price. Then it dawned on me, these half-price inspectors are probably providing half-a$$ inspections. Now it seems like not such a bad idea, but I trust your opinion. If you think that I should also offer “cheap & dirty inspections” at a discounted rate, please contact me to say so. If I get enough response, I will start offering a lower end inspection. Naturally I wouldn’t use any fancy expensive equipment on these inspections, the reports would lack the usual abundance of information (in fact, the report would just be a few pages of checklists - issues would be reported as ’satisfactory’, ‘needs repair’, ‘poor/defective’ and no further information will be given), I won’t spend as much time on site because I won’t go into as much detail etc.
Nah…. I couldn’t do that to you. It would be wrong of me to withhold information just because of the fee charged. Besides, it’s not that the other guys don’t want to charge more, they can’t. Given their inexperience, lack of high end equipment and poor report writing skills, all they can offer is a bargain basement price. It is the only way they can get any business at all.
Don’t get me wrong, my regular fees aren’t much higher than the discount guys, but they are higher. When compared to to the value of information provided, I actually work cheaper. Any of the issues the other guy misses, or finds but can’t explain clearly would be worth way more than the difference in price.
So… Did I place an ad in the online classifieds? No I did not. Rather than lump myself in with those guys I decided to keep getting my business they way I’m used to: by being referred by friend and family, and by having savvy customers like you find me. Please feel free to contact me with any house related concerns you may have. As always, I will help you out as best I can over the phone or via email completely free of charge. And if you do decide to choose me as your home inspector, rest assured you will get your money’s worth, and much more.
Thanks for reading!
