New inspector A-Z

As a new inspector, you have choices to make about your company that will shape its outcome.  The choices you make can and will have a direct impact on your inspection business's success or failure.  How you spend your advertising dollars, how you conduct business, handle complaints, how much you charge, what services you offer and provide through your inspection business — these will all have an impact on your company's success.

You can be the most knowledgeable and technically skilled inspector in your town, but not succeed because of your lack of marketing, mixing your political views into the inspection, arrogance, or lack of respect for the selling agent and homeowner. Or maybe you are good at guarding from all those bad traits, but you do not review the inspection in a friendly and courteous way and it offends.

A buyer, seller and agent would like to have a knowledgeable, realistic and friendly inspector, who is diplomatic and respectful to all parties. They want an easy to read report with pictures and they want it online, password protected, yet easily forwarded and reachable whenever they want to review it. The agent wants an inspector who is available and can fit their schedule most of the time. Punctuality is extremely important for the agent, and most will not tolerate an inspector who is always late.

Below is a list of information that provides the professional with tips, insight and ideas to help you appeal to a wider and more diverse public.

Starting your company

• Does your state require a license?
  You can check the latest info we have here and then meet the requirements in your state.
• Should you incorporate your business?
  Some choices to consider are: Sole Proprietor, S Corp or LLC. Sole Proprietor is the easiest, but some feel that you have more protection under an LLC or S Corp. Others feel that since the state requires the home inspector license to be with a person's name and not a company, that a legal dispute would not omit the inspector's name. Therefore, a question of whether or not an LLC would protect your personal belongings is debatable. It may be wise to consult with an attorney and an accountant.
• Your company name
  Go to your local courthouse to the "Register of Deeds" and ask them to help you do a company name search. Then apply right then to register your company name (usually less than $20). After you receive confirmation of registration you can plan to do your business cards and letterhead.
• Company logo
  It is important to have a company logo. The logo should not be standard clip art that a buyer or agent would recognize. HomeGauge can create a custom made logo for you for $199.
• Business phone line
  Usually costs around $50 a month, but will include a business listing in the phone book. It is extremely important to always answer your phone with your business name and not "hello". It's equally important to never allow the children or anyone else to answer the phone, other than with a business greeting ready to talk inspections. If your spouse is not friendly and helpful, it would be better to let the answering machine take the call. Be sure and set up the online Business Scheduler on your website and refer them to schedule now on your website.
• Yellow page ads
  Unless you know your market well, I suggest a small ad for the first year. Many buyers searching the yellow pages are shoppers and many times do not know how to compare inspectors and their services, so they go down the list calling and looking for the cheapest price. This is not to say you shouldn't attempt to get their business. You just may not need an expensive large ad to do it.
• Stationery
  You need business cards and letterhead with your logo and address info. Do not use DIY business cards that you printed yourself on your printer. That is not something to be proud of. Brochures should be well thought out, but I don't think they are as important. Most agents will not read them, but like to hand them out when it comes time to refer an inspector. When thinking about a brochure remember, less is more when it comes to content. Also, don't waste ink stating what a home inspection is or why it is important. Tell them what you look at, why they should hire you, and what you will provide them (like a great report).
• E&O Insurance
  Some states require the inspector to have Errors and Omissions Insurance.
  If your state does not require it, you should consider it. Many real estate companies want you to have E&O as well as Liability Insurance in order to be on their list. Don't forget to ask your E&O provider about their policy regarding tail end coverage.
• Home inspection software
  Next if you haven't already chosen inspection software now is the time to purchase HomeGauge software and become familiar with it by watching our tours. Use this time to insert your contract agreement into the software. If you need help call us or watch this tour.
• Business services for your company
  HomeGauge Services take care of more needs for your business than any single company, all with the high quality support you deserve.
  

Get ready to market!

Provided that you have completed the above tasks, let's now move on to getting your business ready to market!

Let's start with your HomeGauge Services. Getting ready to market means more than just signing up with HG Services.

Lets check off the list as you complete them:

1. Inspector sign up.
   Go sign up now and come back here when you are finished
   
   
2. Learn how to upload a report.
   You can use the sample report in the software, or make your own. Call us and ask us to help walk you through an upload. You can use your spouse or an extra email as the customer or agent to see how they will get the report.
   
   
3. Do you have a website?
   If you do and are happy with it, then have them come to your site to pick up the report. It's easy and you can learn how to do it here. If you do not have a website, you need one, and it's only $15 a month. You can use our website builder and build it yourself, or we will do it for you if you would rather pay us to do it. Either way it's important to brand your company's name and website.
   
   
4. Set up your online HG Business Scheduler