Posted by lucky/ca on 8/9/10 8:37pm
Msg #348258

Business inspections

Hi all,

Are any of you doing business inspections? I have done a few now and they offer $25 and I ask for and receive $35 but that seems low for going to a business, interviewing people, taking photos, faxing back forms and emailing the photos.

The business inspections take as much time as a loan signing although we don't have to print two sets of documents.

What do you all think? I like doing them, it is interesting to see the different businesses.

Reply by Jack/AL on 8/9/10 8:44pm
Msg #348260

I did a few early last year. Concur with what you said. They were easy, but the who process could take a few hours, the drive was normally no more than 15 to 20 miles each way, and the pay was minimal. They just were not worth it. Stopped after three or so. I did not miss any signings, but would have been perturbed had I done so.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 8/9/10 8:52pm
Msg #348262

Hi Lucky,

I've done quite a few of these over the last 4+ years. I was generally getting paid anywhere from $35-$75 depending on the company, business location, and requirements. I found that the schedulers were willing to negotiate their fee in some instances.

This year I noticed sharp decline in the number of inspections coming my way. Two companies (Vision Compliance is one. I forgot the name of the other) were recently acquired by someone else. Almost immediately Vision stopped offering $35.00 for local inspections. They now pay $15.00. Instead of being called by the scheduler, I'm sent an email and I either accept or reject it - the same way I do Mystery Shopping assignments.

I find these inspections take me 15-20 minutes top. I print out a 4-page questionnaire. Most of the questions are routine (anything suspcious? does the phone ring while you're onsite? is the contact helpful?) I take no more than 5 photos and obtain one signature. Nothing to notarize. I takes me 10-15 min to fill out the online form and upload photos.

I agree that I like going to these various companies and learning about their businesses. Without soliciting I did pick up some notary business because of the signs on my care (ok...so I guess you could call that subtle solicitation).

Lucky, If you're in a territory where you can request and get $35+ then get as much of this business as you can. What I don't like is that as a rule these companies take 30-45 days to pay me. However, they are great to schedule in between other appointments.

Reply by Erwin/CA on 8/9/10 9:21pm
Msg #348268

I did several but found that it took almost three hours total time. Time to print out the questioniare, then go to the inspection business site and spend around half an hour taking pictures and asking questions per the questionaire, then going back home and uploading the pictures and filling out the questionaire on line. Never wanted to pay more than $30.00. I told them to call me when they are willing to pay $50.00 or more and they finally stopped calling me.
Erwin

Reply by Cari on 8/10/10 6:25am
Msg #348286

....still selling yourself out for very little money at $35.00 per inspection....crazy...figure an hour's worth of your time at $35.00 an hour is much much better.....

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 8/9/10 9:18pm
Msg #348267

I do them several times a month - I have a couple of companies who call me regularly for leased equipment inspections and business verification reports for loan applications. Neither company pays me less than $40, and they tend to be fairly quick and easy with photos and a short written report.

They aren't the most profitable assignments, but it gives me exposure to a lot of prominent business owners in town, and I've received quite a lot of general notary work calls as a result.

Reply by James Dawson on 8/9/10 10:56pm
Msg #348274

Some of the areas you cover have bridges...who pays the toll? Do you schedule the time? thanks

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/9/10 11:38pm
Msg #348277

I have no idea what your consider you time worth but I have never found one that takes less than three or four hours. I do inspections for several real estate and insurance companies but never for less than $125.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 8/9/10 11:45pm
Msg #348278

Wow...3-4 hours? The ones I do take less than an hour total, maybe a bit more with some travel time tossed in, but I always try to do them when I'm doing something else, too. Most of the ones I do involve taking a few pictures of equipment, asking a few questions and I'm on site for less than 10-15 minutes. Then when I get back, I just upload the photos and fill out an online form.

I realize the term "inspection" varies widely, though....


And I definitely never take less than $40... one of them always pays me extra for mileage or additional time.... and both of the companies I deal with pay like clockwork.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/10/10 5:23pm
Msg #348403

Hi Marian:

I'm not sure what kind of inspections you have been doing. I know that the ones that seem to pay well are the ones that require an accurate scale diagram of the building, about 20 photos and an assessment of potential liability from an underwriting standpoint. Underwriting things are items such as potential trip hazards, unsecured water heaters, improper ventilation, adequate ingress and egress proper signage, decrepit walkways, roofing type, size and amperage of service, llighting and anything else that could result in a possible liability to the insurer or the lender. The scale drawing frequently takes the bulk of the time both during the inspection and during the documentation. I usuallyh interview the owner and get P&L runs or occupancy reports in the case of hospitality properties. An acceptable scale drawing takes some time to measure and includes the use of a laser tape measure, a regular tape, a 100' tape and a measuring wheel as well as a CAD program to create a drawing based on angle and distance. For these I charge well; I have one I do annually that includes over 20 buildings (its a resort) and usually takes me a whole day but I charge accordingly. Most of the types of companies I do this kind of work for are professional property management companies nationwide.

Best regards,
Charles

Reply by James Dawson on 8/9/10 11:49pm
Msg #348279

Time is money.

That's kinda what I was thinking too.

Reply by Cari on 8/10/10 6:19am
Msg #348284

charge by the hour instead...it'll pay off more in the end..

I'd charge by the hour, and take my time. Figure about two hours is good, but I'd charge a bit more if by the hour.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 8/10/10 6:30am
Msg #348287

I did a few a while back for $25 each that were some sort of credit card machine inspection. I had to go to the business, verify that it was a legitimately operating business, ask the manager some specific questions, take a few pictures of specific things, complete a brief report and submit the photos. I found they were more hassle than they were worth, and while I kept these pretty close to home, the company kept asking me to go farther and farther away for the same fee.

Another one was a verification of leased equipment for a new fitness center that opened in my town. It was very close, paid $50, but was a hassle to schedule a time with the manager, and took an hour at the site. I had a huge list of equipment to spotcheck and a few particular pieces of exercise equipment on the list that specifically had to be documented with photos of the serial numbers.

I found that I simply did not enjoy doing inspections and that the fee offered was not enough to entice me to continue doing them.

Reply by parkerc/ME on 8/10/10 7:15am
Msg #348291

Was doing leased equipment inspections when I first started mobile notary work, but found the work involved wasn't worth the $35 or so they were paying. Or the hassle of some two-site visits (if the equipment/lessee wasn't at one place, instructed to go to their home).