SOFI Blog

Craig's List ... The Home Of Firms Looking For $2 Mortgage Inspectors

An inspector sent me this Craig's List posting (shown in blue). He deleted the name. He found this on Craigs List Atlanta last night.

[Name Deleted] is seeking help in conducting Field Inspections for a large client. There are a large quanity (sic) of inspections a month in all areas.

This is a Sub-Contract position, you will be paid for each completed inspection. Most of the inspections pay $2.00 and top out at $45.00. Training will be provided; you do not need previous experience but it is preferred.

Wisdom is knowing the meaning of words. What is really being said here is that probably 995 of the inspections will pay $2 and 5 of the inspections will pay $45. Most of these inspections will probably require seven photos and it takes time to manage photos, upload photos and to type in report data at a website. Living life is all about understanding mathematics and applying a little common sense.

Mortgage Inspector Cars Often Die At A Young Age

It's heartbreaking to see a mortgage inspector who loves their car so much and then sees it die a very painful death in just a few years. They learn that all of those low-fee mortgage inspections were not that close to each other as advertised. And, then there were those single RUSH $5 mortgage inspections that were three counties away from home. Those $3 mortgage inspections with as many as SEVEN digital photos and hours of nighttime computer processing will never make up for the early death of a once beautiful car ... a hardworking member of the family.

Who Is Richard Law?

Richard Law is the founder and part-owner of the Society of Field Inspectors, Inc. (SOFI).

Richard has performed field service inspections and property preservation since 1992. He has written a 300-page book on property preservation.

Richard served 20 years in the Navy as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO). After flight training in Pensacola, San Antonio and Whidbey Island,  he earned his wings of gold and qualified as a navigator in the EA-3B Skywarrior aircraft shown in the photo. He served aboard 7th fleet attack aircraft carriers and was awarded 13 air medals for Rolling Thunder combat operations.

Need A Photo Framed For Facebook?

 

Email your photo to richard@law.name and pay $5 using the TIP JAR at www.sofistore.com

SOFI Cutting Paper Printing & Mailing Costs

At SOFI, we print and mail a lot of paper every week, every month and every year. We print and mail the National Field Service Directory which lists the National and Regional field service firms.

We find that some of these Directory listed firms support SOFI and the field services industry. We also find that some of the Directory listed firms provide no support to SOFI ... the largest networking organization in the field services industry

Company Died ... Spam Filter Set Too High!

I use Google Business for my email needs. It works great. I set my spam filters and I check my spam folder every day because some important emails sometimes get stuck in the spam folder.

Some field service representatives set their spam filters too high and then never check spam folders. Hiring firms will email you once and if their email sits in you spam filter without notice, you will get no work.

Some field service representatives insist that if you want to send them an email, you must FIRST register with them. Hiring firms bypass them. The register first spam filter systems work great at killing your business.

There is a lot of opportunity in the field services industry. The losers are those that have set spam filters too high, don't check spam folders, have full voice mailboxes and require senders of emails to first register with them. They do everything possible to keep everyone from emailing and calling then. Then, they wonder why they can't find work. A lack of attention to setting up effective communications systems has killed many a business.

Ask firms to add your email to their contact list or white list so that your emails are not rejected.

About Paying Estimated Federal Taxes

Independent contractors may be required to pay estimated taxes. Watch the IRS video below:

 

Voice MailBox Full? Your Business Will DIE A FAST DEATH!

I have talked to a lot of field service firms who hire field service representatives. They all have the same office policy. If they call your telephone and the voice mailbox is full, they will not bother to call you again. That's it ... one call ... that went no where. Goodbye! You LOSE!

Firms want to hire field service representatives who will not waste their time. A voice mailbox that is full says you are very disorganized, unresponsive and unreliable.

So, if you want to kill your business, just fill up your voice mailbox. Don't remove messages and fill up the mailbox so that no one can leave a voice message. A voice mailbox that is full is a big red flag to all firms. Why would they want to hire someone who makes communications so difficult?

HUD Is Confusing ... As Usual

The HUD property preservation guidelines and cost allowables have changed again. In the past they have left out parts of superseded guidelines, such as pool covering specifications and window bolt-boarding, which are still required.  SOFI includes the superseded guidelines with the effective guidelines because some of the old specifications are still valid and deserve attention.

HUD has gone from grass cut cost allowables for each state to a grass cut cost allowable that fits all states and on March 21, 2012 they went back to grass cut cost allowables of each of the 50 states and US possessions. Some of the cost allowables don't make much sense. I have cut grass in VA, DC and MD. The DC and VA rate for a 10,000 SF re-cut is $90. It is $95 in MD. You will find the same types of grass and weather in Virginia that you find across the Potomac in

Show Hiring Firms How STUPID You Really Are!

Stupid is as stupid does.

This happens every day. Some firm posts an advertisement at a Yahoo Group looking to hire field service representatives in an area. The posting says to respond to a specific email.

Many field service representatives don't follow the instructions and just hit the Yahoo Reply reply button. They can't follow instructions. They reply to the whole group showing everyone in the world how stupid they are and why no one should ever hire them since they CANNOT FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS. These are field the same field inspectors that submit two photos when the requirement is for three photos. They think that a Friday report submission is okay when the report was required two days earlier on Wednesday. If you cannot follow simple directions, you will never make it as a field service representative. I talk to hiring firms every day and I know how they separate the stupid and the smart people in the field services industry. Yes, every one is tested before they get the job. Smart wins every time.