"There is no security in this life, there is only opportunity"

—General Douglas MacArthur

Over the past few years our country has had the worst economic downturn in the past fifty years. Millions are out of work and many are unable to maintain their lifestyles, mortgage payments and dignity. As we have all read about there are many different government and private lender programs to help homeowners avoid losing their homes to foreclosure, unfortunately too many have lost the homes during this downturn.

From this difficult situation an opportunity has been created.  The millions of homes that are foreclosed on need to be “serviced”, the lender or bank which holds the mortgage have to have the property maintained and inspected on a regular basis.  They need to know the condition of the property; the lender wants to prevent further loss of value and damage to the property.

Well this need by the lenders is an opportunity for individuals we call field inspectors to service these properties and assist the lenders in maintaining them and follow the federal laws which they are required to follow. You see banks subcontract this work out to field inspection companies who in turn hire independent field inspectors to do the field inspections.  The reason for this is it is too expensive for a lender to increase their own staffing in-house, so they contract with national field inspection companies, these firms in turn can’t afford to hire inspectors full-time since the properties might be spread out over a statewide or regional area, so instead a network of independent field inspectors has been created.  

What we as field inspectors will do is drive to the property, take a few digital photos of it and complete a report.  The report can be a few questions or a few pages.  When we complete the report we are paid accordingly. Field inspections may pay $15-$50; the more information, pictures, details required in the inspection the greater the fee will be. Inspectors, with more experience may do commercial or multi-unit (apartment) buildings. These types of field inspections can pay hundreds of dollars per report, doing a few of these over a couple of days can be very profitable. 

 

Ok, so we know that an opportunity exists from the difficulties which this economy has wrought, we know the demand is there so how do you become a field inspector and capitalize on the opportunity?

Getting started as an independent field inspector is very easy. It may surprise you but the requirements to be an inspector are not extensive nor is there special training which you will need. The key is to find and contact the regional and national field inspection companies. The next step is register with them; usually they have online application process. Once that is done they will e-mail the types of inspections they need, zip codes where they are located and the timeline to complete the inspection. The last item is very important, the inspections must be done promptly; remember the field inspection company has been hired by the bank, lender or insurer. They agreed to have the field inspection done with the parameters of the lender or insurer, so they expect you to get the work done as soon as possible. 

So if you like the idea of being paid to drive and take a few pictures and complete a report, then doing field inspections might be a great opportunity for you. The pay is good and can increase over time, this job can be either full-time or part-time and the work is flexible.  You can do as many inspections as you would like and do those which fit your skill level and time.  My training guide, An Inspectors Guide to Field Inspections, covers all aspects of what you will need to know to get paid from field inspections.  My guide includes a list of over 150 regional and national field inspection companies to contact, plus a Fast Track way to get your business going immediately.  Lastly I have created a series of videos on the field inspection business. You may use this link to view them. http://www.youtube.com/inspection007