LESSON 2: THE MORTGAGE FIELD SERVICES INDUSTRY Flashcards
How long are inspections usually?
Most inspections take only about 5 to 10 minutes each to complete. Until you get the hang of it, your first few inspections may take 10 to 15 minutes. You will go faster as you become familiar with the process.
How many inspections can I do?
The average number of inspections you can do is about 4 to 8+ an hour (if you live in a populated area), which equates to about $20 to $30 an hour.
Here are the TOOLS you’ll need to be successful:
A vehicle that gets good gas mileage.
A SmartPhone (Android or iPhone)
A Printer/Scanner
A Computer (Desktop, Tablet, Laptop, or your cell phone if you can print from it)
A Volt stick to check electricity at vacant properties – costs about $10
A set of HUD keys. Your client may be able to sell these to you at a very low-cost.
A clean criminal background record. (No Felony convictions) As an Independent Contractor, you will have to pay for this yourself.
DUTIES OF A FIELD INSPECTOR (A.K.A. PROPERTY INSPECTOR)
A vendor field inspector’s duties vary by the type of inspection. Generally, they include driving to the property location, performing a visual inspection, taking photos, and answering questions on a cell phone application.
Some inspections require you to leave a sealed envelope at the property and then taking a photo of it after you slip it in the crack of the door.
DUTIES OF A FIELD INSPECTOR (A.K.A. PROPERTY INSPECTOR)
Speaking to homeowners or occupants is generally not required. Other inspections may require you to inspect vacant properties by taking photos of all sides and rear of the exterior and providing photos of the interior’s condition. Most vacant interior inspections have a lockbox on the front door. The lockbox code will be provided to you within the instructions.
Never go to backyards of occupied properties no matter what the instructions tell you. Most of your clients are busy, and to stop what they are doing just to go to your funeral because you were shot going into some occupied property’s backyard, well, you get the picture.
A Mortgage Field Service Inspector does not engage in any debt or money collection services whatsoever.
In general, most of the properties inspected are homes in mortgage default for at least 45 days or more.
Property Inspectors represent banks, mortgage companies, and other financial institutions with a concern for the condition of the property as well as if the property is occupied or not.
We do not receive financial information, nor do we solicit financial information from the homeowner.
We are very much like mail carriers who deliver a message/envelope to the homeowner. Instead of putting it in the mailbox (illegal), we take it to the door.
Field Inspectors often visit the same properties month after month, especially foreclosed properties.
Depending on the inspection type, the Field Inspector may be required to enter vacant properties using a key contained within a lock-box at the property.
A Mortgage Field Service Inspector does not engage in any debt or money collection services whatsoever.
Field Inspectors are the “eyes and ears” for their clients.
An inspector’s purpose is to inform their clients if the grass needs cut, if debris needs removing on vacant properties, or if there are liability concerns by pointing out non-compliant conditions. Your clients use this information to determine if they need to send out a property preservation crew to preserve and protect the property from the elements.
Most Property Inspectors do not engage in property preservation (grass cuts, clean-outs, or debris removal); however, it is an additional opportunity in the same industry that you may want to explore independently.
INSPECTORADE (IA)
InspectorADE is the leading Data Processing company that this course will give reference to on several occasions.
Other programs are similar to InspectorADE like; EZInspections, Pruvan, FieldComm, PropertyPresWizard, EastPointSystems, and VendorView. For this course, we will refer to InspectorADE.
INSPECTORADE (IA)
When conducting inspections, you don’t just take photos and email the pictures to somebody.
The day of digital cameras, printing work order reports, and using clipboards are long gone.
Programs like InspectorADE are what most Regional companies use to provide their contractors the means to conduct their inspections.
An account with InspectorADE and other inspection software is usually paid for by your client’s regional company.
INSPECTORADE (IA)
InspectorADE is a cell phone app that you download to your smartphone.
You enter your username and password provided to you by your client and then download the inspections your clients give you to inspect.
Letters, postings, certifications are all downloaded from the InspectorADE website, which you can access from your computer, laptop, tablet. You can even print forms from your cell phone if you have an app like this: cell phone printer app.
You will be provided with your own unique username and password to InspectorADE from the company that hires you to conduct their property inspections.
INSPECTORADE (IA)
Photos are taken with your smartphone through the InspectorADE phone app.
The smartphone application (Android or iPhone) automatically attaches the photos directly to each work order.
You select the photo label from a pull-down list, check the boxes on the form, and upload the inspections all with your smartphone.
InspectorADE makes it very simple and easy to download work orders, upload your photos, and complete inspection reports.
The Android version of the app is free to download, but iPhone users may have to pay a nominal fee to download it. Both versions work very well.
INSPECTORADE (IA)
Another field service app used by some companies is called EZ Inspections. Both apps are very similar, but the hiring companies offered at the end of this course use InspectorADE.
The idea and main focus behind a program like InspectorADE are so that inspections can be submitted right from the field directly after each inspection. It would help if you made it a habit to hit the “Download” button before heading out to each inspection.
Download before heading to field
This serves 2 purposes:
To make sure the inspection is still valid and has not been canceled. (If you try to submit an inspection that has been canceled, you will get an error when you attempt to upload it since the inspection no longer exists.)
You might download new inspections very close to where you are already going.
When must you submit Field Inspections:
Mortgage field service inspections must be submitted immediately after the inspection is completed to avoid liabilities.
If you were to complete an inspection in the morning, waited until noon the next day to submit your inspection, but then the house burns down during the night, you will be held accountable for submitting an erroneous inspection.
Immediately after completing an inspection, until it is submitted, the inspector is liable for property losses in the interim. Make it a habit to submit an inspection immediately after you complete it, and you will not have any problems.
DO: Over’s:
Follow-Ups, or sometimes referred to as “Do-Overs,” are when the inspection was not completed correctly, and you may have to return to the property to take missing photos or post missing vacancy forms, etc. Follow-Ups must always be resolved within 24 hours, if not sooner. The clock is ticking on those as well. Most companies start deducting the fee the longer you wait to fix or resolve the issue.
