I was recently contacted by a property inspection company requesting that I travel to a specific location to capture 40 high-quality photos using my smartphone for a flat fee of $60. After carefully reviewing the requirements and the logistics involved, I feel that this offer significantly undervalues both my professional time and the necessary travel expenses. Considering the time required to arrive on-site, navigate the property, capture 40 distinct photos, and subsequently upload them, I am concerned that the total effort involved far outweighs the compensation being offered, so I made a counter-offer.
Since this would be our first time working together, I have already reached out to the company to request payment in advance to protect my interests. While I am fully prepared to walk away from this assignment if the compensation remains at this level, I would like to remain fair and would be willing to move forward if my payment requirements are met. Has anyone else here encountered a similar request from this or other inspection companies, and what would you consider to be a reasonable, market-standard fee structure for this type of mobile property inspection work? Any advice on how to negotiate this effectively would be greatly appreciated.
I have done a few of these and the fee is never great. I think the most I have been able to negotiate was $135. I have stopped doing these as the fee for the time it takes is not really worth it. If I recall the actual inspection photos took about 45 mins to an hour for the ones I have completed and the upload of photos took almost as long. They had to be uploaded through WhatsApp and that failed for some reason so I had to use a goolge drive link they sent and it took forever to upload Plus the working conditions for one of the properties was horrible. The place was not liviable and filled with trash.
Agree with your assessment of this type of work so much that after a year’s trial run with inspections for several co’s, I stopped the time-sink 15 years ago.
@cfletcher When these types of Orders began to appear, I performed the Cost/Expense-Income calculations. For my business model, the results were definitively NOT worth the time & effort expended for the proffered remuneration.
In addition to all the other comments, these companies are trying to bypass (cheaply) a real estate agent’s services or an appraiser’s services. Seriously, we know our business and they know theirs. They will not take on these jobs for that ridiculously low fee, why should we? Just say, “No!”
One company I take some photos of houses for once in a while, started asking for detailed interior reports with photos and a full floor plan scan.
I have done them before and they are very time consuming. If they can’t find anyone to go cheap they might reach me and ask what I think is a fair fee, but they don’t do that unless it’s an out of the way location no one will go to. I have learned to charge a lot because I know how long they can take.
NOT 
Concur 
percent. 