TOPIC: Need help on pricing quote

This one is a first for me. I have a former client that is buying a historic home Bed and Breakfast and I am trying to come up with a method to price this out.

Looking at 12,000 sq ft originally built in 1903 but updated at least twice. 8 BR, 8.5 baths many with jetted tubs. 7 fireplaces. No idea on the electrical yet. Sounds like a combination of radiant heat and forced air heating systems.

Looking at my price structure for normal home inspections they range from a high of about 35 cents per square foot to a low of about 11 cents per square foot.

Any ideas or recommendations?

Stephen,
I run into this often. We have tons of B&B's with all the colleges MN has. Each one is unique in it's own right, since most all are Historic homes.

I have started to price them as individual apartments due to each having their own bathroon/fireplace/etc...

Keep in mind, that this is a commercial property, not a residential home. I see inspectors make this mistake in distinction all the time. As a commercial property, you will be inspecting for more items that you would normally not, for the publics safety. More time, more $$$.

Without knowing more info, such as do you/will you be incorporating IR, how will you handle the fireplace inspections, age & style of the home (Pac NW Historic is not the same as MN Historic), and your pricing structure, I couldn't even suggest a fee. How do you anticipate your competition to price the inspection? Often on commercial inspections, I have to use that info as a guideline, if I really care about getting the job. Typically in my area, there are few true commercial inspectors, and I get undercut all the time, often by 50%.

Good luck! 

.10 per foot = 1200 plus 200 for the age of property and 300 for all the baths and fireplaces.
$1700.00- Only if it's a slab foundation, which I doubt for 1903. add 200
$1900.00- (do I get the job?)

Hi Joe,

You are right in the ballpark pricewise.  Luckily this is a full basement and walk in attic area.  The biggest concern is the tile roof and the upcoming weather.  We have very few of those up here and even most roofing companies don't want anything to do with them.  Luckily I found the name of the roofing company that did the last reroof and the addition roof.

I did a quick walk through on the way home from today's inspection to view the property and systems.  Sheesh.  It took 20 minutes just to walk to all the rooms on the 3 levels and do a cursory viewing.  It won't be quick, that's for sure.

Biggest damn oil fired hot water heating system I have seen.  Friggin thing was the size of a volkswagen.

Hay Steve, Walking the property (as you did) should give you what you need to price things out.

I seriously don't think any of the unemployed HI's on that other site can help you any better than you helped yourself by going there and taking a look.

I spend a lot of time with the client to determine what it is that they want to know when all is said and done. Then I work out the pricing.

This is not a "Home Inspection" so you can throw out all that other stuff and do what your client expects. Basically; The more they want to know, the more it costs. As you talk about it with them, they realize what they want an what it will cost, then you add it all up.

Just throwing out an number based on square footage and age factors etc. will not get you the job because the client doesn't really know what your doing and just looks at pricing, thus producing a low ball shopper.

If you talk about it and the price is still too high, I can guarantee that you didn't want the job anyway.

Steve, I'm sure it will be an interesting job. Post some pics from your inspection.