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Editor’s Note: This story appears in Working RE Home Inspector’s September Print Edition. OREP insureds enjoy it free along with many other business and risk management benefits! WRE reaches 20,000+ Home Inspectors in Print and Online!

Let’s Role Play

By David Brauner, Senior Broker at OREP.org

Let’s role play for a minute (about your business!). Imagine you’re a homebuyer. Your offer was just accepted and you’re excited…but worried too. It’s a big investment. Being experienced helps some but no matter how many times you’ve been through it, buying a home is daunting and a bit scary for most folks…the chance of buying a money pit…yikes!

So your offer is accepted, the loan is in process and it’s time to hire a home inspector. You surf the internet a bit and call a few inspectors referred by your agent; they all seem like they know what they are talking about. They are all friendly and professional. They are all within the same price range; many belong to a professional association. What now? As you review the websites again, you notice that one offers a free 90-day home warranty with every home inspection to back up their work. The warranty covers most everything with very few restrictions. Yes! This feels pretty good—sort of like a guarantee. You like getting the reassurance you need to move forward. Sold to the inspector offering the warranty!

The Icing
Ok, let’s switch roles—you’re the business owner trying to keep the orders flowing. For you, the tipping point of the sale and many more to come is the home warranty you included with your inspection report. You’ve rolled the modest cost of these warranties into your fee ($12.50), so giving them away does not affect your bottom line. But you haven’t heard the best part yet…you now can avoid the worst part of home inspecting— trying to satisfy unhappy clients.

There are no statistics on this, but probably 80% of client complaints about their home inspections are small issues usually covered under a home warranty. Let’s roleplay one more time: imagine when your clients have a problem with something after they’ve moved in, they call the home warranty professionals to resolve it instead of calling you. Ah… These professionals handle these issues all day long, quickly and efficiently. Are you smiling yet? You don’t get into any verbal “discussions” over what you are or are not responsible for. You don’t go back to the property numerous times; you don’t take out your checkbook. You don’t repair anything yourself and you don’t feel badly either, because if the issue is legitimate, it will be repaired/ resolved professionally by the warranty company.

A warranty can be the first line of defense before a problem is referred to an E&O carrier. Offering a low-cost, reliable home warranty will help you grow your business by offering potential clients a service your competition does not. The peace of mind a home warranty offers your clients makes your business the easy choice. Now you can spend your time home inspecting and marketing, not resolving complaints. Yeah!

Warranty You Can Trust
CP™ has been offering award-winning service to home inspectors in the United States and Canada since 2006. CP™ is one of only two home warranty companies in North America to receive Angie’s List Super Service Award, and they’ve won it twice. The 90-Day Guarantee is valid for 90 days from the day of inspection (or 30 days from the closing date, whichever is later) and has no dollar caps on repairs with no deductible or copay. They are working with the E&O provider OREP to offer warranties to OREP insureds and to all inspectors nationwide (OREP insureds enjoy a discount). Unlike other programs, all claims are done over the phone without having to submit any documentation in order to receive service.

CP™ 90-Day Guarantee offers:
* No exclusions for lack of maintenance, rust or pre-existing conditions.
* No age restrictions – some other programs don’t protect anything over 11 years old.
* No deductible or copay – service calls are not covered under some other programs.
* No limit on mechanical repairs – some other programs limit them to $500.

Claims Procedures
* Everything is done over the phone – no submission of itemized claims for review before receiving service.
* Customers can call Complete Protection (CP™) 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
* No need to provide a copy of your home inspection report.

So differentiate yourself from the competition and remove nuisance problems from your plate by adding a home warranty to your inspections. Visit OREP.org/warranty and enjoy a special offer for free enrollment in InspectorAdvisor.com at checkout. InspectorAdvisor.com is the place home inspectors get their tough inspection questions answered fast! For more about the comprehensive OREP E&O program, visit OREP.org or call OREP at (888) 347-5273.

Warranties Available in the Following States:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming

About the Author
David Brauner is Senior Broker at OREP, a leading provider of E&O Insurance for home inspectors and other real estate professionals in 50 states (OREP.org). He has provided E&O insurance to home inspectors for over 20 years. Contact him at dbrauner@orep.org or (888) 347-5273. OREP–Organization of Real Estate Professionals Insurance, LLC. Calif. Lic. #0K99465.

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Note: The January 2018 issue of Working RE Inspector mailed to over 20,000 home inspectors nationwide. OREP Insureds enjoy guaranteed delivery of each print magazine and many more benefits.