|
How To Make Money With Your Camera
Copyright in 2011 by Scott Bolinger of Alliance Nebraska All rights reserved. No part of this book or CD maybe reproduced in any way, shape or form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author Scott Bolinger. If bought as a ebook, you may make one hardcopy. The forms and tax forms maybe copied as many times as needed for the person that bought this book. Disclaimer The publisher and author of this book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any income loss. What is stated is several ideas that has worked in creating income. Sometimes it takes money to make money. Published by: WR Publishing Address: 507 Niobrara Alliance, NE 69301 Phone: 308-760-7346 Email: wrkf@warriorrage.comWebsite: www.WRKF.usOpener I’d guess since you decided to buy a copy of this book that you’re a business minded person that wants to get down to business and create an additional cash flow. There are several ways to create income from your digital camera and data entry. The business I’ll be going through is a business of a Contract Inspector which will cover field inspections and preservation. You don’t have to do both, but I’ll go over both. The companies you would be working with are contracting companies that work with mortgage companies or realty brokers and in some case you might work directly with the mortgage company. Primary what a field inspector would do is perform property verifications. This would intel them going out to a property and verifying that someone still lives at the property in which you would take one picture of the front of the house or to do interior and exterior property inspection of a property that isn’t occupied and you would take pictures on all sides of the outside of the building and two pictures per room and place bids on anything that makes the building not compliant (not up to FHA code). For the preservation work you would make sure that the building is secured and complies with FHA guidelines. For the Preservation work you would take pictures of all sides of the house, then 2 pictures per room in the interior. Your usually given a list of tasks and you would take before, during and after picturescf of work that was approved to be completed. For preservation work you would be primarily doing winterizations, securing a property, yard work, maid service, disposal of hazardous material…etc. Some times the preservation work isn’t just limited to FHA guidelines, some times the mortgage companies may have general remodeling that they want done, or maybe the city building inspector may have written up work that’s needed done. Camera When purchasing a camera a few tips you’ll need to know. When buying a camera try and bet more than one battery and it’s good to have more than one camera. You never know when a battery or camera will go out on you. And if you get a camera that uses AA or AAA batteries, I suggest getting rechargeable batteries and a charger. Those types of batteries hold a charge a lot longer. After you purchase a camera, set the date, then set your picture pixel to 640 which is probably your lowest setting. If your unable to set your pixels you can down load a free photo resizer at: www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm http://www.reaconverter.com/resize-images.html?gclid=CKHdjKXelqkCFZQbKgod8VB6uA http://getgimp.com/lp/index.php?pid=TR&s=google&c=getgimp&pk=279&country=US&brand=getgimp http://www.mystikmedia.com/photo_resizer_software.htm Here is a list of companies that I work with on a regular bases. The main thing ,if your looking at making inspections as a full time business, you’ll need to spend a couple days sending resumes to as many companies as you can. Sending out one resume and expecting to get work immediately won’t cut it. Send out 30 to 100, and then you should see some activity.
Field Service Companies http://www.sandcastlefs.com/ MSI : https://enterprise.msionline.com/login.aspx?enc=HAd1rtUZbsmBBo0sEDuy4YEaENNjZLnGBtpfRZdjcNUyhncbIliD26z+84rFqoHDfn4pQr4aygjovxiWDEFDxNvBuCzlXkqNe+HHr1ApgQ72qz4jpEz+WEuWxb5lGe+Jhttp://www.fivebrms.com/ http://www.fieldservices.com/ https://secure.nvms.com/application/Default.aspx http://www.a2zfieldservices.com/ http://inspector.complytraq.com/Inspect/Inspect.dll https://contractors.gcsresearch.com/ http://www.parrinspections.com/pw/public/index.aspx http://www.pbdisasterservices.com/inspectors/inspector_registration.aspx https://www.guardianps.com/reports/index.php https://vnet.safeguardproperties.com/Login.aspx
websites with lists of field service companies the business portal.com : http://www.thebusinessportal.com/subpage.asp?node=206261&CTitle=Field_Service_Companies&Loc=%5CFinancial_Services%7C81%5CField_Service_Companies%7C206261http://www.spiritsearch.com/finance_field_service_companies.shtml
Paid sites: https://global-data-entry.com/Data_Entry_Jobs.html : this is actually the first online information that I bought into. I had it saved in my email for probably a year or two, then fumbled back through my saved emails and figured I’d give it a shot. It gave me a pretty good start in field inspections and several ideas on different database business with several was on how to market online, selling ebooks, field services and much more. For the information on marketing to any sale person is priceless.http://www.sofi.us/home.html : I highly recommend this site and book. I bought this a couple years ago and it helped me get a few companies to contract with and my field service is listed with them and I’ve received several calls because of my listing with them and I quickly made back the money I spent.
Business info sites: Any field and preservation company will have specific rules to fallow. They have to fallow HIPPA , FHA and HUD guide lines. Brush up on these rules regularly. And a bit of good advise, if a company says to do something that isn’t within those guidelines I would question it or just don’t work for that company. HUD http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/careers/ HUD inspection training: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/reac/products/pass/pass_trngHIPPA http://www.hipaa.com/ Mortgage field rep community (good for tips) : http://mortgagefieldrep.ning.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fmortgagefieldrep.ning.com%2F%3Fxg_source%3Dmsg_invite_nethttp://cubicyard.us/ : this is a very helpful site. It has a great deal of information about rules and regulations Video training: http://www2.safeguardproperties.com/pop/?p[0]=3&p[1]=Reverify+Convey+Condition&p[2]=vc09/day2session3.flv&p[3]=2560&p[4]=266&p[5]=4242Supply company: http://www.mfssupply.com/ Lock Pick tinplates for Preservation workers. Takes a lot of practice to use picks. Most times it’s just best to drill out a lock and save yourself some time. I’d invest into a good battery drill that comes with two batteries. http://www.lockpickguide.com/lockpicktemplates.html
RESUME (Field Inspector and Preservation) Name: Scott Bolinger Company: Bolinger & Associates Address: 507 Niobrara City/State/Zip: Alliance, NE 69301 Phone: 308-760-7346 Fax: 402-620-9160 Email: wrkf@warriorrage.comExperience: Bolinger and Associates has been in business since 1998 and expanded into property management in 2001 and into field inspection and preservation in 2007 And we are one of the leading inspection/preservation companies in the area. We are working on expanding the business in Western Nebraska to carry a larger work load. We do have the equipment to handle most preservation or REO work orders (digital camera, computer, internet access, printer and fax machine, lawn service equipment, plumbing tools, boarding tools and supplies, cleaning supplies …. Etc Types of Inspections we will do: Drive by inspections, interior and exterior house inspections, Quality Control Inspections, merchant site inspections, inventory inspections, insurance inspections, collateral inspections, rush inspections, construction site inspection, occupancy inspections, commercial inspections, delinquency inspections, preservation and REO. We may expand our types of inspection and areas we work with depending on the demand outside our region. The zip codes I we cover: 69301, 69341, 69334, 69336, 69361, 69348,69337, 69339, 69347, 69360, 39343, 69357, 69131 County Coverage: Box Butte, Morrill, Sheridan, Dawes, Scottsbluff, Sioux, Garden Note: may except quotes for going outside of areas.
Suggested pricing
Diffinetions : Drive by inspections: on this type of inspection, this is just to see if someone is actually still living at the property. And you take one or two pictures of the front of the house. The form you get for this type of inspection will general ask a description of the house which would cover type and color of siding, type of covering on roof, estimate value of property, visible personal property, any broken or boarded up windows or doors.house inspections: this would be a interior and exterior inspection. Take pictures of the outside and all for sides of the house, then take two pictures of every room. Jot down any issue that would be needed to bring the property up to compliance (securing property, hazardous materials, , property inspections, any safety hazards, trip hazards, rails needed on stair way, yard maintenance) merchant site inspections: this would be a inspection on a business to make sure it’s legitimate. Usually consist of 5 exterior and 5 interior pictures, making sure you take a picture of all 4 sides of the exterior of the building and pictures of the sign. In the interior you’ll usually need to take pictures of the general business area, main office, picture of where secured documents are kept (usually a file cabinet), and inventory. A lot of times you’re there to qualify a company to use or continue use of credit cards, so you’ll take pictures of the credit card machine. The inspection is basically the check to make sure the business is legitimate. I’ve had several for auto sales to qualify them to be able to contract with a company that does back ground checks, so that they can set up the loans themselves. inventory inspections: inspection of inventory, taking pictures and writing down serial numbers to confirm correct item insurance inspections: inspection of a building that has had weather damage. Usually have to have a minimum of 5 pictures. collateral inspections, rush inspections, construction site inspection, occupancy inspections, commercial inspections and delinquency inspections. Out in Nebraska, I get a lot of inspection for hail damage and most common is roof repair, siding, gutters and down spouts. You’ll take pictures of completed work and work that still needs to be done and weather or not there satisfied with the work that has been completed and then you post what percentage of the work has been completed. collateral inspections: this would usually be for construction equipment that someone has rented. The last one I did was a excavator. You’ll need to take several distance and up close pictures of all sides of the equipment and of the serial number. rush inspections: a rush inspection could be any of these types of inspections but you’ll general have 48 hours to complete. But you’ll charge a higher price for the limited time frame construction site inspection: This maybe a few different things, maybe a percentage of completion on a job, or a equipment inventory. occupancy inspections: same as a drive by inspection. Just verifying occupancy commercial inspections: this could be to verify the legitimacy of the business just like the merchant site inspection or inventory inspection delinquency inspections: these are usually on vehicles and you would general take pictures of all sides of the vehicle and the vin number and do a interview Preservation and REO: generally when called on this type of inspection, it maybe assigned as a preservation. This would be on a abandoned house that went back to the mortgage company. So you would go in and secure the house. Change the locks to a specific key code and secure any out buildings (garage, shed), secure any pools or hot tubes. Depending on what time of year it is, you maybe required to winterize a property by disconnecting pipes at the water heater, disconnect the water meter, blow out the lines, pressure test the lines, then poor RV anti freeze in each drain. Some work orders may approve fixing roof leaks, removal of debris, maid service, yard service boarding windows, doors, pet doors. You may have just a couple things approved, then you’ll have to write up bids for everything else to bring the property into compliance.
Taking Pictures
When taking pictures there will be little differences on the pictures that need to be taken, depending on what company or companies you are working for. For a standard drive by inspection, you’ll just take one picture of the front of the house. Usually it’s best to take two, just in case one of the pictures don’t turn out. Some companies may require that you take a picture of the front of the house and the address, or address and street sign. When you do a preservation it’s best to get a picture of the address and street sign. The standard exterior pictures that you want to get is shown below: ![]()
When taking a pictures like that, you take pictures from 4 corners. You should be far enough to be able to get the full front of the house and a little bit of the side and also get a fair amount of the yard. And then at that same corning you’ll be able to take another picture and get mostly the side and a little bit of the front. When your doing yard maintenance, you’ll want to do the before and after cuts at the same angels. When taking picture of interior, you would normally take two pictures of each room trying to get the ceiling and flooring in the pictures. Some times the rooms are two small and you’ll need to take a corner shot, then a picture of the floor and one of the ceiling. Then you would take pictures of anything that would need to be done as far as getting a house to compliance. If there is debris, or personal items, broken window, wires that need a wire nut, missing covers for light switches or receptacles, mold damage, leaking ceiling. If it’s a house that’s getting ready for auction, then you would also take some close ups of damages , like stains on the wall or floor and holes in the wall.
Forms Most companies will have there own forms. Some will ask you for a copy of yoiurs. If your going to contract direct with the mortgage companies , banks, brokers, realtor companies, then you will have your own forms already set and ready to go.
Property Verification Form Contracting Company: ______________________ Loan Number: ______________________________ Mortgagor: _________________________________ Address: ____________________________________
Due Date: _______________
Grass Cut Client: ____________________________________ Mortgagor: _______________________________ Address: ___________________________________
Property Preservation Update/Bid Form Vendor Code _______________ Completion Date: ___________ Company Name________________________________ Conttractor’s Name: ___________________________Contractor’s Address : _________________________________Tax ID#: ______________________Fax#: __________________________E-mail: _______________________________Ph#: ___________________________Client: ________________________ Client Phone Number: ___________________ Loan Number_____________ Work order Number_______________ Property Address___________________________________
Occupancy Status: Occupied ____ Vacant __ Partial __Occupied by:______________________________________________________ How Verified:____________________________________________________ If partial, which units were vacant?_____________________________________ Violation Posted: ______________________________ Mobil Home: Mobile Home Park Name: _____________________ Mobile Home Park Number: ____________________ Hud Number: ______________________ serial Number: ________________ Property Description: Is the Property For Sale? Y N Contact Info: Name of Realtor___________________________________________________ Phone Number_______________________ Active Listing? Y N Violations/Citations Posted? Y N If yes, for what?______________________
Securing Secure upon arrival? Y N If no, why?_______________________________ Secure upon departure Y N Square Feet: Yard _________ Dwelling _____________ Locks Lock Change completed? Y N Key Code__________ Location/Quantities: Front_____ Rear_____ Secondary_____ Garage______ Locked by Others? Y N Key Code___________ Location(s)_________ Lock box installed? Y N Lock box code______ Padlock Installed? Y N Location/Quantities: Front___ Rear___ Secondary___ Garage___ Outbuilding___ Pool Gate___ Slide bolt Installed? Y N Qty_______ Location(s)______________________________________________________ Slider Lock Installed Y N Qty ______ Location(s)______________________________________________________
Boarding Is Boarding Needed: Y N Qty _____ Size: _______ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ Was Boarding Completed: Y N If No, why: ______________________________________
Window(s) Qty __ Location: _____________Size: Length ____ Width ____ Qty_______ Location_________ Size: Length______ x Width_________ Door(s) Qty _____ Location _____________ Size: Length______ x Width ________ Qty_______ Location_______________ Size: Length______ x Width_________
Winterization Completed? Y N If no, why?______________________________________ Dry___ Dry/Well___ Steam____ Steam/Well____ Radiant ____ Radiant/Well___ Is there a Sump Pump? Y N If so, is it operable? Y N Is Water Off at the Curb? Y N If no, why?_____________________________ Common Utilities? Y N Bid to Thaw (if required) $_________ Method of Thawing (type of heaters)___________________________________ Number of Men Required to Thaw_________ Hours Needed to Thaw_________ Damages Mortgagor Neglect Y N Eyeball Estimate $___________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Vandalism Y N Eyeball Estimate $_________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Freeze Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $____________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Water Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $________ Area Size _______ Location____________________ Possible Cause_______________________________________________________ Detailed Description (required)____________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Fire Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $____________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________________ Storm Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $________ Detailed Description (required)______________________________________ Unfinished Renovation Y N Eyeball Estimate $____________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
Structural Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $____________ Detailed Description (required)______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ . Environmental Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $___________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Mold Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $___________ Area Size: __________ Location_________________________ _ Possible Cause____ ________________ Detailed Description (required)______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Bid to Clean/Treat Mold $_____ Bid to Remove Mold $_______________ Roof Damage Y N Eyeball Estimate $____________ Area Size____________ Location_____________________ Possible Cause______________________________ ___________ Detailed Description (required)________________________________ _______ ________________________________________________________________ Active Leak Y N Flat ________ Pitch _____________ Type: Asphalt Slate Shingle Tin Other ____________________________________________ Bid to Tarp $______ Bid to Patch $______ Bid to Replace $________ Grass Cuts Grass Initial Grass Cut Completed? Y N , If no, why? (Circle one)Limited Growth - Debris in the way - Not for the allowable - No grass - Realtor Maintaining - Condo Association Maintaining - Cut by Others - Out of Season Other: ____________Lot Size: Length______ x Width_______ Height__ ____________________ Shrubs Shrubs Trimmed? Y N If not, why?______________________ Height______ Length_______ Width________ Qty__________
Debris Exterior Debris CYDS_______ Potential Violation? Y N In way of Grass Cut? Y N Description_______________________________________________________ Removed? Y N If no, Bid to Remove $________
Interior Health Hazards CYDS_______ Description_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Removed? Y N If no, Bid to Remove $_________ Garage Debris CYDS: ____________ Description: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Removed? Y N If no, Bid to Remove: $____________ Personals CYDS_____ Description_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Estimated Value $_________ Bid to Remove $__________ Bid to Store $_________ Health Hazards Paint Gal / Can (circle one) Qty _________ Bid $__________ Chemicals/Cleaners Gal / Can (circle one) Qty _________ Bid $__________ Oil Gal / Can (circle one) Qty _________ Bid $__________ Paint Thinner Gal / Can (circle one) Qty _________ Bid $__________ Gas Can/s Gal / Can (circle one) Qty _________ Bid $__________ Tires Qty__________ Bid $__________ Batteries Qty__________ Bid $__________ Propane Tank Qty__________ Bid $__________ Vehicles Qty: ____ Make: ________Model: ______________ Serial Number: _________________ Make: ________Model: ______________ Serial Number: _________________ Make: ________Model: ______________ Serial Number: _________________ Miscellaneous Bids Extermination Needed? Y N Property Infested with: (circle all that apply) Mice Rats Roaches Ants Bees Termites Fleas Other_______________________ Bid to Exterminate $_____________ Bid provided by a Professional Exterminator? Y N (required) Name of Exterminator: __________________ Phone Number of Exterminator: ______________________
Basement Flooded? Y N Bid to Pump the Basement $_______ Height of water __________ Possible Cause__________________________________________ Other Bids Description:_____________________________________Bid $_______ Description:_____________________________________Bid $________ Description:____________________________________ Bid $________ Description:_____________________________________ Bid $________ Description:_____________________________________Bid $________ Comments ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
Requited Pictures: Before and after pictures 2 pictures per room All 4 sides of the house Out buildings Electric meter Gas meter Address verification Sign in sheet
Work Completion Form
Vendor Code _______________ Completion Date: __________ Company Name____________________________ Contractor’s Name: ____________________________Contractor’s Address: ______________________________Tax ID#: _________________Ph#: ____________________________Fax#: ___________________________Client: __________________________ Client Phone Number: _________________ Loan Number____________________ Work order Number_______________ Property Address___________________________________
1. Work Completed _____ ____________________________ $_________ 2. Work Completed ___________________________ _______ $_________ 3. Work Completed___________________________________ $__________ 4. Work Completed___________________________________ $__________ 5. Work Completed _____ ____________________________ $___________ 6. Work Completed ___________________________ _______ $___________ 7. Work Completed___________________________________ $__________ 8. Work Completed___________________________________ $__________ 9. Work Completed___________________________________ $__________ Total $__________ Coments
Sign in Sheet Company Name: ___________________ Contact Address: ________________________________ Contact Phone Number: _______________________
Maid Service Check Off List (initial each when completed)
_____ Clean refrigerator _____ broom sweep all carpets and floors _____ Mop floors _____ Clean Toilets _____ Wipe down kitchen sinks, counter tops and cabinets _____ wipe down bathroom sink, counter tops and cabinets _____ Wipe down windows, window trim and base boards _____ brush off any cobwebs _____ Wipe off all out- let and light switch covers _____ Wipe off light covers and ceiling fan blades _____ Place a air freshener in the bathrooms and kitchen and add a date and initial in marker on the air freshener _____ Broom sweep garage and brush off cobwebs _____ General walk around and check for Conveyance
Winterized Date: ___/___/___ Company: ___________________ A winterization has been performed at this property pursuant to a work order issued by your mortgage company. Work completed: water meter disconnected, zip tie on shut off valve, water heater drained, line blown out with forced air, RV anti-freeze pored in each drain and the toilette. Please be advised to have a licensed plumber inspect all lines for any leaking when reconnecting. Winterized Date: ___/___/___ Company: ___________________ A winterization has been performed at this property pursuant to a work order issued by your mortgage company. Work completed: water meter disconnected, zip tie on shut off valve, water heater drained, line blown out with forced air, RV anti-freeze pored in each drain and the toilette. Please be advised to have a licensed plumber inspect all lines for any leaking when reconnecting.
Tax preparation
As a business owner it is essential that you keep track of all your expenses and money made. Most the companies you contract with will send you a W9 to fill out and they’ll send you a statement at the first of the year. For tax purposes you’ll need to keep records of: Milage: you’ll write down your beginning and ending milage and each place or just the town you went to. Milage can be a pretty good deduction. Expenditures: keep track of your expenditures, like buying a camera, batteries, tools. Make sure you get a receipt for everything. Money Made: any monies that you have made Office supply: this would be expenses on buying paper, pins, pencils, ink, if you have to buy or replace a camera , computer fax machines, internet access, website hosts Utilities: if your running that out of your home, you can dedicate a room for a office and then you can deduct your utilities on your taxes. They usually deduct 10%.
Milage Log Date Odometer Reading City Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Date: ________________ Start: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Stop: ______________________ City: ___________________________ Total Miles: _________________
Expenses
Total: _______________
Money Made
Total: ________________
Office Supplies
Total: _______________
Utilities
Totals: ______________________ _________________________
Tips and Tricks Working in both fields can create a significant amount of cash flow. But if you don’t know any general maintenance to do the preservation work, you might consider looking for someone that does possess those skills and subcontract. Some companies do require that you have general liability insurance and some require you have the liability insurance and EoM insurance. Not all require this, but some do and it’s a good idea to have insurance. To get started you would have to create a resume and I have a example of a resume in this book. Then you would go to the websites of the companies I have listed and email your resume to them. Most will send you a package to fill out and you’ll be put on there vender list and you could get work right away. Most jobs you’ll get emailed your assignments, some companies might call ya on a phone and email the work orders to you. The way some companies work, they will require you to send in your pictures on there website and fill out a online form. Some companies will want you to scan and email the forms and pictures and some will want you to fax the form and email the pictures. After you get some experience under your belt, there maybe a time to try and get some direct business. Rather than doing business through a contracting business, you get rid of the middle man and contract directly with the mortgage company, realtor or broker. When your dealing with a middleman , they’ll take between 20% to 60% of the income. But they do create the business for you. Just learn from them. The different companies will have some good and some bad practices. The best thing is to learn what you think are the good practices and incorporate them into your personal business. When you expand into your own contracting company and have to hire extra help because the work load is quite a lot, having proper paper work and getting it done correctly is important, but getting the workers to the jobs and completing those jobs are much more important. The reason I say that, is that I do work for some companies that if there is a error, they’ll call me on the phone and confirm the error and they’ll fix it for me and it don’t waste but a minute to fix. But I have some companies that if the slightest error on the paper work is done, they want you to redue the whole form, which could be another hour out of your time. That doesn’t make you money , and it certainly doesn’t make the contracting company any money. I’ve had companies have me reconfirm my paper work, but to do that, I had to go back out to the property and take more pictures to reconfirm what I said. If that’s 100 miles away, then that’s half a day shot, and your paying out a lot of money on gas. So it don’t hurt to take extra pictures. If a property is supposed to be occupied and it looks vacant, re-confirm it with a neighbor and check the electric meter and take a picture of the meter, then check and see if the water is on or off. General tip: If you don’t have a lot of money to invest into your business, then start off small, with the minimum. Build up the business, test the waters and get confortable with the inspection and/or preservation work before getting into some big expenses. That way, you work the business for a while and you know what kind of income you’ll be getting in and budget for your expansion. Yard Maintenance: when mowing a yard, you’ll need to make sure to pick up the trimmings, but a way to do it real quick is just to run your mower across the sidewalk and blow the grass trimmings into the yard. General Inspections: when doing drive by inspections, you should probably dress a certain way. A little dressy helps. It makes it look more professional. But if you really don’t want people messing with ya, wearing some Kickboxing or boxing shirt or cap and drive up on a Harley people will usually leave you alone. General Info: if your into preservation you’ll need to eventually get your own power supply. The preferred way would be a generator. Probably a 6500 watt or better. That way your able to run your power tools. It’ll take around 3000 to run a fair sized air compressor and that’s probably the machine that you will use that has the highes wattage. I’ve used inverters that you hook up to your batter. The are a lot less expensive than a generator, but you can’t run a air compressor very long on it, if at all, and a circular saw won’t run on it. They’ll both trip the breaker in it. Starting out I used one and sometimes we got lucky and was able to hook up a cord to a neighbors house. But the generator is the money maker Rain gear: don’t really need one if you just doing field inspections. But if your doing preservation and yard maintenance, they come in handy. I’ve had to finish up quite a few lawn care jobs in the rain. And I’d rather finish up and get a little wet than having the extra expense of driving back to finish the job at another date. I’m not say, go mow in the rain when it’s thundering and lighting out. You gotta use your own judgement on that. Yard maint: when you get a weed wacker I’d get one with a changeable head on it. That way you can by the extra heads when you can afford them. Some you can get inter changeable heads for weed eating, edger, hedger and tilling. Probably not going to need a tiller. But you never know. It depends on the demand. For a tiller, I’d get more a heavy duty one if you add tilling as part of your yard business. Preferably a tiller with the blade in the front. There a bit better for seeing were your going especially if your tilling to set up some concrete work. Yard maint: to do a lot of yards, it would be good to set up groups of 2. Put one person doing walk through, picking up trash, taking pictures and running the weed eater and put the other one on the lawn mower. That works good for me and my crews and both people get done about the same time. When you make enough money, you might invest into a riding mower and a push mower. It’s nice to have both. You can expand quite a bit on a lawn service. You’ll get some standard rates through preservation work, and you might pick up some extra on the job. General business: promotion is a big plus. Always have cards ready to hand out. If your wanting to expand your preservation work, have cards and maybe a magnet sign on the side of your vehicle or trailer. Initial cleaning or maid service: on a initial clean out, you’ll remove all the debris and clean out he house. See maid service check list for what all needs done. One of the issues you’ll find is getting water to do the cleaning. The water will usually be turned off. But if the property hasn’t been winterized yet, you can get water out of the water heater or back of the toilette. Don’t get it out of the front of the toilette, that would be gross. It’s always a good idea to take two buckets with you for water and trash. Cell Phone: a Cell phone is a must. This way you’ll know your not going to miss a job. If you get a emergency job or rush inspection, those usually pay a bit more. Laptop: a laptop can be pretty handy, exspecially if you have internet so you can be on the road and load your information. This works good if your working with a partner. While they drive, you can be down loading your information. That beats working for 10 to 16 hours, then get home and have to put in another 4 hours logging your information and sending pictures. And if you have internet, if you can’t find a place, you can look up the location on the web. A GPS is helpful, but you may find having internet where ever you are maybe more beneficial. You’ll be able to check your email, to see if you get any new jobs in. If your out and about and could save you a extra trip. Map sites: before you go somewhere, make sure you know where your going. The google map has been a big help in finding places. GPS is another great tool. But they’re not 100% especially if you have to do a inspection on a property that’s out in the country. Sometimes if your going to a area that your not to familiar with, it’s a good idea to print out a copy of the property off the county assessors website or go to there office and get one ran off. Sometimes to find a property, you may even have to go to the post office. http://maps.google.com/ www.yellowpages.com
Order Form WarriorRage KickBoxing Federation Buyers Info: Name: ___________________________ Address: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Phone #: _________________________ Email #: _________________________ Item #: _____ Description: _________________ Quantity: ___ Color: ____ Cost: _____ Item #: _____ Description: _________________ Quantity: ___ Color: ____ Cost: _____ Item #: _____ Description: _________________ Quantity: ___ Color: ____Cost: _____ Item #: _____ Description: _________________ Quantity: ___ Color: ____ Cost: _____ Item #: _____ Description: _________________ Quantity: ___ Color: ____ Cost: _____ Total: ____________ payment options: paypal: send to wrkf@warriorrage.comCheck or Money order: Send Check or money order to WarriorRage KickBoxing Federation, 507 Niobrara Avenue, Alliance, Nebraska 69301 . If ordering by paypal, fill out the order form and email it to wrkf@warriorrage.com . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||