A month or so ago I wrote an article titled “Hiding Behind Craig”. I don’t remember what site or publication the article was for and I cannot even find my copy of it. I was going to re-publish it for you here but since I cannot locate it, I will tell you that it was an article intended to warn people about blind ads on Craigslist.org. The article cited a few examples of inspectors and contractors that were duped into working for companies that did not pay them.
I went on in the article to place most of the blame on Craig for letting such activity go on. Even though I use the site myself and love the feature that allows the advertiser to remain anonymous, I feel readers of the ads are not warned strong enough or given enough guidance on avoiding scams.
As usual, I had reason recently to again rant and rave about problems in the Mortgage Field Services Industry. I decided to publish a new version of my warning by using the home page at www.MortgageFieldServices.com. I thought that I did a pretty good job writing that home page and I wanted as many people as possible to read it.
Now – how to get people to the site to read my warning? What better way than placing an ad on Craig’s List, www.craigslist.org? I ran an ad asking for inspectors in a city in north Alabama. The ad was short and sweet and contained this: ”For more information on this position, please visit www.MortgageField Services.com”
My ego was boiling over. Surely hundreds of potential inspectors would read that ad and head on over to the front page of www.MortgageFieldServices.com. Patting myself on the back, I caressed my ego, saying “There. There’s another 100 or so people warned”.
Did my new front page work? I guess it did; in a way. I got five applicants the first day. For a job that does not exist. For a company that does not exist. After being warned.
Craig, I apologize. It’s not really all your fault.
Here’s the front page the applicants “may” have read:
Welcome to the exciting world of Mortgage Field Services
You can participate in the exciting industry of Mortgage Field Services without any prior knowledge or experience. As a matter of fact, the industry has become so hot, so newsworthy and so lacking in educated and experienced field inspectors, the industry is throwing the doors open to anyone. The fact that you know nothing of the industry and have absolutely no experience makes your entry into this exciting business opportunity so much easier – all you have to do is believe everything you hear.
Why would you want to become a field inspector in the mortgage field services industry?
No other work at home, independent contractor or self employment opportunity offers so much excitement for so little investment. What is your investment? Sorry. That’s the best part. You will have to read further to get to read about that.
Do you like meeting new people?
Mortgage Field Services field inspectors meet hundreds of new people every week:
- vagrants homesteading vacant properties
- irate gun-toting homeowners
- drug dealers
- prostitutes
- clueless tenants
Although most Mortgage Field Service field inspectors would describe themselves as everyday, common working class people, they do get to meet people at all levels of society, many of which have professional degrees. Mortgage Field Services field inspectors eventually get to meet professionals like:
- attorneys and judges
- emergency room physicians
- process servers
Do you like to be the center of attention?
Mortgage Field Service field inspectors have an almost unlimited number of opportunities to call attention to themselves:
- DEA agents are always very interested in your visits to active or retired meth labs
- Police officers and Sheriff’s deputies watch you very closely after they have been called by neighbors
- Drug dealers eye you with suspicion and curiosity – ready to defend their turf
Do you like nature; being outdoors; communing with nature?
Mortgage Field Services field inspectors experience nature up close and often on a personal level. It is common for Mortgage Field Service inspectors to encounter a variety of God’s creatures:
- Vicious and hungry dogs
- Dying and dead animals left behind to die in a vacant house
- Enormous wasp nest occupied by hundreds of anxious wasps waiting for the storm door to open so they can swoop into action
- Snakes in the three foot high lawn weeds
- Although tiny in size, mold and mildew wait silently, in anticipation, of your next breath
Do you like mysteries?
If so, then you will love the Mortgage Field Services industry. No more watching whodunit on cable – get involved in your very own mystery. See if you can find answers to:
- why haven’t I heard from the company?
- who is my company rep this week?
- when is my check coming?
- is a check coming?
What about drama? Maybe drama is your thing – intense, exciting, striking, vivid. Tension and anticipation can fill your days as a Mortgage Field Services field inspector. Again, you can get deeply involved in your very own drama series. As a Mortgage Field Services field inspector, almost daily you will experience moments of drama such as:
- Is he going to shoot me?
- Am I going to have to run to the car and lock my doors?
- Does she really intend to call the police?
- Are they going to take their anger out on me?
How important is the field inspector job?
Nothing is as exciting as the Mortgage Field Services Industry. And nothing about the industry is as important as the field inspector. How important is the field inspector? Important enough that the HUD Guidelines mention the inspection process first, in the General Procedures of the HUD Guidelines.
The inspector is the “eyes and ears” of the industry. The inspector’s report sets off a chain of events involving practically everyone else. No body makes a dime until the inspector performs. Nothing happens until the field inspector completes and submits the field report.
The inspector position is so important that companies require Mortgage Field Services field inspectors to have Professional E&O insurance. If anything goes wrong, the inspector gets to take full responsibility. As a side note; that’s another ideal aspect of being a mortgage field services inspector: being left alone – near total isolation. Let something go wrong and you are completely on your own!
What will I make as a Mortgage Field Services inspector?
Recognizing the importance of the inspector, the majority of companies have created a near-perfect system that insures that everyone that wishes, may eventually get the opportunity to become a Mortgage Field Services field inspector. The basics of the system are really pretty simple. Simple – but sheer genius. It goes pretty much like this:
- Let’s start with say $20, the amount most commonly recognized as the amount HUD will reimburse the bank for an inspection. The fact that some banks charge the homeowner as much as $50 or more per inspection is totally irrelevant to this discussion.
- A bid request is issued and the winner of the bid process takes $5 and puts out their own bid. This is the first sub.
- The winner of this bid process takes out $5 and puts out their own bid. This is the second sub.
- The winner of the above bid takes out $5 and advertises for inspectors. Depending on how anxious the inspector is to receive work and how many work orders the inspector can handle, and how big an area the inspector can cover, the sub agrees to pay the inspector $3, $4 or as much as $5 per inspection.
Now here is the genius part. The inspection fees paid to the inspector – $2, $3, $4 or even $5 – is really only a contribution towards the total expense inspectors incur – expenses like car payments, insurance, computers, credit counseling, internet connections, digital cameras, fax machines, business license, medical clinic charges, cell phones, flat tire repairs, gasoline, telephone lines, taxes and such. The inspection fees paid are not intended to help the field inspector create and operate an on-going Mortgage Field Services business; the inspection fees are actually carefully controlled and timed so that everyone has time to groom the next field inspector that will be taking your place. You see, eventually every inspector will run out of money and someone else gets a chance to become a Mortgage Field Services field inspector. Pure genius. Fair as fair can be. Everyone gets to participate in the exciting Mortgage Field Services business opportunity!
So there you have it. Come on – jump right in! Now’s the time. Don’t wait for government regulation or self regulation to ruin everything. Now is the time to act. You don’t even have to start at the bottom! Without any government oversight, no regulations, no training requirements and no entrance requirements you can start hiring your own inspectors. It’s easy – just get a free Craig’s List account and start advertising for inspectors. Be sure to include “no experience necessary” in your ads. That seems to get a terrific number of responses.
