The answer you are looking for is "cooking facilities" or "kitchen".  Looks like things may change to include "toilet facilities" as an acceptable answer but that is not official yet.

What is a standard trip fee charge?

HUD Regulations do not state a fee for trip charges. Most contractors charge $20 to $30 for trip charge. It doesn’t matter much what you say, companies will tell you that you have to accept their normal fee which they will quote under whatever you say.

Keep in mind that if you give a low price on a trip charge some companies have a bad habit of using you to go do second estimates for work they have no intention of giving you. They have to have a second bid on some services in order to satisfy HUD regs. If you will drive to the location, spend your time figuring up a bid and then go back and do the paperwork, all for $20 or $25 bucks, you will probably get a lot of experience doing second bids. Then you will be broke.

HUD regulations do not state the need for a license of any type.  The General Requirements  portion of the regulations states, under paragraph title: Mortgagee Responsibility: " A Mortgagee may use any individual or firm to perform preservation and protection services on properties securing FHA-insured mortgages, however, the Mortgagee remains fully responsible to HUD for its actions and the actions of its agents."  This statement in the HUD Regulations is the foundation for all companies placing full responsibility for all field services performed by independent contractors upon the contractors themselves.

As independent contractors, property preservation contractors are assuming total responsibility for their services and will normally need to be licensed by their city, state and county authorities.  In some cases, depending on the types of services offered, the contractor may be required by local (state, county and city) to obtain one or more licenses.

It would be impossible to list what licenses may be needed by contractors across the country so each contractor has the responsibility of acquiring and maintaing licensing for their area of operations and services within their area.  Although not all property preservation contracting services involve the full scope of responsibilities normally required of other craftsmen and professionals, the mere mention of some preservation duties may result in licensing authorities stating that a license is needed "for that."

Contractors are encouraged to create a list of potential services that may be performed and notate the craft or trade category normally associated with those services.  With this list in hand, discuss potential licensing requirements with legal, insurance and financial counsel before approaching local licensing authorities.

The following list of common construction trades can, in some areas, require licensing or union membership.  Again, although property preservation contractors normally do not identify themselves as a craftsperson within a certain trade, depending on the location and circumstances, licensing may be required.  This list is not a complete list of all construction trades and is to be used only as an example list from which contractors can start their own list.

Building Construction

Carpentry

Cement Mason

Cladding

Drainage

Electician

Framing

Glazing

Heating, ventilation and Air-conditioning

Iron worker

Laborer

Insulation

Joinery

Masonry

Painting and Decorating

Pipe Fitter

Plastering

Plumbing

Roofing

Steel Worker

Stonemason

Tile Setter

No.  Different areas of the country have different fees, different dates for winterization and different dates for lawn service.  Although the regulations are very, very similar at first glance, they are not the same across the entire country and sometimes even vary within a state or a county within a state.

Each attachment to the HUD Regulations has it's own "Local Variations from General Requirements" which are the last pages of each attachment.  Although the content of each attachment does pretty well apply to all properties, contractors must be knowledgeable of the local variations for that attachment.

Using the state of Florida as an example, one can read all of attachment 7 (winterization) up to the cost schedule without finding Florida mentioned or any other state for that matter.  After reading the text, you will find the Winterization Service Cost Schedule with Florida winterization fees listed.  If one does not know that local variations may exist, it would be somewhat logical to assume that properties in Florida are to be winterized and billed according to the rate found in the cost schedule.  This is not the true story, however.  Turning one more page reveals the Local Variations from General Requirements for this Attachment 7 (winterization).  Reading the local variations, one will find that only properties in Jacksonville Florida and north of Jacksonville Florida are to be winterized and only from September 1 through April 30.

HUD Regulations do not state a trip charge fee and most companies have a fee that they consider "fair", or their "standard" fee so to speak.  As would be expected, the "fair" or "standard" fee has nothing to do with what is fair or standard and has even less to do with the actual time and expense involved.  Most companies expect to have contractors ask for $25 to $35 as a trip charge.  To insure that the contractor get the worst possible deal, some companies also will deduct the trip charge from the payment of any bid awarded as a result of the trip required to place the bid.

Two answers are acceptable:
(1) Property Preservation Report
(2) Property Portfolio Report

A property must meet certain standards in order to be transferred to HUD.
The following items are usual requirements and there may be others depending on the property and circumstances.

The only exception to these requirements occurs if HUD has been advised of an issue where the requirements have not been met and has agreed to accept the property as is.

Individual companies may add to the list above which are the basic HUD requirements.  Read the company's  Contractors' Manual - it should have a written statement as to their definition of conveyance condition.

Grass cuts and boarding.

Never tarp a flat roof.

I cannot say if you are giving the proper answer since I do not know the questions or your answers.  What I can say though, is that some companies do not want to come right out and say they do not need additional contractors in your area.  Instead, they keep putting contractors off in hopes that they will stay interested and be available just in case the day comes when they do need you.

The company database here on Cubic Yard is being updated now but it takes a lot of time to go through it all.  Keep an eye on the Snoopers™ category.  The companies will show up in that category.

Let us know if you need anything else.

the staff at Cubic Yard

Mold is not a conveyance issue but the cause of the mold is. Identify the reason for the mold, describe it's location and submit to cure the cause if possible. Address the mold issue quickly so that it does not become a conveyance condition problem and possibly deemed mortgagee neglect.

My thoughts are that property management encompasses many activities with property preservation being only one of those activities. Property management often includes dealing with taxing authorities, insurance companies, tenants, repairs, and more.

Property management could even be a part of asset preservation - it just depends on how much preserving you are trying to do to what asset.

I like to think that property preservation is a function of asset preservation.

The mortgagee is the creditor and lender in a mortgage situation.

Conveyance is the transfer of ownership of a property by one or more persons to another or others. In property preservation work, post-conveyance is the time period after transfer of ownership to HUD and pre-conveyance is the time period before the transfer of ownership to HUD.

Common water lines are those that supply water to more than one unit or one property. As an example, picture a main water supply line at a condo - until the line branchs off to each condo unit, it is "common" to all units.

Less frequent are common waste lines: Although it is prohibited in almost all construction, you may find different units in a building that share common lines for toilets or washbasins. When you pour anti-freeze in one, you've poured it in the other - not exactly what you may have intended and potentially a bad situation.

Take into consideration that other utilities such as gas and electicity can have common components too.

It is a discount off of your invoiced amount regardless of the HUD price schedule. They want to know if you are willing to give them 20% or 25% of total.

First on the list is to cover yourself. I may be too melodramatic but it's always a good idea to picture yourself on the witness stand two or three years from today with a hungry attorney giving you a going over. Keep that image in your head when you do any preservation work. What are you going to do today to insure that attorney has a bad day in court?

Now, with this drama unfolding before our eyes, lets look at this sump pump thing. The pump is there for a reason - to pump water. In order for it to do that, the pump has to be functional and have a continuous supply of electricity.

You are going to have to make sure the pump is operational and that the electricity stays on. Document, document, document. Take too many pictures of the pump actually discharging water. Then, get a statement from your client as to who is going to be responsible for turning on and maintaining the electricity for the pump. Are they going to pay for regular inspections of the pump?

Property Preservation is the action taken to preserve and protect a property. The act of property preservation is intended to prevent or lessen deterioration of the property that may result from vacancy or abandonment.

Vacant and/or abandoned properties can suffer from neglect, vandalism and other causes.

Anything that can be done to maintain or increase the well-being and value of the property could be categorized as property preservation. Routine property preservation services can include grass cutting, bush trimming, replacing broken windows, boarding to prevent entry, changing locks to prevent unauthorized entry, etc.

A trip charge is allowed only when going to a property for the purpose of submitting a bid. If you are traveling to the property to complete work already approved, a trip charge is not allowed because HUD regulations state that mileage, time and such is included in the fee for the work.

Some of the greediest companies actually will subtract a previously approved trip charge payment from the fee paid on work you completed as a result of submitting the original trip charge and bid.

HUD regulations state "Winterize properties above 2,000 feet only." There is no mention of the time of the year to do this. Contractors in California that CubicYard has contacted about winterization state that only properties above 2,000 feet are considered for winterization and only from November to February.

You're really putting me on the spot here. I've know contractors to get the required insurance and never receive even one work order. But then again, some of us are screaming for a break!

It doesn't matter if the amount of work justifies the insurance because most companies will send no work until you produce proof of the E&O insurance.

The majority of insurance agencies and insurance agents have no idea what property preservation contractors do.  When explaining our business to the average insurance agent most will, as you say, want no part of it - too much liability, and they are correct.

There's tremendous liability in property preservation services and the servicing companies sending work to contractors are finding ways to lesses their liabilities and place more on the contractors.

You need to talk with an agent in an agency that knows about the property preservation business.