Newbies Corner

We hope this guide will help you get off the ground quickly and answer questions that you did not even know you had.

ALL PHOTOS MUST BE TAKEN USING THE INSPECTORADE CELL PHONE APP.

An ECD is required to be placed in the Comments section of the inspection online (not the app) for all inspections that are past due. An ECD stands for Estimated Completion Date.

Use the InspectorADE mobile app that has a built-in GPS photo that will add a little map snapshot of the location of the property to all your inspections.

How to Set ECDs   (Download this PDF)

Lori Shortes (Hiring Manager)

Basically, you are finished with Lori.  She is the one who processed your application, Aspen Grove background check, keys, onboarding process, etc. From now on you will be dealing with the account managers, which are Melissa Breger, Anne Marie Duhon, and Michael Evangelo.  Michael Evangelo is the CEO of NMFS but also the account manager of several clients.  To know which manager handles which client, click HERE. Lori is NOT the one to ask about your work orders, fees, when you get paid, back-charges, clients, or to ask questions about an inspection.  You may contact her if you want to expand your counties though. We do have other staff members who wish to be unnamed who work in the background. Right, Melissa?

InspectorADE

We use a 3rd party program called InspectorADE to complete our work orders. The Welcome letter that Lori sent you has your username and password to your InspectorADE account as well as to the NMFS.com Back Office.  Please do not change your username on either website.  You will be required to change your password on InspectorADE (from here on called IA) every three months. Please do not try going to InspectorADE.com to create your own account. NMFS pays for it, not you.

The website version of IA is the main source for all your inspections. The cell phone app is a “tool” to be used alongside the website version.  You may think you uploaded your inspection from the app, but the website is the final determining factor if that is true or not. The website is instant. The app sometimes lags behind. You can log into the website from your laptop, desktop, or even from your smartphone while out in the field. Using the website out in the field may help you determine the correct property based on previous photos if we have been there previously. It is very handy to have the website version of IA bookmarked on your cellphone. For detailed help in using the InspectorADE app, click HERE.

InspectorADE has an excellent support system with pictures and details of every aspect of use.  Login to your IA account and read the Support tab at the top.

One of the most frequent issues we face with new people is the issue of accepting or rejecting work orders.  As an Independent Contractor, you have the right to reject work orders. As your client, we have the right to stop using you if you keep rejecting work orders. It works both ways.  Actually, (if you read the Contract Agreement) you agreed to receive and complete inspections that are automatically assigned to you through InspectorADE, in your county. However, it doesn’t make any sense to drive 45 minutes away for a single $5 inspection. We understand that and will work with you on that. We can reassign it or add more money to the fee if need be. But let it be known, there is no process of accepting or rejecting. If it is assigned to you, and you see it on your InspectorADE Open orders, then it is yours. But don’t just let them sit there thinking someone else will take it. It doesn’t work that way. You are the only one who can see that inspection. Let us know if you have any issues with the inspections assigned to you.

Good Pointers (You might want to print this page.)

• ALL PHOTOS MUST BE TAKEN USING THE INSPECTORADE CELL PHONE APP. (IA utilizes your built-in camera on your cell phone, but without all the bells and whistles.)
• By all means, call Michael Evangelo, Melissa Breger, or Anne Marie Duhon before going out to your first inspection, especially if it is an insurance loss.
• If you are having issues with the InspectorADE app, DO NOT reinstall it. If you took photos for an inspection, those photos will disappear. Call us instead.
• You will not see inspections automatically on the InspectorADE cell phone app until you tap the Download button.  The same with completed inspections, you must tap the Upload button. The website is instant, the app requires you to manually hit the Download or Upload button.
• ALWAYS hit the Download button on the app before heading to an inspection. That will bring in new inspections and remove any inspections that have been canceled. If you try to upload an inspection that has been canceled, it will show an error because it doesn’t exist any longer.
• We prefer that all photos are taken in landscape mode. (Hold your phone sideways, make sure auto-rotation is turned on.) Don’t blame us if you get a rejected inspection. (Follow-Up Needed) (Also known as FUN) We are not taking photos of kids at a birthday party. Our photos are being bought by mortgage companies. They need to be in landscape mode only.
• Do NOT reply to text messages sent to you from IA. Different phones show the sender differently. Most of the time it comes across as 4 numbers.  If you reply to a message sent to you from within IA, it will go nowhere.  If you want to reply to a text message, copy and paste the message you received and send it directly to our cell phone numbers.  IA is not planning on changing this anytime soon.
• Always click on the GPS button on the IA phone app on the Images tab which provides a snapshot of your location and adds it to the photos. You should be at the front of the property when you do this. This button is typically found to the right of the Camera button.
• Vacant and Secured are different than the term “secured” used by themselves. Vacant and secured means the property is locked up.  “Secured” in most instructions refers to the property being previously secured by Property Preservation. That means the locks have been changed and there is usually a lockbox on the door. The front door could be wide open while at the same time “secured” if the locks have been previously changed.
• We NEVER conduct an interior inspection on any vacant property unless it has already been “secured” by the mortgage company. That means your keys will fit in the door and be able to unlock it,  or there is a lockbox on the door. Winterization posting and Emergency Contact postings are good indicators, but not always. Previously posted First Time Vacancy postings are usually a good indicator that it has not yet been secured.
• We hate to say this, but we have to. If you have an inspection to complete an interior inspection, please do not attempt such a thing if you discover the property to be occupied.
• “I didn’t know I had inspections assigned to me!” From the day you receive your Welcome letter and invitation to read the Newbies Corner, you are eligible for inspections to be assigned to you.  You receive an auto-generated email when inspections are assigned to you. Always check the InspectorADE.com website daily. On the cellphone app, click the Download button. All three of those methods will inform you of the assigned inspections. We never accept this as an excuse for past-due inspections.
• Never go into a property back yard to take photos of occupied properties, no matter what the instructions tell you. For us to stop what we are doing to go to your funeral because you got shot entering a backyard of an occupied property takes productive time away from our busy schedule.
• The due date for an Insurance Loss; There is no such thing! We change the due date to match the appointment date you set up. What if you call them and they tell you they just left for a two-week vacation but the due date is for three days from now? We cannot be held accountable for the homeowners’ time frame.  What if you call them every day and leave a voice message for 8 days in a row but it is due in three days?  We cannot make them pick up the phone.  Disregard due dates on insurance loss inspections. 
• Never post an FTV (First Time Vacancy) posting on any occupied property.
• Do Not select “No Access” when you can see the property with your eyes. “No Access” has nothing to do with your ability to enter inside a property.  If you can see the property with your eyes, then you do have access.  Use the option for “No Access” when you encounter a gated community or a locked rural gate where you can not see the house behind the trees or hills or whatever.
• In the Resources tab on the IA website, you will find two photos that you need to print in full color and take with you. Print the No-Address and No-Street sign pics, place them back to back in a protective sheet folder, and keep them in your vehicle to take a picture of whenever you encounter a missing street sign or address at the property.
• Some clients provide a box you can check for Occupancy that says “Unknown”. Do not select that box. Our clients already know that it is unknown if the property is occupied or vacant. We get paid to find out, 100% if the property is occupied or vacant.  You can select “Occupied by Unknown” because that is different. If you select “Unknown for the occupancy question, you will receive a Follow-Up Needed to go back and find out.
• Also in the Resources tab on the IA website, you will find most of the forms that some instructions require. First Time Vacant (FTV) forms, Letters or Door Cards, Vacancy Certifications, etc. 
• Vacancy Certifications are NEVER to be posted on a property. The vacancy posting is a requirement implemented by Congress about 16 years ago. It is designed to slow down the rushed inspection process to make the inspector sign a document that they affirm they know for a fact that the property is vacant. You sign it and then snap a photo of it and add it to the rest of your photos. You can then throw the certification away. Never post it.  MCS allows you to sign the vacancy certification digitally on your app on the inspection form. Why Do We Have to Fill Out Vacancy Certifications? – NMFS
• The IA app utilizes your cell phone camera and removes all the bells and whistles except for the zoom feature. It enables your camera to create 640 x 480 photos at a reduced kilobyte of around 100K per photo allowing for quicker uploads.
• Try not to have FUN. (Follow-Up Needed)
• The IA app automatically embeds the date and time stamp from your cell phone.
• It is a good practice to always snap your Street Sign photo first. Then while you still have the camera on the IA app open for when you head to the property. 
• The property should be on your left side. If it is on the right side then drive past it and do a U-turn so that when you drive back, the property is on your left so that you can take photos from your vehicle. 
• Most inspections can be completed right from your vehicle. Photos with car parts like your left-side mirror or the hood of your vehicle will be rejected.
• If the property is clearly occupied, take zoomed-in photos of those things you are using to determine occupancy. (Cat in the window, garbage cans set out, car in the driveway, kids bike on the lawn, furniture on the porch, etc.)
• Read the instructions on the inspection. Some clients want a left side and a right side.  A typical left-side photo can be taken from the street. Position yourself just before the front of the house and zoom in on the left front of the house. Then, drive up a few feet to snap the front, address, occupancy indicators, etc., and then keep on driving down the street somewhere to finish filling out the form. 
• Label your photos then click on the form tab to fill out the form.
• After filling out the form click on the Validate button.
• We live to see “Validated and Saved”. If the inspection does not validate, it should pop up with the corrections you need to make. Fix those and then try validating again. 
• Once you see Validated and Saved then you need to Upload it.
• Depending on your phone, where ever you found the menu for “Download”, right below that should be “Upload All”.
• Upload your completed inspection as soon as you are finished with the inspection. If you wait until the end of the day to upload, it is possible that the inspection could be canceled after you already did the work.  That would suck.  If it cancels before you upload it, you’ll see an error message because the inspection no longer exists.  Always upload as soon as you can.
• You’re new. You’re going to get Follow-Up Needed, AKA (FUN). (Not so fun) So don’t beat yourself.  Just get the FUN resolved within 24 hours and learn from it.  Now after a month and you are still getting FUNs, you might want to think about an exciting career flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Just saying.
• IF you get a Follow-Up Needed, and no new photos are required, it is always easier to make form fixes on the website instead of the cellphone app.
• An inspection that requires an interior inspection, but does not have a lockbox, then you are to try your keys to get in. If the inspection shows you which keycodes to use, then make sure you take close-up photos of the key in the lock with the keycode showing. If there is a lockbox but it does not open, take close-up photos of the lockbox code provided to you on the report. Sometimes the last 4 digits of the loan number are the lockbox code. If there are no keys in the lockbox, take photos showing this. Then take photos of the middle third of any other exterior door to show that there is not a lockbox on any of those doors. Answer questions that may arise before they ask them. Prove that the doors cannot be unlocked.
• How do we treat No Tresspassing signs?
• Sign your texts and emails so we know who you are. If your email address is TRinspector@Gmail.com but your real name (the name we use for you in InspectorADE) is Bob Smith, then either change your email address to Bob.Smith@Gmail.com or sign your emails and texts with Bob Smith.
• What Your Email Address Says About You: https://nmfs.com/what-your-email-address-says-about-you-2/
  
• When texting us, always provide the ID# for a reference, not the client ID.
• Make sure you have two photos labeled Occupancy Verification (or whatever the client provides that is similar), even if it is vacant.  If it is occupied, we have to prove it.  If it is vacant, we have to prove it.
• Do not use your texting program to send us a text to our email addresses. Use text to text. All of our phone numbers receive texts.

What if people are outside when you get there?

You have several options. If it is a No-Contact inspection, you may want to come back in a couple of hours.  If it is not a No-Contact inspection you may want to get out of the car and walk up to them and say “Your mortgage company wanted me to take updated photos of the front of your property, did you want to be in the picture?” After doing this for nearly 40 years, that statement has always worked for me.  You ask it all in one breath. They usually will scurry to get out of the way. 

If the homeowner comes out and asks who sent you or what you are doing taking photos of their house, you can just say “I’m just doing a property inspection for your mortgage company.”  9 times out of 10 they will just say okay as if they know what you are talking about.  It’s all about how you carry yourself. 

Never ask the occupants for their permission to take photos of their house. You have a right to be there with an inspection that was ordered by their mortgage company. Just make sure you are at the right house! This is why it is always best to have your camera program on the app opened and ready to snap as soon as you pull up.

Review the Training

You can always log back into MortgageFieldServices.com and review the training. 

Getting Paid

Most companies in the mortgage field services industry are either Net-30 or Net-60 companies.  Net-30 companies create an invoice automatically for the previous month you completed inspections, and then pay you 30 days later, once a month. NMFS is a Net-30 company. Pay Policy.

Not for Everyone – Termination Form / Temporary Leave Form

We realize that this job is not for everyone.  You may get to your first inspection, it’s vacant, you walk up to the property, you twist your ankle in a hole you didn’t see, as you fall down your hand lands in a pile of dog poo.  You may say forget all this. Or for any number of reasons you may discover this is not for you. 

Since you are on a contract, you must end or terminate the contract. On this same website, there is a Forms tab on the menu. Scroll down to the form that says Termination of Contract.  Likewise, if you need to go on temporary leave, then you will also find the Temporary Absence form.

If you flat out quit (terminate your services) without at least a 14-day notice: Inspections due within 3 days due will receive a $25 flat fee chargeback as a reassignment fee. Termination of Contract Form: https://nmfs.wufoo.com/forms/nmfs-termination-of-services/

If you get COVID, the car breaks down, family emergency, or whatever, then let us know!
Temporary Absence Form: https://nmfs.wufoo.com/forms/temporary-absence/

Charge-Backs

Our clients are serious about our industry and assess charge-backs to our company when work is not completed on time. There are charge-backs for many reasons; not making calls to insurance loss inspections, not providing an ECD on a past due inspection, not resolving Follow-Ups promptly, reassignment fees for letting inspections go past due, etc.  You really need to find out what can take your money. On the top menu, there is a tab for Policies and Procedures. There you will find our Charge-back policies.

If You Like This Job

We want you to succeed and we understand if you need to seek more work that we cannot provide you. If you like doing inspections then you probably want to get more clients. Sometimes people quit because we cannot provide them with enough inspections. Please do not rely on NMFS for all your work orders.   That’s like being a dog groomer with only one dog a month. You’ll go broke fast. This is a business. You have your own company and you are the CEO of your own company. For those who end up with too many inspections, let Lori know and she can cut back your zip codes.  She can also increase your areas if you need to broaden your territory. On the top menu is a section for Industry Tips. In a submenu, you will find Additional Companies to Work for.  Try that as a start to finding more clients.