You are looking to get some bids for repairing your foundation problems and are *taken aback* by the fact that Anchor Foundation Repair charges an inspection fee for In-Home Assessments. Other companies don’t charge for this . . . why in the world would there be a charge for this??
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have been helping homeowners by inspecting and repairing Brazos Valley foundations since 1985. We believe there’s a lot more to a foundation inspection than just “getting a price” for repairs and can back that up with a bit of explanation.
This article will explain why Anchor charges for In-Home Assessments to get a quote for foundation repairs. We will also explain what you get during your assessment time with us and how it’s worth it for homeowners in the end.
What Is a Foundation Inspection?
First, let’s just make sure we are all on the same page with what the term “home foundation inspection” means. A home foundation inspection is done by a foundation repair professional who comes to your house, looks at the foundation for issues, and tells you how much it will cost to fix those issues.
This act of inspecting your foundation goes by a lot of different names that all mean just about the same thing. You might also see or hear things like this:
- Get a Quote for Foundation Repair
- Foundation Repair Bid
- Foundation Inspection
- Home Foundation Assessment
- Repair Quote for Foundations
- Foundation Consultation
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we officially call it an In-Home Assessment but also use all these other terms just to keep things *fun and interesting* for everyone.
What You Should Get From A Foundation Inspection
As explained above you should get the following things out of any foundation inspection:
- A professional looking at your home,
- Verification of Your Foundation Problems,
- A Contracted Cost to Repair Confirmed Foundation Issues, and
- A Detailed Repair Plan.
The one that sticks out the most to me here (as a homeowner and consumer myself) is Number 2: Verification of Your Foundation Problems. You see, technically a foundation repair company is selling their foundation repair services to you and they want you to buy them. This is one of the tricky things about hiring a foundation repair contractor.
Think a little about other sales-based industries like car sales for example. Most of the time, the salesman will make a commission based on the total price of the car. The more expensive the car, the higher the commission. Foundation repair companies are similar in that they are sales-based.
So if you are not sure if you even really have a foundation problem, or don’t feel confident about how much foundation repair you need, do you feel like you might be at a disadvantage?
Someone could come out and say, “Oh yes, you for sure have a severe foundation problem (even if you don’t), and it’s going to cost XYZ dollars to fix it. And by the way, you really need to get it done right now because it’s really bad. In fact, I’ll give you a special price if you sign a contract today.”
This is not a nice feeling and we understand that.
Why Does Anchor Charge a Fee for In-Home Assessments?
We charge for our In-Home Assessments because we want you to know that you are getting an impartial assessment with no strings attached. You are paying us for our time and expertise up front and we are giving you our honest opinion on your foundation situation.
We will be the first to tell you if we don’t think you need foundation repairs and offer alternatives if we think they will benefit you.
Companies who might give away their time with a *free* inspection are in a position to make a sale to make their visit to your home worth their time. You are paying for their time somehow, it’s just built into the price that you are quoted for the foundation repairs.
We feel like it’s more honest to go ahead and charge you for our time, our knowledge, and our honest opinion, just as you would pay a doctor or lawyer for their opinion. Do doctors and lawyers give away free assessments usually? No, you pay for the work that they do for you and don’t feel strange about it.
So when people ask us, “Why do you charge for this service?” Our first thought is, “Why do you think the other guys do them for free?”
We have specifically designed our In-Home Inspection process to take away the homeowner’s disadvantages and hesitations. We want to empower you with knowledge, confidence, and control over your foundation repair decisions with the following service features offered with an Anchor Foundation Repair assessment:
- We have hundreds of articles transparently telling you about foundation problems, foundation repair, and the foundation repair industry as a whole.
- We offer a free phone estimate before coming out to your home.
- We allocate at least 2 hours to every In-Home Assessment.
- We charge a fee and ask you to pay for our inspection services because it’s much more than just coming out for 15 minutes and giving you a price.
Speaking of service features, we also have service features during the repair process that set us apart from the competition if you’re curious.
How Can You Avoid the Fee for Inspections with Anchor?
There is one true way to fully avoid the fee for an Anchor In-Home Assessment for foundation repairs, and that’s by being a veteran of the US Armed Forces. Our company has a strong personal history in serving our country and this is a small way to thank others for the same. But not everyone is a veteran, we know this only applies to a few people.
Good news though, there are a couple of other *loopholes* that can help you to avoid foundation inspection fees.
- Evaluate Problems and Estimate the Cost of Foundation Repair On Your Own
- Do the Free Estimate Phone or Video Call First
- Use Anchor for Your Foundation Repairs
Of course, I am going to expand on these opportunities you have to *possibly* bypass the inspection fees.
1. Evaluate and Estimate the Cost of Foundation Repair On Your Own
Let’s be real. Foundation repair is expensive and sometimes homeowners are not ready to handle the cost. We have resources and tools available for you to determine whether you have a legitimate problem or not and estimate costs as well.
Would you rather find out sooner and at no cost that you do not have a problem? Check out these guides that help homeowners discover both the misleading and the true signs and symptoms of foundation problems:
Is Foundation Repair Needed? Real and False Problem Signs (Picture Guide)
Slab Foundation Repair Symptom Checker + Worry Meter Tool (Download)
Would you rather find out without extra costs to you that you are not comfortable with the price of foundation repairs and need more time to save or plan for the expense? Check out these articles for guidance on DIY pricing estimates:
Average Cost of Foundation Repairs: Pressed Pilings vs. Drilled Piers
Calculate Slab Foundation Repair Costs: How Many Supports Do I Need?
2. Do the Free Estimate Phone or Video Call First
Many homeowners are not entirely sure that they really have a foundation problem. Many homeowners might feel confident that they have an issue but are not sure if it’s a major or minor issue that could wait. We offer a *free phone/video estimate* session first to talk through the foundation problem signs you are seeing in your home along with your concerns.
This gives you and Anchor a chance to figure out:
- If you indeed have a foundation problem,
- If it’s the type of problem that we can help you with,
- If our timelines align for getting the work completed, and
- If you are comfortable with the pricing estimate.
You see, we don’t want to collect money from you just to come out and determine that you don’t have a foundation problem or if it’s not quite the kind of thing we can help you with.
We also want to verify that we can get the work done for you when you are needing it done and are okay with at least a ballpark figure. I cannot stress enough that we do not want to collect the money for a paid In-Home Assessment from you if we cannot meet your timing needs and cost parameters.
It’s just a waste of time for everyone involved if there are reasons our services won’t work for you.
We would rather figure out that we are not a good match before we come and save you the money and us a trip. So we developed a first step to the foundation assessment process with the opportunity for a free phone/video consultation.
You might wonder how we can tell anything about your foundation problems from pictures and videos. We have another article that explains why and how we can do this here: “How to Know if Your Home Has Foundation Problems.”
3. Use Anchor for Your Foundation Repairs
If you end up using Anchor Foundation Repair’s services, the amount you paid for the In-Home Assessment is applied to your final bill. So, if you use us, it ends up being at no additional cost to you above the cost of the repairs.
We just feel it’s way more transparent for homeowners to see that there is a cost as well as value to the services we provide during the inspection process and know that there is a charge for it.
So just to make sure this is clear – if you end up using Anchor Foundation Repair, there is no extra cost to you for the inspection.
We Offer 100% Honest and Transparent Foundation Repair Info
Now that you know a little more about why we charge for our time to conduct a thorough In-Home Assessment of your foundation problems, what other questions do you have?
We do not want Brazos Valley homeowners to feel like there are any secrets or insider information about home foundations. So we developed a library of hundreds of articles transparently telling you about foundation problems, foundation repair, and the foundation repair industry as a whole.
To feel completely in the know about pricing, methods, and *all things under the foundation repair sun*, check out Our Learning Center now and type your next question into the search bar.
