An Interview With Richard Law

Some interviews go so well they become a part of you – a carefully wrapped and stored event put away in a safe recess of your mind. The problem with this, however, is that is not the purpose of an interview at all.  Interviews are for display and sharing.  Interviews should enlighten, or entertain; maybe even warn.

I would be a little surprised if you said you do not know Mr. Richard Law.  Richard has been associated with the field services business for a long time.  He created the first and probably still the most comprehensive Field Services Directory available.  He created SOFI, the Society Of Field Inspectors.  And, if you snoop around the groups and the internet some, you will find evidence that Richard is going to bat for field inspectors in a pretty big way.  All in all, Richard is an advocate for all field inspectors.

Although I feel like I have known Richard Law for my entire life, I’ve never met the man.  I have talked with him on occasion off and on for about ten years so I was extremely happy when he accepted my request for this interview.  I was on the phone with Richard for well over an hour back before the holidays and my notes laid on my desk until the new year.  I was in real danger of keeping the interview tucked away in my memories but I finally set down to transpose.  So, here’s an interview with Richard Law.

Terry Platt:  Richard, I feel like I’ve known you all my life but of course I haven’t.  Would you mind giving us a little of your background?  Seems like I heard somewhere that you were in Military Intelligence.

Richard Law:  I was a Naval Flight Officer for twenty years.  I was in and out of squadrons and served on a carrier in the Tonkin Gulf.  I did a lot of intelligence gathering and training in a carrier jet and a four engine turbo prop.  All together, I spent twelve years in intelligence and retired at the rank of Commander.

Terry Platt:  What did you do then?  I know you spent some time around the Cape area.

Richard Law:  I worked with Computer Sciences Corporation.  I was a proposal manager for defense communication systems working with digital communications.

Then I worked with a major defense contractor, E-Systems – they’re now owned by Ratheon.  I worked with classified communications and spent a lot of time in Air Force One Operational Command at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C.

Terry Platt:  I’ve always thought it was neat how any aircraft carrying the president is named “Air Force One” when the President is onboard.  Even the Marine Corp. helicopter used to move the President around is called “Air Force One” when he’s aboard.  Isn’t that right?

Richard Law:  Yes.  I guess a golf cart could be “Air Force One” if it was carrying the President.

Terry Platt: All of that is so far removed from what we are doing today.  How did you get involved in the Field Services Business?

Richard Law:  I got tired of all the back door stuff and the security issues.  I was living in Virginia at the time and I got my real estate license there in 1992.  I upgraded to a Broker’s License and saw an ad in the Washington Post looking for someone to do inspections and property preservation.

Terry Platt:  So you started with inspections and property preservation?

Richard Law:  Yes, that’s right.

Terry Platt:  I guess most people know you for your National Field Service Directory and The Society Of Field Inspectors – SOFI.  Tell us about the SOFI manual.  How did that get started?

Richard Law:  I got a call from a lady, Karen Cuples, in Texas asking if I knew anyone in Texas that she could hire.  She said there was a need for a directory of some type.  I started with ten companies and ten inspectors that I printed and mailed.  It grew to fifty companies and fifty inspectors and by word of mouth it got bigger and bigger and starting costing more money to publish and distribute.

Terry Platt:  How big is your directory today?

Richard Law:  It has over 13,400 members. It’s 8,000 pages.

Terry Platt:  Richard, you are one of the few, maybe the only one, that has actually put some effort into training for field inspectors.  I remember calling you back when I started in the business.  You helped me and gave me some direction so I know you’re trying to help people out.  Tell us about your classes.

Richard Law:  There is a class once or twice a year.  The classes last four days.  We take one day to cover inspections and three days on Insurance Loss Control.  We discuss business development – how to talk, what to ask – that kind of stuff.  I tell a lot of jokes and show a lot of pictures.  We try to make it fun.  I’ve shown pictures of Lear Jets and say that’s how the nationals travel and I’ve shown photographs of pictures chained together with a big chain; just to show people how to keep the companies from loosing their pictures.

I talk about company benefits:  stuff like free play stations, Britney Spears CD’s, tickets to Disney World – fun stuff.

Terry Platt:  I know you’ve teamed up with someone on your Insurance Loss Control training classes.  Who is that?  Tell us about him.

Richard Law:  His name is Jim Julian.  He is a fire safety engineer and his company is Direct Loss Control Services.  We’re so confident in student satisfaction that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  That’s less the price of coffee and donuts, though.

Terry Platt:  How many students do you think you train in a year?  How many students total have you had?

Richard Law:  I’d say we train sixty to eighty people a year.  Maybe three hundred or so total over the years.

Terry Platt:  When is your next class?

Richard Law:  It’s February 7th thru the 10th at the Radison Hotel at Cape Canaveral.  The information is the second button at the SOFI web site.  (www.sofi-usa.com)

Terry Platt:  I know you have a lot going on with your groups and newsletters.  Tell us a bit about that.

Richard Law:  There’s three groups:  We have a chat group – which is a paid membership; there is a jobs group at www.Fieldinspector.com and I publish tidbits at www.sofitidbits.com.

Terry Platt:  I know you and I have some of the same goals but we are on different paths.  Give us your thoughts on the part of the business I work in – mortgage field services.

Richard Law:  I dislike the whole mortgage inspection business.  The companies play games, penalize their inspectors with chargebacks and generally pay low fees.  They have a habit of calling their reps “valued inspectors” and at the same time cut their fees.  I do not like the residential inspection business.  There is a lot of discontent with the bidding process and trip charges.  If you want to be in the residential side of the business, go to real estate brokers and get better rates.  It’s certainly not as good as it used to be.

Terry Platt:  Well, you’ve made it pretty clear how you feel about mortgage work.  What do you recommend?

Richard Law:  I think inspectors should look at business verification services and collateral inspections.  If these do not satisfy their income requirements, they should diversify and have multiple streams of income.  Do two, three or four different things.  I know one inspector who is a part-time actor, has a chauffer service and does field inspections.  He makes them all fit.  Become more diversified!

Terry Platt:  Okay.  Here’s a big one.  Tell us your vision of the future of this business.

Richard Law:  Mortgage services, meaning mortgage inspections is going to continue to be the problem area.  Even the large firms cut their staff and continue to play games.  Vendor managers are receiving gifts – they threaten reps with their coverage area.  Reps continue to sign away their rights.

Safety is another issue.  People are angry.  They are loosing their jobs and their houses.  I’ve heard of inspectors being threatened or chased.  One property preservation mechanic got shot.  People are even robbing churches.

Even with all this going on, other people are trying to get in the mortgage field service business:  realtors, mortgage bankers, notaries.  All of this is going to go on at least thru 2009 and into 2010.

In the commercial side of the business there is a higher quality of people.  More professionals are coming into the business and picking up merchant site verifications, business verifications and the like.  And, it’s very seldom a commercial inspection pays less than $40.  There’s lots of choices in commercial field services, the pay is better and there’s not as much stress.

Terry Platt:  Richard, I am going to let you go for now.  We’ve been at this for quite a while now.  I would like the opportunity to talk with you again later.  Maybe we can discuss some the letter writing you have been doing.

Richard Law:  Great.  Let’s do that.