All Day!!

[Stephen Root, CMI]

Originally Posted by Jeff Knight

Stephen,
You are looking at the wrong software then...you need to use software that can be used to collect your data AS you do your inspection and then print it directly without doing ANY work at the office. Using a checklist type of report form on a huge house like that is almost an impossible task. You can't just automatically add multiple water heaters or multiple kitchen sinks to a paper form automatically where a computer program can.

No disrespect intented Jeff, but the type of checklist report I (we) use does allow me to add an additional plumbing page, or electrical page, or whatever page is needed ...it might take me an axtra 3 or 4 minutes to do so. This is still (in my opinion) way better than spending hours of "home time" finishing the report as stated by dmacy (again - no offence or disrespect meant towards dmacy). Some of the information is written right on the report as I go, and the rest of the info is written in after I'm done with the inspection. For example...if I have a 2-1/2 to 3 hour inspection (lets say a 2500 square foot home), I then have about 15 minutes of paperwork to do, approximately 10 minutes to go over the report with the customer (excluding of course the occasional nightmare inspection), in which case I still only have probably 15 or 20 minute review with the customer. At that point...here is your report and invoice...I collect the check and I am DONE with that inspection, and go on to the next.

I have performed litterally thousands of home inspections over many years and I still feel this system works the best for me. I'm honestly telling you the truth when I say that Realtors and the buyers him (or her) self prefer my inspection report over a computer generated program report simply because of the ease of reading and understanding it. Most home buyers today have had home inspections done before on properties previously purchased. So many of the computer generated reports read like a novel...people don't understand them...if they read them through at all. As I previously stated in an earlier post, I think a 10 year old could read this report, AND UNDERSTAND IT (quickly).

One thing I did leave out...you MUST have good legible handwriting.

Steve

[Brian A. MacNeish]

My self-generated report sounds a lot like yours although I don't write stuff in as I inspect. Spend about 1/2 printing it in later......doctor's handwriting problem!!

My question: How can you spend only 10 minutes with the client afterwards?? I'm usually 30-60 minutes on every house.

[Jeff Merritt]

Sounds like it needs a cat D9 bulldozer description.

[Stephen Root, CMI]

Originally Posted by Brian A. MacNeish

My self-generated report sounds a lot like yours although I don't write stuff in as I inspect. Spend about 1/2 printing it in later......doctor's handwriting problem!!

My question: How can you spend only 10 minutes with the client afterwards?? I'm usually 30-60 minutes on every house.

If the client is on site, he has seen most of the issues as you go along, so when you go over the report, he already knows what you're talking about.

That's one thing that I never understood, is that some home inspectors don't want the client at the inspection...WHY? It makes your job so much easier if you find something unusual on the inspection, you can show them. Then when you go over the report with them, or they read it later, they understand what you are saying, and don't have to make those annoying phone calls asking you to explain what you meant.

Unless the customer is extremely "anal", my review of the report is ten minutes or less. Don't get me wrong...I also get that "anal" customer too from time to time, but you learn over time, to deal with them in such a way that time is not much of an issue with them either.

I apologize to the "new" inspectors out there that think I'm making this sound too easy, but I have been inspecting homes for at least 14 years, and with time comes confidence, a little more speed, and just a working system that gets you through the inspection process more professionally, and quickly. It becomes quicker to head off stupid, or redundant questions easier and faster.

God Bless the home inspection industry and NACHI, it has provided for a good life for me, and I hope it continues to do so for years to come.

Sorry...I know my posts tend to be a bit long winded...Sorry again...