First inspection was a doozy

[Jason B. Damato]

I recently performed my first paid inspection. It was a ranch built in 1960 in an area of PA where there was no building codes ( not the home you want for a first inspection). The front section of the gable roof was reshingled, the rear was real bad, there was a 8 foot retaining wall 6 feet from the house that was bulging bad. It was made out of concrete block with several pieces missing/deteriorated/cracked and the electrical service coming in from the overhead line had no casing left on it. It also seemed undersized. The circuit panel was a 150 amp full panel. The aluminum wires were I believe 6 gauge and were tarnished possibly burnt at the main lug. The meter pan was a round style the same size as the meter.
Anyway I wrote up the service and retaining wall as a safety issue and the roof as deffered. There was several other small addressable issues such as the septic high level alarm not working. Did I do my job or was any of this out of context ?

[Bruce A. King]

Might want to get an experienced guy to go over the report with you.
Those type houses around here typically have around 60 issues but they have crawlspaces. I assume yours had a basement.
Some items can be consolidated in the report and result in about 40-45 line items.
How many total did you find on that one?

[Keith Runquist, CMI]

Jason, If you would like, send me the report with any pictures and I can critique it for you. Any of us would do that. My first inspection was similar but I also encountered a renter who did not know about the inspection and was asleep. I almost got shot. Life is fun sometimes If you want to send the report use reallearning@rushmore.com. What part of PA are you from? My wife grew up near Quakertown.

[Bob Elliott]

How long did this first one take you Jason?

[Charley L. Bottger]

I remember my first inspection was an old historical two story with basement I performed it one handed had my left hand bandaged from surgery. It was March 27 1997 how do I remember the date it was on my birthday. I have since inspected the same house again several years later. If you stay in this business you will look back at some of your first reports and say did I really say that??????

[Darin Redding]

Wording is everything. Make sure yours is rock solid before submitting to your client. I would be happy to review it.

[Jason B. Damato]

I had it reviewed byt someone but im more than willing to let you look at it.give me address to send t to.. My major concerns are the retaining wall and theservice wire

[Darin Redding]

See the email in my signature?

[Jason B. Damato]

I am from the saylorsburg area not far from quakertown ( about 1/2 hour ) It took me about 4 hours and there was a total of about 50-60 items found.

[Christopher Currins]

Originally Posted by jdamato

I am from the saylorsburg area not far from quakertown ( about 1/2 hour ) It took me about 4 hours and there was a total of about 50-60 items found.

Jason, click control panel at top left, edit details, and fill in where you live. It will help you in the future at getting help and answers here.

[James H. Bushart]

I think this was this guy's first inspection, too. You have to be pretty careful about sticking your head into confined spaces.

[Jason B. Damato]

HAHA, thanks.

[Darin Redding]

Jason - just sent you an email with your report and my comments. I also included one of my sample inspection reports for your review. Maybe it could be useful to you.

Hang in there - the first year can be a bear. Keep your head up, and look for opportunities to excel beyond your competitors. Many HI's do the same old thing with the same old software and very little separates them from the rest. Be different (within reason). Set up a referral program early. It works! Stand out, work your ***** off and you will gain market share in your service area. Oh, and keep coming here to ask questions. This community is one of your greatest assets.

Best of luck.