No SupraKey, No Referrals

[Brian E. Kelly]

Originally Posted by dduffy

RR, what is an A/V inspecting system?

You had to ask didn't you???

Audio Visual. Instead of performing the inspection onsite, he videos it, takes it home, has his cat watch it and tell him what the he77 was looking at.

[ccurrins]

Originally Posted by bkelly2

You had to ask didn't you???

Audio Visual. Instead of performing the inspection onsite, he videos it, takes it home, has his cat watch it and tell him what the he77 was looking at.

Then he helps write the report.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by bkelly2

Audio Visual. Instead of performing the inspection onsite, he videos it, takes it home, has his cat watch it and tell him what the he77 was looking at.

ROTFLMAO!

Zoey's becoming quite good at telling me what the he77 I did when I left her all alone for two hours while I was at a McMansion doing an inspection.

About half of my inspections have always been writing down stuff or check items on my field work sheets: concrete driveway and walkways, stucco exterior, stucco chimney, modified gable roof, concrete tile roof, copper plumbing, etc. Now all I do is spend the first 30 minutes walking around with my digital camera, which takes digital audio and video, and scan what I'm looking at and describe it at the same time. Then I go do the inspection--testing the heating and cooling, testing the kitchen appliances, testing the light switches/lights, testing the sinks/showers/toilets, etc. While I'm testing, I can also pull out the digital camera and do an a/v scan of the appliance, dictating to myself the descriptive stuff and any problems that are visible. Then I go home and have Zoey watch the video and compose the report.

Overall my new system is saving me about thirty minutes per 1,000 square feet. That has allowed me to come home between inspections (something that didn't use to be possible, and spend 30-60 minutes doing the report. Quite often, I'm finished with the early morning inspection report before I head out for the afternoon inspection. And since I've been doing this, I've always been finished with 2-4 inspection report by the time Will & Grace comes on at 11:00 p.m. That has also given me more time to visit my wise old grandmother.

I had tried to use a digital recorder several years ago, but I didn't like the fact that the digital part was indigenous to the recorder. The digital camera has a 2 GB (cost $9.99 on sale at Frys) SD card which I have a lot of experience with, so I'm very comfortable with it.

A few weeks ago I was taking some pictures of Zoey (duh!) when I noticed the camera wasn't working properly. As I turned it every which way to look at it, I noticed that the picture screen said "recording." Huh? Ultimately, I found out that with the little 128 MB SD card I had at the time, I could record for six minutes. Since the 128 MB SD card was tops of the technology heap back in 2003 when I bought the cameras, I decided to see what the latest technology provided and found the 2 GB SD card for $9.99. Just yesterday I bought two more 2 GB SD cards for two other cameras, one for Jim and one for his mother. I discovered then that they now have 8 GB SD cards ($34.99). As soon as they go on sale, I'll be buying one of them for my business camera, which should allow me to do four SFR A/V inspections in one day without switching cards.

Of course, now I'm the "low-balling, beholden-to-Realtors, scum-sucking inspector who's in and out in less than two hours." Ah, well, I don't really care what other home inspectors think of me, only what my Clients think of me, and my reputation with my Clients and their Realtors with my new A/V system seems to be spreading very rapidly. The daylight hours are the most precious for most people, so if you can save time for other working people who need those precious daylight hours, you can make a lot of money. After all, as my wise old grandmother said, "Time is money."

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by ccurrins

Then he helps write the report.

Actually, I haven't had to write a report for about four years now. Rather, I "compose" them through a combination of dictation, typing, inserting, cutting and pasting, etc.

With my new A/V inspection system, composing those reports is easier than ever. As I learned 35 years ago in public speaking class, audiences will remember more of the presentation if they get audio, video, and a handout. It's the same here: I video what I'm looking at, describe it for the audio, and when it gets to testing, jot down whether or not the durn thing worked.

I'm simply doing an audio/visual/handout inspection to myself, so I tend to remember a heck of a lot more, making the report-writing process go so much faster. In many cases with the condos and smaller homes, I don't even have to watch the video to do the report; I can zip through it very easily based just on my memory. Of course, that's presuming that I come back to the office after each inspection (or sit at the beach with my laptop after each inspection). I found that when I have to go from one inspection directly to the next, I tend to forget what I did at the first inspection. But with inspection times decreasing from about 1½ hours for every 1,000 square feet to about 1 hour for every 1,000 square feet, it's very easy to start, and sometimes finish, the report before going to the next inspection.

[ccurrins]

Originally Posted by rray

Of course, that's presuming that I come back to the office after each inspection (or sit at the beach with my laptop after each inspection).

I'm jealous, I need a beach, it's just not the same setting on a river bank.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by ccurrins

I'm jealous, I need a beach, it's just not the same setting on a river bank.

Head on over to Douglas, Michigan. That was my hangout when I worked in Detroit back in 1994. Every weekend I was off to Douglas.

[Steven C. Meyer]

Did the cat also pass the home inspection exam??? WOW

Might want to introduce the cat to Molly!!!

They would make a heck of a team!!!

Originally Posted by bkelly2

You had to ask didn't you???

Audio Visual. Instead of performing the inspection onsite, he videos it, takes it home, has his cat watch it and tell him what the he77 was looking at.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by Steven C. Meyer

Did the cat also pass the home inspection exam???

Nah. Zoey was too busy jumping in and out of boxes.

[Darren Spencer]

I use to have one. I turned it in, plus its is nice for Realtor to show up so I can give out my Business cards and it is their job. I also do not want to be responsible for locking up and taking care of the property, missing items etc... I have not lost an inspection due to this.

[Michael Vanek]

They Removed it from us in Marion County due to a Termite Inspector. Havent had it for almost 2 years now. I miss it.

[Charles L. Harper]

I love my SupraKey. I like "missing" agents and all their drama. Besides that - they're always late to an inspection. My time is valuable too.

[rramsey]

After reading many posts in the marketing section and utilizing others experience (mostly from Russell Ray) of "delivering all services possible to obtain and retain business", I have a SUPRA key with access in 9 surrounding counties. I never need a CBS code and do not wait on ANY agents for information or access to perform my inspections after final scheduling ( electronic signature of Pre Inspection agreement with Credit card info) with clients. Over 90 % of my inspections are referred by agents because I make it easy ( they can stay in bed til 10:00 am) for them. I get paid before I deliver a report and my reports (unfortunately) break over 20 % of the transactions I inspect due to problems found ( Redneck construction that cannot read codes- Grandad did it this way for 40 years).

SUPRA has saved me over a 100 wasted hours in the last twelve months and allowed me to work for agents that would not have used my services and/or referred me if not for this service.

With over 40 years in the construction, service, sales, inspection, quality control and home building industry with bonding, liability, multiple state licenses, federal certifications and "stub your toe" insurance, I am tired of waiting on others to perform their "Customer Service tasks" and interracting with mostly lazy people; I believe- Everyone should do what works for their locale.

[Russell J. Hensel]

I am LOST.....I was told a Florida Home Inspector was not legally allowed to have a Supra Key. It made sense to me. Florida Home Inspectors have no licensing...so ANYONE can become a home inspector in this state. So now they are giving out Supra Keys to guys who have no been legally cleared and pass NO regulations and have access to multi million dollar homes? This is crazy! Realtors go through a background check...Your telling me I can just get a Supra Key? How is this done? Company has been around for 25 years.........it has never had one...Please fill me in.

[Russell Spriggs]

We were able to rent them in Colorado, but now in Idaho His are not given the opportunity.
Neither state has licensing.
If background checks are the issue, I'd like the CMI committee to go to bat for us CMI members to get access - life was so much easier with one!

[Greg Bell]

Originally Posted by rhensel

I am LOST.....I was told a Florida Home Inspector was not legally allowed to have a Supra Key. It made sense to me. Florida Home Inspectors have no licensing...so ANYONE can become a home inspector in this state. So now they are giving out Supra Keys to guys who have no been legally cleared and pass NO regulations and have access to multi million dollar homes? This is crazy! Realtors go through a background check...Your telling me I can just get a Supra Key? How is this done? Company has been around for 25 years.........it has never had one...Please fill me in.

You can get one through your local board of realtors. But the key you get will not open ever supra lock. You will need a special code for the lock that you want to access with your key. The listing agent will supply you with the special code.