Picking up from another thread on a different topic.
I agree that report writing takes almost as long as the inspection and sometimes longer. There are software solutions that speed up data input to some degree but those reports usually migrate into longer products that end up taking as much or more time. I see long reports and short reports that cause me to question. However, this is a consulting business based on first impression personal opinion and it is impossible to cause reports to be similar regarding the same house. Over-regulation has proved that.
Regulation contributes to the problem by requiring reporting items that are no longer relevant when the cost of the home is concerned. The product has become overdeveloped from a regulatory perspective. If you want to do a 50-page report then fine do it. If you want to do a 3-page report then fine do it. Just make sure your contract says what you’re going to do. There is a market for a lesser inspection. if the client agrees to the service no one should judge the inspector.
Sorry. The thread I broke away from discussed how report writing became longer with experience. Mixed into that prior thread was criticism on lesser reports. My point is that over-regulation can contribute to longer report writing and that we should not be too quick to judge others. Deus solus me iudicare potest.
I scanned Florida regs. Do you get to choose which Standard you use? Do you have reasonable authority to modify those Standards to suit the services you offer?
“468.8321 Disclosures.—Prior to contracting for or commencing a home inspection, a home inspector shall provide to the consumer a copy of his or her license to practice home inspection services in this state and a written disclosure that contains the scope and any exclusions of the home inspection.”
This would seem self-evident in a free market, where a consumer could choose the service that best fits their perceived need, so long as the provider advertises the service that they provide and delivers the service that they advertise. There are consumers for both ends of the service spectrum, but overregulation interferes with consumers having a choice. If a consumer wants an inspection that only highlights major defects vs oven calibration testing and water meter location identification, they should have that option in the market.
When I came to Texas, I was surprised at how un-Texas-like home inspection regulation seemed to be (i.e., over-regulated). It has gone much farther in that direction since that time.
Part of the reason for complexity is TREC is using education to generate revenue. They have extensive education requirements and control. They review everything for a fee, approve it for a fee and then require renewal for a fee. They also keep changing the rules causing education providers and students to scramble to get updated. Some students have to retake classes. The Rules are extremely complicated compared to other states. There seems to be a “global economy” type of thing going on.
ARELLO is a trade association of regulatory agencies. Yes! Regulatory agencies band together to discuss regulation, although they pledge to not cause statutes. :> They get together and discuss ways to streamline and interact. ARELLO has an education approval process for online classes. TREC has integrated some of ARELLO into its course approval process. TREC is a leader in ARELLO integration of the regulatory process. Why ARELLO? The TREC Executive Director is an ARELLO Director; The former TREC Administrator is an ARELLO Trustee. TREC sends TREC employees to ARELLO conferences (Hawaii this year). A former TREC General Counsel is on the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors and also attends ARELLO. The Chair of the TREC Education Committee (the Rule proposers) is the wife of a recently retired TREC Commissioner and they served concurrently for years. (Uh honey, can you pause the TV? What do you think about this education idea? Sounds good? Maybe the committee will propose a Rule for the Commissioners to vote on."
The only reason inspection is caught up in this is because we are managed by the same agency as real estate agents. The money is in 130,000 real estate agents and not 3,500 inspectors. Inspection just kind of gets caught up in this “public protection” money mill.
InterNACHI is brilliant and is helping inspectors. They are getting many of their courses approved by ARELLO which in turn makes them more widely accepted. Good job InterNACHI.