Looking for a form to have the client sign when they cancel the inspection during the inspection
It will never happen… Over book if you have that problem…Doctors do!
I recently had one cancel due to what was being found during the inspection.
I always addressed it with an email. I’ll see if I can dig one up.
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I have had this happen several times.
I would note in the report that only XXX portion of he inspection was performed and that the inspection was cancelled by the client.
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Found one. Short and sweet. Directly to the point. No discussion of why or of the house. Some houses are so bad, they just need to be put out of their misery. I never, ever produce a partial report in this situation.
Hello xxx,
This note confirms that at your request, the inspection of xxxx Darling Street, Unit A, scheduled for Thursday, September 5 at 10:00AM, was canceled shortly after starting. Because the inspection was canceled and the inspection was not performed, there will be no report. We will send you a separate invoice to cover our time and trip expenses.
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Thank You,that will work.
Perfect Chuck, thanks!
When I book a job, emails get sent out to the LA, SA informing them of the date & time and the agreement goes out to the client to sign, all done through the ISN.
In the event that they cancel, I send out the email below, which I also have a template for in the ISN.
To whom it may concern,
This message is to inform those involved that the home inspection scheduled for %inspectiondate% at the property located at %inspectionaddress% has been cancelled.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you.
Kevin M. Leonard
Ohio Home Inspector License # OHI.2019004560
Ohio WDI Inspector License # 93685
CMI, NACHI & ASHI Certified Inspector
Phone: 513-895-7700
Web: https://www.thehome-inspection.com/
Happens several times a year. I email the incomplete report to the client with the explanation that per the request of the client, the inspection was terminated before completion. So far, no problems with doing it that way.
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Curious, why you would publish an incomplete report in this scenario? The client has clearly already made their decision. It may be quite a challenge and involve a lot of departure provisions to publish an incomplete report without violating SOP or reporting requirements in a licensure state. It would be hard to argue that you did not perform an inspection when a report exists. I see no upside at all to doing so - only liability and wasted time in publishing a report that nobody wants for an inspection that didn’t happen.
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Avoid this problem by not discussing what you find until the inspection is over. If they ask tell them nicely you’re still looking at stuff. Limiting chit chat also means you’ll make better time…The seller may not want to return the clients deposit if there is no report and since you didn’t complete the inspection how can you provide a report…it’ll be a mess.
Thank You all,it was a foreclosure and the damage was very evident so they stopped the inspection.I hand wrote the that they stopped the inspection and they signed it.Just wanted to see if there was something everyone else used instead of hand written.Thanks Again for all the response.
I see it very differently. First, the report states that it was not completed at the request of the client. That covers my liability. If an inspector works with a state SoP that addresses what to do if the client says “Stop, we’ve seen enough!”, then they should follow their state SoP.
Secondly, I am still paid and the client gets a report that they paid for.
Of the hundreds of early terminations that I’ve had over the years, I’ve never had any problem doing it this way. As a side note, some years back, I heard my client express to their agent how happy they were to get a four bedroom house for this price. I said, “Actually, this is a three bedroom house.” After confirming my count, they immediately terminated the inspection. Ooops! A few weeks later, I was inspecting a four bedroom house for them.
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That is exactly how I see it. In addition to that, most of the as is contracts require a reason the deal was not consummated. That is why I issue a report of what was inspected.
I have run into the 3, 4, 5 bedroom situation as well. I do a permit search on every home I inspect as well as research on the countys appraiser site.
Listing: Beautiful remodeled 4-bedroom home.
Permit search: No permits for any work found.
Appraiser site: 3 bedroom… 
Depends on the state. In TX, the buyer can cancel during the option period for any reason and does not have to provide the reason.
From time to time, I have buyers that have already changed their mind about the purchase even before the inspection. For some reason they think they need to use findings in the report to terminate the contract.
I explain that they can terminate for any reason (changed mind, don’t like the neighborhood, etc.) and can cancel the inspection to save the money. For whatever reason, each one of them wanted me to proceed & hired me to perform their next one.
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Recission of Contract.pdf (36.4 KB)
Here is one that Bob Pearson gave me (formally with Allen Insurance now Inspector Pro)
Thank You Ken,it’s what I was looking for.
Looks good Ken. But curious—shouldn’t one have some clause about being compensated for lost time and mileage?