I am just getting into being a Home inspector and trying to figure out how and what to use for inspection software.
I have a 15 day trial of the full Horizon software, Im new at so it seems awkward at using it. Do I want to spend the time in learning this software and spend $800.00 per year subscription?
Gary, there are many that you can try out free.
What is good for one inspector may not be good for a different inspector.
Good luck in your new startup.
$800 / year “subscription”??? That is a lot of money in my view that is simply recurring and does not need to be.
Buy a good product (as Larry noted you can test drive many of them) and pay for it once and you then own it.
I used Whisper Reporter and it’s predecessor for 18+ years. Many updates (all free) throughout each year as well.
Gary, I used Horizon when I first started out. It is a solid tool and even has the ability to edit reports in Microsoft Word now. I found it time-consuming to use because its library contains over 2000 defects. Short of memorizing the names and locations, beginners are reliant on its search feature, which doesn’t work well. Long and short of it, it was taking too much time for me to use because it was so inclusive.
Switching to Spectora, my reporting time has dropped from 2-4 hours per report to as little as 15 minutes.
That is largely because the default defect template (InterNACHI or ASHI) contain very few defects, and you’ll be spending countless hours building those templates over time.
But, building my templates up allows me a much deeper understanding of what my defects are called and their locations.
I also found Spectora to produce much more professional results overall. I’m not trying to sell Spectora here…I learned about it from watching a Ben Gromiko video on reporting.
Horizon is solid but just wasn’t for me.
This is good solid information, thank you!
Home inspector Pro is IMHO the best but most have free trials.
I started out with Horizon in 2005. I think I was one of their first users. It got way to expensive for me so I went To HIP. Better and waaaaay cheaper and much better support.
Cheers
Gary, I’m new as well and have been using Horizon since April. THere is a learning curve and I highly recommend you take the webinars to learn the basics.
You have to specifically ask about this part. They do have “packages” of reports rather than doing the month to month billing. You can purchase 20 or 25 credits (forget exact amount) at a time but it’s better than doing a monthly plan for me. I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of inspections in the beginning and didn’t want to commit that much to a certain format.
As for the look of the report, it’s very professional and I like the ease of navigating the finished product. However, you MUST devote time to setting it up and learning the ins and outs of writing the report. If you are willing to give it a try purchase some credits and do the webinar to learn!
A few cons are getting used to using it in general and setting it up. It is in depth but the results are worth it. I’ve gotten faster and learning more each time I use it. I wish they had a blog users could collaborate on to learn faster but maybe in the future. I’m looking around myself and hope I can settle into Horizon soon. Got about 12 credits left to figure it out!
