Labeling pictures (first inspection continued)

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For those that are interested, I am a new inspector about to take state exam. before I do, I want to do a complete inspection of the current property I’m renting, to help get a feel and remember requirements. If you’re not interested or only want non-constructive criticism then please go to a different post!!

Today I inspected the furnace, took pictures, then edited them at my computer.

How long should I be spending editing pictures? I posted them on the web at

https://bestpropertytulsa.wixsite.com/test

Just these pictures took around 40 minutes to download and edit in the comments.

  1. do you think its better to not edit photos themselves because it is time consuming, just include them in the relevant sections?

  2. Do you see anything I missed? or am I even being too picky? the furnace functions normally for medium efficiency furnace and I could not see the heat exchanger very good.

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Keep in mind, we do not rely on photo’s to narrate. Your defect narrative must stand on it’s own without a photo. Photos are for illustrative purposes only as a courtesy.

I may put in an arrow or two, but all that writing is not my style nor do I have the time. That will be up to you. (the report writing software you choose will make labeling photos easier if you continue with that)

So was it a class B vent or a single wall? You called out two different clearance tolerances.

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There were two types of vents… Coming straight from the unit and curving was a single wall galvanized vent, connecting to a normal B-vent, its hard to see with the picture but there are both

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I guess I’m wondering if its possible to do it without the software…basically do a written checklist, with pictures, and notes, come home and compile it… I can definitely see the benefit of the software… it is very time consuming to try to do this all manually and for each section would potentially mean I can only do one per day unless I get alot faster, but can I really expect much more business than that just starting off?

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$350/per inspection x 300/days/year = $105,000.00/year…not bad starting out.

I know the per inspection is low. You can plug in whatever your area will accommodate, money-wise.

Up your fee as you get better and regularly, though.

And, you can call around to see where others are at $ wise and start in the upper middle.

You will be known for the $ you charge and job you do. Don’t sell yourself short.

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hmmm I like it!.. beats driving a semi like most of my life!! I’ve always liked construction etc and watch videos on it, Probably the only guy you know that likes crawling crawl spaces lol, probably won’t feel like working… I’m really excited, but also a bit stressed about the test, I have read some really bad reviews about the state exams, dont want to get everyone started… but I’m not a fan of them, still have to pass though

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That’s the key, Dustin… do work that doesn’t feel like work.

Study, you’ll do fine.

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There are inspectors who do not use inspection software. Some use Word for example. They set up a template and run with it. I personally use an inspection software, I like it.

Speed comes with repetition. You will develop a style that begins to flow. In the beginning, I was one inspection a day. It was all I could handle and produce a product that would build a good reputation.

Best of luck on your test! Looks like you are going to do great.

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You cant go wrong with using inspection software. takes lots of time off report writing. having built in narratives, illustrations, photo editors, etc. can save hours per inspection. over time this adds up to so much time.

Home Inspection pro is good software, has templates based on Nachi SOP.

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