Any tips? Been using InspecIT and having a section for EVERY room in home. Today I am going to try and reduce sections a little. Going to combine Living Room/Dining Room.
Then have a section called Bedrooms. Any tips to quickly remember where issues are? with just one section, what is there is an open ground in one bedroom, and a broken ground in different bedroom?
I took a pic of the entry door and then used a retractable pointer from back par enough to get orientation in the room.
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Sounds like your doing reports by room. This creates a very long report. It is probably safe to say, most of us do reports by system.
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That could use some expounding 
Agree, certainly as I look into other software it is system based. Having said that, how can I help client and agents know which rook has the issue?
I use a check list that comes from my software. I mark the system type, age, etc and make notes of any defects. You know, like middle bedroom window falls, hall bath right vanity has S-trap.
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Yep, I got started room by room and that worked good for me and my routine.
The pointer was like an old antenna that extended out to 8’, or so, with a red arrow on the end and would fit in my pouch. I would extend it enough to get other things in the room to make clear where I was e.g. a window, a closet, a ceiling light, stain, piece of furniture, etc.
Rarely, I had to report the location within the report.
So you had the customer match up the picture with the pointer to the actual room? In other words, if there are 10 bedrooms in a house, how does the customer know which one of the 10 you are referring to or the picture is of (not the actual defect in that particular room, pointed out with a red pointer).
You don’t need to specify the actual problem, just that one or more outlets are miss-wired and the possible ramifications (electrical shock, dead outlet, etc. For identification go to Office Depot or Staples and buy the removable dot stickers. when you come to a problem outlet put a sticker on it. For the report you only need to photograph one outlet with a dot sticker. For GFCIs I spell out the specific location; kitchen basement bath, etc.
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B-1-1st floor-north, B-2-1st floor -n/e, B-3-2nd floor-east, B-4- 2nd floor-south, etc. on report…clock-wise, on each floor starting rt. front of home…for instance.
It worked for me and, I think I had 3 to 5 calls since starting that way, in all the years.
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I believe this is what the OP was asking about
I agree that the room by room approach creates very long reports. I use small colored stickers and write the issue on them, then stick it to the outlet that has the issue. Under the general sections about outlets, I would then list it as something like this: “Outlet with green sticker in master bedroom has hot/neutral reverse”.
This should help keep your reports shorter while conveying the location and message.
Your method is identical to mine without the hot / neutral reversed clause. Agents and clients rarely understand what that means, and my experience with agents is if they don’t understand it they just gloss over it unless the client makes an issue of it. Better to tell them they could get shocked! They understand that…EEK!
Exactly! My software has a click button that adds a “shock hazard” icon next to the text. That helps it stand out in the report…
Call me old school, but I do the interior section of my reports by room. My software allows me to create and name a room on the fly, this is simply a room that I already have created in my software that I am able to copy and rename, for instance on todays inspection I created a home theater, a billiards room, a workout room, and a lower level bedroom as I was doing the inspection. Each room already has wall, ceiling, floor, doors, windows, and electrical component’s defects already there, I can also take a picture using my phone and it adds it automatically to that line in the report.
My average report is 50 pages, but more importantly, my clients appreciate the thoroughness and specificity of my reports. Realtors like it as well.
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Mark,
Develop a pattern on how you inspect a house. I take a minimum of two trips around the exterior (counter clockwise) one up close and one farther away. Inside I start at the front door and again go counter clockwise, then upper floors again counter clockwise, then the basement. I end up with the attic spaces, where the geometry dictates my path. Finally I save the crawlspace for last. I take 300 to 400 photos on every house just to document what was there. Back at my office I go through the photos and pull out any issues I want to put in my report. I lump all the interior rooms together except the garage, kitchen and bathrooms. If you follow a consistent pattern you can visually retrace your steps by looking at the photos in sequence. I you have a random pattern of inspection your more likely to miss something. I have to confess I have a Type A personally, so being organized come natural. I can’t say the same for my wife. 
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Wow what a time saver!!! Not only on prepping for the inspection, but Also the doing and writing of report. Should have done this years ago
That’s one of the reasons I liked room by room, Kevin. And, my reports were 30 to 50 pages, generally.
I use reports by the room. For each room that has multiples, I rename it so it is clear. Instead of the report saying bedroom 2, bedroom 3, bath 3, etc, I will rename NW bedroom, SW bedroom, Middle bedroom, kitchen bath, etc. That avoids confusion, until the client can’t tell direction, then you might have to do direction plus decor, like NW Pink bedroom, SE crib bedroom.
Remember, the realtor/lawyers will pull our reports apart and only use bits and pieces for what they need, so make each comment complete with the location as well as the defect. Whenever I write a comment or defect I always start by saying what room it is in, like “NW pink bedroom had a broken electrical cover plate on the west wall”. Then when that comment gets pulled and put into the summary, or gets put on the client’s list of items for seller to fix, they don’t have to describe where it is. Initially I had several sellers contact me for further info on where the comment was because the realtor simply copied the comment from the report and failed to add what room. Make the comment stand alone by indicating where it is, what is wrong, and what needs to be done. Similar with pictures, always indicate what room you are in and what the defect is, don’t just say in the NW bedroom section “broken cover plate on outlet”.
Thank you, when defects are found in different rooms. I agree, and as mentioned this is the way I did things for 8 years. Issue is that I would spend the time BEFORE the inspection and study every picture available on MLS and Realtor.com. Breaking down EVERY Room and prepping my software InspectIT(which really is old and I am on the hunt for a new one) So. lets say its new construction 4 bedrooms, a sun room, a family room etc. and everything is fine. That extra 20 minutes spent prepping was a waste of time. Been doing 2-3 a day. it all adds up