Maybe software that automatically does the photos and makes annotation easy would help. 
No question I need better software…
But…
Have you ever seen a “real” basement, and all the issues associated ??? :p:D
I’ve seen some crazy basement posts Brian. But the fact is that it adds areas they have to inspect. Some of these house are 100 years old (like one Joe Tribuzio posted last week) and have all sorts of problems. Plus, what’s the average age of the house you inspect? I bet it’s around 15-20 years old max. How many a week are < 5 years?
I was thinking that too 
Hey Jeffrey, want to work off a copy of HIP in trade for cookies?
Name your terms Sir!!! 
I’ll send you a pm with my demands
Oh my it is old what am I to do??? You are kidding right???
We were talking about data entry Dom.
How many times does one need to see an old home before one realizes they are looking at an old home???
Look, if 2 to 3 hours is an acceptable time for someone to enter the data of their findings, so be it. It can be done faster.
PS exactly how much time does a Termite inspection, and a pool and spa add Dom???
I agree, 2 to 3 hours is too long. But a 50-100 year old home is more likely to take longer to do the report as it likely to have more problems. In certain areas of the country the average house is 50 years old, meaning more to report on. I look at reports guys upload all the time. Most reports from California and Arizona are a lot shorter than reports from colder states. You’re right, some guys do termite inspections which will also make your report time. You are right about pools, though some guys skip the pool and refer it out. And in other areas inspectors have to add radon report time.
So what I’m saying is there’s multiple variables that can extend the length of time a report needs to be done. A 100 year old house, with a basement, radon test, termite, infrared and a pool is going to take longer than a 5 year old house on a slab foundation with a pool.
The point is Mike’s trying to get an idea of how long it takes to do a report, so it helps to say what your report includes to compare apples to apples. Some guys annotate photos like mad men and include 70 photos, some don’t annotate at all and include 10.
Dom, you can continue on with all of the imaginary reasons on why houses are soooooo much different you want. 
50 year old homes here do not take any time at all as they are pretty much all the same, and much smaller than newer homes.
It is BASIC DATA ENTRY Dom.
Some people type fast, some do not, some have software that easily helps with adding and annotating photos, some do not.
Some realize the value of TEMPLATES and not DUPLICATING work and some may think that there is something special about starting form scratch each time.:shock:
It is all apples an oranges Dom. :mrgreen:
More than 1 hour for data entry is a loooooong time.
Yup.
My approx. breakdown of homes inspected (2009):
5% <10 years old
10% >10 years & <25 years
45% >25 years & <50 years
30% >50 years & <100 years
10% >100 years
0% Slab on grade
10% Raised foundation/crawlspaces
90% Basements, including… full unfinished, full finished, full partial finished, partial unfinished, partial finished, partial partial unfinished, and any other weird combination you can dream up.
Yes, age does matter, as well as the basement configuration. Many basements have multiple (extra) (divided) rooms, still have the old coal shutes and storage rooms, cisterns, “Dorothy” doors with steps, sealed off sections that you can barely shine a flashlight into, and all kinds of things you have probably never seen. Don’t begin to tell anyone that inspects basements that it does not add to the report time, because if you have not spent years inspecting them, you are only talking out your rear end.
You will never get an arguement from me on this.
That is why I am caving in to Dominics demands!!! :twisted:
I agree on the time issue.
Yes, it’s basic data entry. And the more data you have to enter, the longer it will take. I agree with you 100%.
The reason that people take longer often has to do with the software’s photo handling, the number of photos (there’s a big difference between 10 photos and 80 photos annotated) and their personal typing speed (if you type slow, seriously consider getting a program like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, I used to teach HS students with it and they’d go from 15 words per minute to 40 words per minute in 3 months at 15 minutes a day).
Good for you Jeffery. Then if there are typical houses you inspect you may consider templates.
If there is one thing I have learned over the years, there is no such thing as typical (at least in my area). We’re talking (example) a standard farmhouse, 100-115 years old, that kept getting added onto as more and more children were born, and the room was needed. Some of these homes are a history lesson, as you go room to room.
Anyway, yes, templates will definately be utilized.
Thanks for the discussion.
About 1 hour.
Averages:
House here is a slab on grade, 1800 sq. ft., CBS construction, 2 car garage, 11 years old, with a pool and in ground lawn sprinkler system. (Oh, how I love this area!!)
HomeGauge, 25 to 35 photos, templates are well set up, 30 to 45 minutes.
To me, these are the keys, # of pics to annotate and include and # of pics to go through to decide what;s in the report or not. If you take 100 pics and 50 go in the report, you still have to go through 100 pics.
Templates being set up is huge! The less you have to type (rather than simply clicking) the faster you will go.
IMO,
Also depends on the house and how much is wrong with it. More defects = more data to enter.
Did a 1,500 sq ft (50 year old home) with all kinds of issues, report took 3 hours (150 something pics).
Did a 3,500 sq ft (2 year old home) report took an hour (40 pics).
2 - 2.5 Hrs here