Report Time.

I strongly disagree and side with the agent. My full report might be 35 pages but the Summary is only 10. Why should an agent have to separate the wheat from the chaff? The Summary contains things that need repair, do not function as intended, or need followup by a specialist (at least in my area). That’s all the agent needs. Indeed, I prohibit agents from forwarding the full report because I get crazy calls from repair contractors, sellers, and seller’s agents about superfluous stuff in the full report that is not any of their concern.

I have always used a summary Jeff.

Always trying to help here but idiots like Linas may force me to stop helping others as I hate the constant rants and virus type emails he is sending .

Do not talk back to the retard unless you wish to have the same happen to you.
I can understand why you are scared to post against Linas as you fear him coming after you once I am gone.

He can accuse you of either drinking,bagging groceries ,selling hearing aids, writing soft reports or any of the other stuff that comes from his twisted mind.

That is what happens to these little guys over time as they feel inferior.
Jeff I used to like you but you seem to simply tag team with the mental midget far too often.
You are the one who has changed sir.

I invite anybody to do a profile search on those involved if for some reason they do not Know yet who the people are that drive away all the helpful members.

Simply read what some of these guys are posting.
Linas never lets up and proves to be a sad person with deep issues.
Time to get ready as I do not have time to keep defending myself from a guy who never lets up and he should be glad I keep silent on many of his issues.

Might be near time for those of us having our business and personal lives attacked and lied about to join forces and have him removed from NACHI a second time.

Perhaps this is where a great deal of the confusion has set in…

FIRST, you take the time to (1) take a picture, and/or (2) jot down a note on paper, and/or (3) make a voice or video recording of the issue.

THEN, you take the time to (1) review the photo, and/or (2) read the note. and/or (3) review the recording.

THEN, you select or enter a narrative into your reporting software.

THEN, insert the picture.

THEN, annotate the picture.

THEN, move onto the next issue.

You’re essentially doing the inspection twice.

Whereas, I select or enter a narrative while looking at the issue, and move onto the next.

After the inspection is complete, I insert the photos in the appropriate location - DONE.

I don’t annotate photos and I don’t include “overview” photos. I include photos only of defects, except for the cover photo. I don’t take notes, recordings or “extra” photos. Once the report is complete, I delete all photos and move on.

Even my emails are “pre-written.” When I open a new message, I simply insert the client name and email address, attach the report and click send.

Jeff you have a different business model and yours does not depend on consulting with the client in person with your client as much as mine does I bet.

Are you speaking with ,pointing out ,describing ,taking pictures and typing at the same time as you inspect?

Looking down at a keyboard with long moments of silence is not paying attention to my surroundings or my client and I leave the geek stuff at home where it belongs.

I do not take notes and use photos as my notes so nothing is done twice.(almost zero time)(Sony HXV5 has instant focus)
Going on what? about 6 years and may be twice all together a long time ago did anyone ever question anything in my reports.

Glad your method works for you where you are ,however my personality and style determine my report collection every bit as much as yours does you.

I don’t send emails Bob. Sorry I hurt your feelings. Drink up.

So, instead of entering into your report that it’s a 200 amp service, you take a picture and enter it later?

If so, that’s “doing it twice.”

I’m not saying it’s wrong to do it this way, but for those who are looking to cut down report-writing time, the best way is to enter information as you inspect.

If all you’re doing during the inspection is taking pictures, you have a ton of work left to do after you leave the property.

I don’t try to discourage the client from following me around, but I’d rather not be distracted during my process. However, it’s their choice. .

After the inspection, I welcome all questions and will walk with them to show them defects and/or to explain how things work.

3 hrs on site
2 hrs at home
I give my clients full attention on site and only check mark RR all through the report.
If it is something that can’t be caught by picture I have a recorder.
My clients love to learn and some will talk up a storm.
I will say I hate homes over 100 years old because of the amount of pictures into the report, they can take as long as 3 hrs to write at home and 3 hrs our on site but the extra 100 bucks is worth it.:smiley:

Report writing time depends on experience, available canned statements and the level of detail provided. Very few will be able to produce an inspection free of errors and ommissions if the report is attempted onsite due to distractions and fatigue.

Some inspectors will only report, for example “The master bath shower/tub controls have problems, recommend a plumber evaluate”. Where a more detailed inspector will basically write “The master bath shower/tub has a leak at the knob, the knob is loose, the shower arm is loose in the wall, the faucet is loose in the wall, the shower head sprays water on the wall and the drain is slow. Recommend a plumber make all repairs.” This is the way it’s supposed to be done. I don’t know where some inspectors got the information that their job was only to figure out which contractors are needed to finish the inspection.

Jeff, its all nice, but don’t you have to circle or point an arrow to the concern that you picture? And then write an explanation as to why you circle or point an arrow to this particular place? Also with narratives. Take a handrail as an example. It could be loose, missing, not graspable, too short, etc. Do you have a separate narrative for each statement or do you alter a general statement to reflect a particular problem? I think you said you use InspectVue, right? Do you use it with PDA or laptop? What if your client follows you and waiting for your explanation on every issue that you note? Don’t you get distracted? Its nice to finish report on site, but all this takes extra time IMHO.

I have been doing onsite reports for 15 years, print onsite and email to everyone onsite. Clients are thrilled when I set up my mobile printer and bust out the report complete with pictures and yes, a summary page!

Juan asked for report time and you guys ran it into the ground. Here is a shocker, you are different people and you do what works for you in your business.

Lol thanks Brad. I just wanted to see what everyone else was doing to see if I was on par. Apparently it’s touchy subject but some people take as long as me it seems so i dont feel like im doing it slow. Almost everything gets “run into the ground”

Another reason onsite reporting does not work for me is that it would add more time onsite and cause me to drive home in rush hour traffic more often. I like to get the onsite inspection done and get home in time to mow grass etc. before writing the report. Around here in NC and SC, its rare to find houses that have been built right and maintained correctly so its common to find over 30 problems the first hour onsite and a total of 50-80 problems total.

InspectVue and a tablet.

I have a huge library of narratives. If I don’t have one that fits, I make a quick edit. I don’t annotate pictures at all.

Jeffrey is a MoY. Guess I should stop annotating my photos. :wink:

If I put Tchaikovsky or Beethoven on, 15 minutes for a new condo and 30 minutes for the condo scraper. SFR’s take 30 minutes for new and 45 minutes for a scraper.

If I put The Beatles or The Who on, or turn on Star Trek, all bets are off.

Those of you that do the reports onsite and are proud of your work, please post various report examples on your website and give us some links to view them so we can all improve.

Classic RR… LOL!:smiley:

When I book the appointment, I arrange a date and time so that my client can be present.

Sometimes, this requires out of state clients to travel a considerable distance and stay in a hotel overnight so they can meet me bright and early, but the overwhelming majority of them are willing to do this when I explain my process.

My first report is “one on one” and interactive. After I finish my inspection, I am taking them on a tour of the home and allowing them to personally observe the material defects that I found during the inspection. This report is the most complete and extensive since it will allow them to ask questions and to put everything into the proper context.

They now have the basic information that they require to know whether to run from the deal or not, before we leave the site … and can begin to plan a response to the seller concerning the undicsclosed material defects that I uncovered.

Within 24-hours, they have the actual report that they can use to share (if they wish) with the seller and applicable agents in tandem with any negotiating process that they might wish to undertake.

Since there is no benefit at all to my client to have a summary of my findings, I do not provide one.

So, in essence, I provide a very complete, accurate and unbiased report on-site and a comprehensive written report by the next day.

Not one single time (I’m in my ninth year in business) have I ever had a client who indicated the need for a written report at the site. This, in my opinion, is more of a desire of the used house salesmen and is of no concern to me.

Your initial post was simply asking how long reports take to prepare, which was answered by several. If you weren’t looking for anymore information, the posts that followed were mute.

However, if you wish to speed up your process, there are many things to consider - annotating pictures is only one of those things. If that’s all you got from my posts, perhaps you should re-read the thread.

Bob has a process that works well for him, and he takes several hours to prepare a report.

I have a process that works well for me, and I take 15 to 20 minutes to prepare a report.

Neither is right or wrong, but it works for us.

I give my clients an education and not just an inspection while onsite. This method works for me and is why my phone keeps ringing. While performing the inspection I am concentrating on the inspection and the questions I am and will be asked. Then after the inspection I tell my clients the report will be 24 hrs (or less). Most take 3-sometimes 5 hours, but ALL clients LOVE the finished product. When I get referrals I hear over and over again how my reports are awesome, so this works for me and my biz model.:cool:

Jim