Yea, I take two pictures at times but just curious if anyone was doing it differently.
I’m in Pike County KY(Pikeville), just a little over 2hrs from Middlesboro.I have not found a mentor in my area. I’m basically researching anything I’m not familiar with as I go. My biggest obstacle is getting the information into the report.
Along with my opinion above…
I don’t think ANY new inspector should be attempting reports on site, let alone mobile data collection. You need to be focusing on the task at hand, again, mastering the craft of inspecting!!
JMHO!
I agree and I’m not necessarily trying to complete the report on site. I’m basically just trying to find a way to be more efficient. I know that my report is holding me up, It needs to be fine tuned with narratives added to it.
Hello Paul,
What works for me is a voice recorder. Once I found a defect, I take a few pictures of the defect, then I record the defect on my voice recorder. It helps when I get back into the office for helping complete the finish product.
Hope it helps
Yes, that may be helpful!
I find myself reporting on faulty door hardware, doors that rub jambs, laminate floor defects from water, nails pops, a tape line seam on the ceiling.
Does all this seem reasonable or is it necessary to comment on it all?
Paul, read our Standards of Practice (or your state one if that is what is required) and see what you need to be reporting on. It will help you stay on track AND it will help you to set you clients expectations!
Here is the link: Home Inspection Standards of Practice - InterNACHI®
1.1. A home inspection is a non-invasive, visual examination of the accessible areas of a residential property (as delineated below), performed for a fee, which is designed to identify defects within specific systems and components defined by these Standards that are both observed and deemed material by the inspector.
I hope this helps you get back on track. 
Thanks for the reply Larry!
If you are spending 10 hours writing a report, the problem is not with the software. You are not going to get the kind of education you need from forums. You need a professional report writing coach.
Software is all good, my struggle is with writing the report and getting all the information in it. I do not have a streamlined process or a library of narratives in my report, yet.
Entering the narratives is my next step plus any info that I get from the forum. I definitely need to get into a report writing seminar or with someone who has it mastered.
Paul,
I am a New York State approved instructor for both home inspection and business. I’ve coached many New York inspectors. The New York SOP is very straightforward and easy to follow. If you spend more than an hour writing a report, you are throwing money away.
George,
Please post a sample report you have done so that people interested in your report writing coaching can see if you are any good. I visited your web page but I did not find a link to a sample report.
People always think that is somehow an answer. It isn’t.
You need to learn how to craft a narrative on the fly, because you will face many new and exciting observations on a regular basis.
And FWIW, learn to type faster while you’re at it.
That is typical of the time it takes me to inspect a larger home and complete a written report after 10 years. You will bring the times down.
Keep it simple. Nothing says more then less.
If you’re using Spectora, there are tons of templates in the Spectora user section.
Also, if you’re using Spectora, you can save every comment you write for next time with ease.
But whatever you do, it does take time and experience before you can get your report writing down to a reasonable length of time.
I would think 3/day would be hard to maintain on your own with any level of real quality, but I think those who are successfully doing so are likely doing it with assistance and not solo.
Paul,
Picking a good reporting software helps.
My software allows me to take pictures, make comments on the go and then upload to server. Once in office we download the report and each picture and comment automatically drops into the correct room or area.
But I find that takes too long, so I personally have a system when inspecting. I take pictures with my cell and type notes on phone to remind me of defect. Sometimes I will take 2 pictures of a defect one with my finger in picture to remind me.
I prefer to complete report in my office for accuracy, mark up pictures to highlight any defect. I prefer my method to provide my clients with good report.
All inspectors have different methods completing reports, you have to discover what works for you. And I agree with others its not the amount of inspections you do a day but it’s the quality of the reports you provide to clients.
Good luck
I agree totally with you guys. You don’t want to speculate, so you could be totally overthinking everything especially if your spending that amount of time on report writing. It’s our job to report on the condition of the property when we are there. A snapshot in time basically. A good software program is key as well. I agree too with a max of two inspections a day. Your going to have a late night if you are not a checkbox inspector even with two inspections, any more in my opinion, you are setting yourself up for more liability.