Ryan that’s the same here.
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It should be noted. We are not loosing our templates or comments. We just have to export our template, remove or re-write the flagged comments, and then import our template back in. It’s about a 5 minute process.
The bigger issue is that every report written with the old template will only be available from Spectora by having the client request it in writing.
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And I’m glad I still use my old 3D inspection system. I just paid my $149.00 yearly subscription fee for any updates and support if needed. I bought my software suite 20 years ago.
I own it, and every template I’ve ever built. My software, my complete library, and every report I’ve ever written is in my possession, not on a server somewhere, the exception being my back-up.
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That’s what today brings, but you have to ask yourself, what about tommorow?
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I just spoke to Spectora by phone. They called me back to talk personally, and that means a lot to me.
While this is a legal shit show caused by someone else, is is a bit of a mess to deal with.
Spectora is doing what they can and are offering to help in anyway they can while still honoring their legal obligations.
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Just so those of you who use my (InterNACHI Narrative Library) templates know, Since I first released my library in 2008 I’ve never plagiarized narratives. All mine are written by myself and I’ve edited most of them multiple times. Some common, short narratives are bound to be written the same way by different inspectors. We all end up writing about many of the same conditions!
ReportHost has also sued HomeGauge (actually their parent company American Home Family Insurance) for the same reason, but HG is not panicking and threatening to damage inspectors by deleting their templates and denying access to their past reports.
Nick Gromicko is on this, he does not like to see InterNACHI members hurt, and he has some influence in this industry.
Spectora does not want to hurt their inspectors. Give it some time to shake out before panicking.
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Did Spectora settle? And this is the result? Also, any status on the HG lawsuit?
I don’t know the details. It’s a mess. The dust will need to settle.
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Kenton, I think you are mistaken in regards to any lawsuit relating to HomeGauge and reporthost. All templates in HomeGauge were written by me which works great in the south btw, but may need some editing for grammar. When I sold in 2017 no lawsuits and I was with the parent company for 3 years afterwards as part of the sale agreement. HomeGauge has not received any notice to my knowledge. Again all HG users start out with my comments. Southern style
Disclaimer: I am no longer an owner of HomeGauge as of 2017 and was employed almost 3 years by them.
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Hi Kenton! Chelsea from HomeGauge here. No one at HomeGauge had heard of this lawsuit until you mentioned it, so we reached out to our legal team and they confirmed that no legal action has been taken against us.
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Hi Brian! There has not been any legal action taken against HomeGauge from ReportHost.
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You’re right Russell, I just heard from them and American Family/HomeGauge are not involved in a lawsuit with ReportHost. My bad.
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Is there a software option that has templates that can be edited and that are also updated regularly refelecting industry and code standards?
Its nonsense to have to write our own narratives or build a library from scratch.
I use Report Host and have since i started. Its basic and not flashy and fairly easy to navigate. Though it does have enough annoyances that id like to shop around for something similar in simplicity.
HIP has too many negative reviews.
Thanks Nick
Hi Ryan! Chelsea from HomeGauge here. We have templates that can be edited. We do have a large narrative library that is 100% authentic, created by our Founder Russell. We’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. We are giving any users that are impacted by this 6 months for free. Just give us a call and we can get you setup!
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Why is it nonsense? You have to do the inspection from “scratch.” You should be able to identify, describe and report the defects you observe. It will take you longer to search some of these word smith canned narratives for the proper one than to simply write what you see.
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Pablo Picasso went through a similar period of anxiety when his parents took away his “paint by numbers” kits and forced him to paint on a blank canvas. It was hard for him and, often, he painted both eyes on the same side of the head and put the woman’s breasts on her back and stuff, but he was eventually able to eak out a living from it.
Seriously, in today’s world there are very few inspectors who have had to write home inspection reports in their own words and have become dependent upon electronic checklists that compose their descriptions for them. My bet would be that most of them would find that they are even better than their software programs should they choose to step away from the “report by numbers” kits.
Perhaps the realization of the uncertainty of their control over their own businesses when the owners of their words clash in court will encourage some to try it.
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