Spectora template pointers - new inspector

General Inspection Topics
1

I have been studying the home inspection business and was recently certified by ICA in Chicago. I’m finding InterNACHI online education to be far superior. I’m getting all my ducks in a row to get my business off the ground and have started a mock inspection in my own home. I need an example to provide for a few insurance quotes. I am familiar with residential home construction but am green to the inspection process in terms of hands on experience.

My question relates to the Spectora inspection software that I have on my phone. It seems all the major issues are prepopulated in the app which makes it easy to kind of breeze through and check the boxes. I’m concerned of becoming complacent or too dependent on the app. Does anyone have any basic template ideas for Spectora they noticed missing for general defects? Am I ok to use the app as a guide for my inspection process? Once everything is checked green and the inspection is complete I’m concerned I may have overlooked something.

I guess I’m trying to find a way to tailor the app to an inspection process so that I’m not bouncing between the sequence of events of the inspection from start to finish as its laid out in my head, and the layout of the app by default.

I’m open to any feedback as it pertains to setting up Spectora for new inspectors, but also open to anything New to this stuff and still filling in the gaps.

2

I am doing mock inspections and am finding myself just not feeling confident in the final report. I’m catching myself running through the Spectora report and checking the boxes. Once its all complete I’m not confident I’ve been through every nook and cranny

Looking for some kind of systematic approach to an all inclusive inspection without bouncing in and out of the app.

3

Hi Scott,

I’m still in the process of configuring Spectora to suit my workflow…I’m switching over from HomeHubZone.

Check the community template shares. There are some set up for room by room inspections, an inachi residential template, and shared templates from other inspectors
etc…
You may find something there that’s a fit for you.

I suggest tweaking one to fit your own workflow once you have established a process. And definitely tweak, add, create your own narratives as the defaults are pretty generic and basic. Kenton Sheppard (sp?) compiled a great comment library that you can purchase to augment your own library as well. Just do some Google fu to find that for spectora

Best of luck!

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4

To be honest, you shouldn’t feel confident yet. There is no shame in going through the report a dozen times before saying “finished”.

The app is to help you write the report, not do the inspection for you.

Or to put it this way, You’re worrying about how to run, when you’re still in the learning to walk stage of the process.

Confidence comes from time and experience.

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5

That makes sense. I’m familiar with standard work documentation from work at a previous job. I think maybe I’ll build a process on paper that walks me through the areas to check as well as function tests and things of that nature. That would be my way of duplicate my workload until I can build Spectora to the point maybe I can eliminate that worksheet? Just thinking out loud here…

6

Enter the reminders in the sections where you need it with notations to help you make sure your inspecting everything. e.g. In the plumbing drain/vent section, Did you locate the plumbing vent at the exterior?..or something like that.
When you get better at it, you won’t have to open your reminders and you can eventually delete them, if need be.

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