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Chicago area Home Inspection Reports

By
Home Inspector with Elliott Home Inspection

After years of being an Active Rain member it only makes sense I share a little of my thoughts on Home Inspection Report writing .

Some other inspectors that often do 3-4 Inspections a day may wonder why in the world my reports are so large and contain many photgraphs .An example of how it appears can be found here...http://www.chicagolandhomeinspector.com/home-inspection-sample-reports.html

My average report contains anywhere from 40-50 and up to 80-90 pages at times however and often take me longer to write than the time I spend on site .

To se a list of the items I inspect go to one of my sites at...http://www.chicagolandhomeinspector.com/home-inspection-areas.html

Doing the above might make no business sense to some but my business model is to give premium service to each and every client at a reasonable fee that is highly competetive .

My work day never contains more than 2 inspections a day for this very reason and am proud to have helped so many Clients gain a full understanding of the places they are purchasing.

It would be easy to simply follow the SOP and do a bare minimum report with a checklist and have no doubt would still be getting many calls based on my experiance however it would not feel right to me .

One can also not follow the SOP by altering the contract to state as much.

Below is an excerpt from the actual State of Illinois SOP (Standards of Practice).

The entire document can be found at.....http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/068/068014100C02000R.html

 

   These Standards are not intended to limit home inspectors from:

 

1)         Including other inspection services, systems or components in addition to those defined in these Standards;

 

2)         Specifying repairs, provided the inspector is appropriately qualified and willing to do so; and

 

3)         Excluding systems and components from the inspection if the exclusion is specified in the written agreement.

 

As you can see the SOP does not actually limit you however if you are going to do less it needs to be clear in the Inspection Agreement.

My business model is to do as much as I can to help so may often go above SOP but remain consistant as possible at every inspection and how I report.

Many of my clients may be from other areas of the wold such as India or China and placing photos as part of the documentation along with illustrations where needed helps them grasp the information.

As experts it is easy to forget not all terms are known by a layperson and the photos halp there as well.

In conclusion I work hard for you but find the extra time is well worth it and for all the great revies I am greatful plus will try to continue being deserving of them.

Bob

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