My search for an out-of-state home inspector, part two: comparing inspection reports

Great followup for this little series. Glad to see that my report would likely pass your tests. Have a great new year.

Hi Reuben. The Home Inspection Report quality is as important as the inspection itself. I think it is equally important that the buyers accompany and pay attention to the inspector during his/ her inspection. No matter how well written the report is, or how many pictures there are, seeing it first hand makes a world of difference.
Thanks for sharing this!
Bruce

I have a lot to say about this post. First I totally agree with all the points you made. The inspection report is  one of best ways to gage an inspectors work. After all this is what the client gets at the end of the inspection. It is the record of the condition of the house at that span of time. 

I see so many sample reports where the comments are barely minimal, full of disclaimers and as you say the inspectors doesn't take ownership. With respect to that, the general consensus I have heard is that it is better to use "I" than "Its" as it is more defensible. 

As for being vague, I think that is a myth. The more detail the better I believe. Where you can get into trouble is if you over step the bounds of your knowledge or speculate without giving evidence for your "assumption". 

I think one of the biggest reason for poor reports may be inspectors just wanting to get it done fast. Nothing makes my heart sink faster than a train wreck of a home. I know I am going to be writing a loooooonnnng report. No one likes to have to work a long time, but you have to do, what you have to do.

With regard to Michael's comment (#7), I recently had a person want references. They didn't seem at all interested in viewing my sample report, just those references. Well let's face it I sent them names of people who loved me. As would any other inspector or business owner. I am not saying references are useless, but they are without checking the companies work too. 

Okay I think I'm done :)

Great post, Reuben and some great comments, too!  At lot of my business comes from people finding my sample report on-line.  I agree with Jay in the way you don't want to have pictures just for the sake of having pictures and end up with 100+ pages.  If the picture clearly supports a defect I'm writing about, I'll include it.  And like James says, a lot of these inspectors just want to hurry up and get the report over with and they don't put in the time the client deserves.  Some of the homes I see are super time-consuming train wrecks, but short-changing a client would be bad business!

A new perspective on how you look at fellow inspectors reports is very interesting.  I would agree that some items in the report like pictures any potential owner is going to find very useful. 

Great post Reuben. I do agree with your slant on things and reviewing the reports is the best you can do for finding that 'great' inspector. However you will miss the on site communication and service that great inspectors also provide.

I take my customers on a tour through the building and show and explain what I'm finding along the way and answering any and all questions. At the end I sit and review the photos with them (and the others present, owners, sellers, agents,etc.).

I then either write the report or prece the outline (if I'm emailing it later) and I read and explain the report and answer questions. If there are things that need to be looked at , we can do that before we leave the house. I also show them how to find and retrieve specific details of the report, with out having to plow through the whole thing.

My on-site report is a 400 page binder format with a wealth of reference and support material. And I show them how to access and use that.

My email reports provide links to the same reference and support material and site photos and diagrams are included.

In both cases the client gets an email link 1; to view all the inspection photos and 2; to download all the inspection photos in one operation.

At the end my clients not only get a report but they have had a half day seminar on that home, that building type and the systems in it.

 The last thing I do is make sure they have my contact information and remind them that even though the inspection itself is over, they are my client and can contact me with questions or for clarifications by phone or email , at any time.

Does that make me a 'great' inspector? ..I don't know, that's not for me to say. But I do my best to serve them well. I have gotten repeat business from many and frequently other parties (usually the sellers and their agents) are asking for my card before I leave.

First, for the record, in 10 years of selling I can count on one hand the number of times a buyer hasn't had an inspection and I've had to have a waiver signed. Heck, I even make sellers get pre-listing inspections. So I am a firm advocate on the importance of professional home inspections.

My single biggest issue with any home inspection report -- the actual document given to the client -- is that it doesn't match up with our contract. Our purchase contract says that inspection is designed to address material defects and major threats to health and safety. It also says "the fact that an item is at the end of it's useful life is not a basis for terminating the contract". So a home inspection report with dozens of tick marks  that say "recommend inspection by licensed..." etc, etc, are a huge problem. We're an attorney state, and so we almost always enter an entire 2nd round of negotiation on inspection issue.

My buyers are well educated on this ahead of time on what material defect and major health and safety means. But too many agents and attorney see a 200 item inspection report as 2nd round to negotiate a sizable reduction in the price. 

Furthermore, lots of trades aren't licensed in IL, or they are licensed on a town by town basis. HVAC and roofers are licensed by state law, electrical is not in many jurisdictions. It's crazy. And Chicago city regs are way different from the other 150 jurisdictions in northern IL. Perhaps the worst is all the issues over basements: a crack in a foundation wall could need a water-proofer or a structural engineer. 

So I wish the inspection report did a better job of separating the contract issues from the "educate and advise the buyer" issues. My favorite inspectors do this in a good summary on top of what ever report they use, and I wish that more went to this extra step.

Reuben, I just could not agree more with your post or with Jim's comment so I am just going to repeat what Jim said:

"The inspection report is  one of best ways to gage an inspectors work. After all this is what the client gets at the end of the inspection. It is the record of the condition of the house at that span of time. 

I see so many sample reports where the comments are barely minimal, full of disclaimers and as you say the inspectors doesn't take ownership. With respect to that, the general consensus I have heard is that it is better to use "I" than "Its" as it is more defensible. 

As for being vague, I think that is a myth. The more detail the better I believe. Where you can get into trouble is if you over step the bounds of your knowledge or speculate without giving evidence for your "assumption". 

I think one of the biggest reason for poor reports may be inspectors just wanting to get it done fast. Nothing makes my heart sink faster than a train wreck of a home. I know I am going to be writing a loooooonnnng report. No one likes to have to work a long time, but you have to do, what you have to do."

Reuben,

This was fun to read with all the comments. I agree with you on the report also. I have seen so many reports that are not worth the paper they are printed on. They contain so little information and are so vague you really do not know what they are talking about.

In my reports I also produce several summaries that I think help everyone sift through the inspection report.

This does make me think I should update my sample report though. I have changed it quite a bit over time.

Reuben -- thank you for your service to the community by putting together this report for us to better understand what we should get, and how to determine who is likely to provide it for us.

@ Jack, Wow! I see your company fits the "perfect" home inspection company you describe. FYI in Connecticut, there is a process by which an inspector must be trained. I do admit it is far from perfect, but by your account nothing exists at all anywhere. I'm a single operator always have been always will be. By your definition I'm an inferior inspector. You see it's MY business, which means I can run it my way. Not the way someone thinks it SHOULD be run. Everyone is different. 

I also noticed that your web does not have a sample report. Sure anyone can buy a good template. The thing is all good computerized systems are customizable. More importantly when looking at a sample report, as Reuben as told us, one can get an idea of the inspectors knowledge and reporting skills. Let's face there are some individuals that can not put sentences together. 

@ Jack, Sorry to get a little irked, no offense taken. How do you know this inspector is "dishonest". A convicted felon yes, but dishonest?  As for the state requirements, we do not have an apprenticeship program for contractors in CT. The state does have a licensing requirement for home inspectors which does have an internship period (100 inspections). Like I said not perfect, but it is something.

I understand your point as does Reuben, which is why he wrote these two blogs. It is hard to know who is good outside of your own area. Looking at a sample report along with interviewing the inspector is a good way to get an idea of their competency. 

Reuben, As I already stated I agreed with all your points above. Further evaluation is an "out" used too often I think. I'm not saying I don't use it, but I try to do so sparingly and when I feel it's something way out of my scope of knowledge, expertise.