Recently, I was honored to be one of
six home inspectors across the country to be included in an article published
by a company called Inspector Pro. The article about home inspection report
writing, written for my fellow inspectors, gave me a chance to share thoughts
on what makes for an effective home inspection report. Your inspection report
is something I take very seriously as it gives you a summary of recommended
repairs, details
the condition of the property at the time of the home inspection, and includes
photos of key features. Customized to your house, your E-mailed report is
organized, easy-to-read, and “complete”. It’s important that your report's
photos and text work together to explain the condition of your house at the
time of the inspection.
Here
are some of my comments featured in the Inspector Pro article, designed to help
train other home inspectors, arranged here by topic.
When the report is written - “‘[By
writing reports offsite,] I don’t have anybody looking over me while I’m
typing, rushing me, which can result in sloppy sentence structure, making
mistakes, and leaving things out,’ said Miki Mertz of Complete Home Inspection
in Kansas. According to Mertz, it’s easy to make mistakes by trying to write
the report too quickly and by not checking your own work. For example, you may
check the wrong box on your report writing template and say that a property has
gas logs in the fireplace when, in reality, the house doesn’t have gas.”
The inspector needs to be
knowledgeable – “According to Mertz, a good understanding of property systems
and components will make you more equipped to provide your clients with
thorough inspections. While it’s sometimes necessary to refer clients to
specialists, Mertz argues that some home inspectors will make unnecessary
referrals due to a lack of knowledge or expertise. ‘There’s a difference
between saying, ‘This is broken. I recommend an expert fix it,’ and ‘I don’t
know what I’m looking at. Go have somebody else look at it,'” Mertz said.
The report needs to be
understandable - “‘Use simple language. Use short sentences,’ Mertz said. ‘Big
words shouldn’t be used just to impress people, because if your customer
doesn’t know what you’re talking about because you used some techno jargon,
then you haven’t communicated.’”
The importance of photos – “Mertz,
too, takes representative photos of the property to depict a broad overview of
components and systems. According to Mertz, representative photos serve to
round out the report and document overall conditions on inspection day. Moreover,
Mertz recommends taking photos at various phases of the inspection to
illustrate what she inspected.
These article excerpts give you an
idea of the care your inspection report will receive when it’s written –
attention to detail, thoroughness that doesn’t get bogged down in wordiness, and
a format that’s easy to read and understand.
Whole house inspections, condo
inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call
or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222,
www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.
