How many pages are in your inspection report for a basic home inspection ?

John Orozco

March 09, 2017 14:58

Attention other home inspectors,

Can I get a couple of replies on how many pages are in your inspection report for a basic home inspection.

The realtor is telling me that 70-90 pages is quite a bit for a basic home inspection, and the realtor has never seen some many pages being reported on a home.

I clarified, we are a through home inspection company, and most of these are photos that take up most of the room on the report. I usually will have 40--60 photos taken and uploaded with the report. I also have a quick summary link that doesn't include the photos, yet still complained that their were a lot of pages to print out for her client.    I'm I really that through home inspectors ? 

 

Thanks for your feed back !

John

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  Michael Wirth

  April 01, 2017 21:57 Edited

  Hey John,

  The length of most reports that I see (not just from Tap Inspectors, but all reports in general) fall in two broad categories. Reports that are 25-45 pages and reports that are over 100 pages. I would tend to agree that a 80 page report is pretty long and no longer practical to print. I would also bet that no one will actually read the report. It just looks too daunting.

  In my experience a few things tend to make what would be a 35 +/- page report into a 100 +/- page report.

  The first is using 8-9 photos when only 2-4 will do. After 20 comments this adds up to a bunch of extra pages. As a rule of thumb, every 6 photos adds a page to your report. Only 4 photos and a little bit of text will fit on a page.

  Try to keep in mind that if you want a photo of 'every' instance of an observation you will have a very long report. Use you photos to clarify the text of your comments not to show every instance.

  The second thing I tend to see is repetition of the checklist with comments. If you are using the Detailed Home Inspection template you probably have a checklist item, a condition rating, AND a comment with a few photos for every issue. If you are like me you may also add comments and photos for 'high call back item' like whirlpool tubs to document they are working. That is duplication.

  The Detailed template was built with the idea of providing EVERY item we could think of to help remind new inspectors to put eyes on them. It keeps you on track but as you gain more experience and confidence the long checklist can be repetitive and time consuming. Not just that but a long checklist is just not readable.

  Many times you can remove items and sometimes entire sections. Then you can use a comment with a few photos to report the same thing. Instead of 3/4 of a page checklist for a bathroom, a comment or two with 4-6 photos will do the same thing and make an easier to read report.

  Those two strategies should cut your report length in half and still let you provide the same information and quality to your clients.

   

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  Tim Early

  August 04, 2018 00:15

  John
  Keep doing what you’re doing. Complete is more important than convenience. A full story, backup information and corrections take pages. Real estate agents may not like you but the customer will; however, remember agents are your life blood. Agents don’t want problems, just a sale. They shouldn’t be allowed to suggest home inspectors.

  If you get all 5 stars and comprehensive reviews, you’re doing well.

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