7 Tips for Producing High-Quality Home Inspection Reports
Inspection
4 min read
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Knowing how to write an inspection report is crucial, no matter what level of experience you have as a home inspector. You may be new to the home-inspection field, or you may be a pro who is looking to improve certain processes. Either way, reviewing these seven best practices may help you improve your report writing.
1. Begin with a Brief Introduction
2. Include a Short Executive Summary
3. Make the Content Thorough
4. Format the Content for Easy Reading
You can achieve this by using a couple of common formatting techniques:
Headings that break up the content into helpful sections, with each section focused on a certain topic
Bullet points that offer readable, easy-to-digest chunks of information, and are much easier to absorb than a long sequence of paragraphs
5. Aim for Clarity with Your Wording
In other words:
Explain your observations concisely but clearly for every aspect of the property.
Use simple language and short sentences when possible.
Make complex technical issues easy to understand.
Whenever you include a technical term or industry jargon, explain what that means.
If you find an issue, explain the implication and tell the client what should be done about it (i.e., propose a specific repair or replacement recommendation).
Prioritize issues as well, to communicate which concerns need immediate attention and which ones require less urgency.
Always stick to the facts and omit opinions.
Check your spelling throughout each report to catch and correct any typos.
Be sure to include any required descriptions mandated by your state.
Provide easy access to reference materials, if you think that will be helpful.
6. Incorporate Visuals for Extra Clarity
The inclusion of digital photos in your inspection reports will validate your findings, and will help readers better understand your written descriptions. Fortunately, you don’t need a fancy camera. A handy mobile device with a good camera will do just fine. Plus, with the right software app preloaded on your device, you’ll be able to integrate pictures quickly and seamlessly into every report.
Another way to make each report more visually appealing is to include a floor plan with notations calling out important issues. For example, instead of writing "an issue was found in the rear left bedroom,” you can add a note to where that room is shown in the floor plan. Clients will appreciate how this helps them grasp the exact location of each problem.
And, good news: floor-plan sketching doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. A good floor-plan app will make the process speedy and easy.
7. Deliver Each Report Quickly
Many home inspectors deliver inspection reports within 24 to 48 hours. But what if you could generate a report faster and finish it onsite? That’s often possible with use of a mobile device and a floor plan app. (Yes, a floor plan app is great for this purpose, too!) Your clients will appreciate receiving a report right away. Plus, you’ll appreciate how you can crank out reports more efficiently.
If you’re wondering how to become a home inspector…
Read more: Skills and Knowledge You Need to Become a Professional Home Inspector
Conclusion
The home-inspection industry does not mandate ‘one set way’ to craft a home inspection report. In fact, home inspectors have a wide array of opinions on how to go about doing that. Yet, one thing is certain: By following a few best practices, you can produce reports that are well-suited for their intended purpose – helping clients make important real-estate decisions.
