TOPIC: How do you do your summary with the client?

Well put Dominic. The goal is to be detailed without a loss of efficiency.  Put it all under INTERIOR.

I did "time studies" using different Hardware with the BATHROOM section. I used a laptop standing, desktop sitting, mobile app, tablet with digital pen, Samsung ATIV500, Ipad.  I ranged from 22 seconds to 59 seconds.  I was fastest with a laptop/tablet using a Wacom digital pen (Dave - that's what I use). Yes...I also tried a CTL2go. It's nice - personally I didn't like the "resistive screen".
The current model of what I use is a Lenovo x230t.  It's expensive - but I love it!

I personally inspect EVERY window.  Windows are under my INTERIOR section - and I report on them as a group. If there is a issue with a particular window- then I state it's location.

Going back to the BATHROOM....I "personally" breakout each bath.  I do quite a few high-end homes in the 6000+ sq-ft range.  Keep in mind...a 6500sq-ft home selling for 1.8 million is usually well maintained. If I had to go back to my office (even with a ton of photo's) and remember the "3rd flr Bath, west wing"..it starts getting confusing.  I'm going to be the MOST accurate & detailed when I'm standing in the bathroom. I don't need a bunch of pic's to reference when it's right in from of me

I REPEAT....I'm going to be the MOST accurate & detailed when I'm standing in the bathroom. So fill-in your TEMPLATE blanks of the "bath" while standing there!!!! For me that's 36 click's in 24 sec's for a Bedroom master with with a SPA tub.

When breaking components down too far/ with too...you have more chance of NOT reporting something. It's  the DEFENSE asking the PROSECUTION for all their evidence...and they dump off a truck load of p/w at your door. Good lucking finding the "key" evidence.

Sorry it took a few days to get back to this and I am sorry for the length, this is just such a big topic. I see Dom and others have actually mentioned several of these ideas(great info ), but they are worth repeating. Reducing mouse clicks, scrolling/searching and typing is the goal and here's some ways to do it.

Embrace Pre-written Comments
One thing which is important to remember is that every time you have to customize a comment you will always have a minimum of 6-7 clicks plus some scrolling and typing(this is true of the mobile version too), all which take time. If you already have a comment which matches the defect you are reporting on, you will only have to make 3 clicks and no typing to insert the comment in the report. This is why prewritten or what sometimes are negatively referred to as "canned comments" are actually major timesavers. There are times where customized comment are absolutely needed, but many, many defects which appear in the home are so specific and common that one well written and informative note plus a photo clarifying the location is more than enough to inform the client.

Well written and thought out canned comments are also a liability saver as well because they provide consistency in your reporting. You're not re-inventing the wheel every inspection and forgetting something you should be mentioning. The comments you have just keep getting more clear, more informative and therefore more protective of your livelihood. 

Switch to a System-by-System Report
I noticed, Steve, that you currently use 8 separate pages on the report and therefore a minimum of 24 mouse clicks to indicate that the "General condition of floors appeared satisfactory with normal wear and age". It would be significantly easier to say the exact same statement once about all the floors. In the event there is a defect in one of the floors it is still easier and uses fewer clicks(and time!) to state the problem and designate in the comment the location of the room in question rather than having a separate page in the report and section in your template for every room. This is true for walls, ceilings, windows, interior doors and exterior doors. You could dramatically shorten your report by consolidating the interior sections which, by and large, are often the areas of the home with few significant defects. The rest of your report is pretty much a system-by-system report already, just conform the interior and some of the exterior to the same method.

Widen Your Shots
For a long time, I struggled with being very detailed in how I located defects in my comments. The specific location of items can be one of the most time consuming aspects of customizing comments. I eventually came to the point where I decided the location of a door which was not square didn't need to be described in great detail because there's only a limited number of doors in the home and it's not asking too much of the contractor to look around and find the door or any other component I might refer to.(He might even find one I overlooked and save my butt!) This is especially true since I would be providing a picture to look at. The concept is such a simple thing, but if you back up a small amount when you take your photos of defects, you automatically provide the context and location which eliminates the need for writing it in the caption or even the comment for that matter. Photos really are worth a 1000 words and since HIP offers some really high resolution photos compared to other software, it's okay to step back a bit and let your photos work for you.

Combine, Combine, Combine
If you are going to do a considerable amount of descriptive or material comments, combine them into the same tab of the section you're working in. There are plenty of ways to layout the information and you will save a significant number of clicks. Just for example, you could have the Property Exterior section cut down to only 9 tabs (instead of 35) like in the pictures I included below.

Limit Non-Defect Comments
Again, I'm not telling anyone to eliminate material lists, informational photos, data plate photos, limitations, or photos of items which are functional. What I would suggest is limiting the use of those kind of photos and comments. A home inspection is primarily about finding defects, so much like a famous actor gets the most recognition in a film, the defects should garner the most real estate(Rim shot!) in an inspection report. If added together those extra comments and photos number greater than your defects in the average home, then they will distract the client. At the very least, if one is going to include a lot of other data in their reports, they should absolutely have a summary page.

Don't Report on What is Not Present
In regard to comments in your report about items which are not present in the home, stop and consider the following statement: You are spending your valuable time reporting on items which are not in the home you are inspecting. There may be times this is necessary, for instance, if a major component or a required SOP item is absent, but otherwise give yourself the freedom to eliminate it from your report and save yourself some time. It's hard enough out there to find and report all the defects which DO matter.

If an inspector wanted to add some statements about items which were present but not inspected, specifically items not within the SOP, the easiest way would be to have a tab at or near the beginning of the inspection with one selection panel. In that panel you could have the statement: "The following items were present at the property but not included in the inspection or the report:". Then list every component you want to in the rest of the selection panel and click the ones which apply to your current inspection.

Have a Purpose for Everything
HIP is extremely flexible in how it can be used. Unfortunately the same features which provide a rich well to draw from when figuring out how you will report with it, can also be a hindrance if you use all the features for everything and don't assign a purpose or task for certain HIP features. You can streamline your reporting method by using specific features in HIP for specific tasks and sticking to it.

I noticed Steve uses the photo captions to report defects at times in the report and there will be no other defect comment written other than the caption. This can be mentally taxing and possibly slow you down. During the photo editing, you are constantly switching mental tasks between captioning photos and reporting defects. There is also the need to check and re-check the report to make sure every issue has been properly reported since both your photos and damage panels are sharing the responsibility of reporting defects. You will save time and your heart if you commit to reporting defects in the written comments and using captions only for identifying photos. (I have toyed with the idea of fully using captions for my defect comments, but haven't tried it out seriously yet.)

Additionally, material descriptions work really well in the Selection panels and not so great in the Damage panels. Any material description with a list in the Damage panels must be selected, sent to the red/black sections and then edited. That's a lot of unnecessary clicks. I know of one HIP user who even uses the selection panels for his defect comments because it is less clicking.

Use the Alphabet
Drop down lists work best it the most common selections from the list are placed at the top. Those items which are not very common are often the ones which cause the most searching. Placing those less common items in the list in alphabetical order can speed up searching, especially when using mobile.

The NOTE Feature is Your Friend
Whether you have a long list of comments in a section or just a few, having a short title at the start of the comment can help finding specific comments. Not only that, its a proven fact that your brain learns to recognize words based on the shape or form the word makes, not just on reading the actual letters. After a few inspections, your eyes will be able to scan those 2-3 word titles much quicker than full sentences. You can also include symbols in the NOTE to designate if drop-downs are present in the comment, if the comment is a singular or plural version, or any other reminder you may need.

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In the next day or so, I do want to share a couple things I noticed about your photos Steve since you said it takes a solid hour to slot and caption 60+ photos. This is one of the places I think you could trim off some major time, but I'll save that for another post. I apologize for the massive amounts of info, but I'm trying to speak to everyone who may be dealing with long reporting times. I have seen major improvement in my reporting times over the past couple years and my own template and reporting style is in a constant state of flux. Just when I implement another HIP feature, Dom screws me over and adds three more!

I welcome other guys sharing the ways they have found to speed their process. These discussions can really help everyone.

Interesting stuff Cameron.
Not so sure about over consolidation however.

Notice you actually combine patios with decks and porches which seems not only like too many unrelated
text comments in one section but also a little confusing for picture slotting.

Where is the balcony section and where is exterior stairs which may not have a porch or deck ?


My biggest thoughts center around using a general comments section to simply notate all materials on one page
and then use the individual tabs only for issues.

Unfortunately was not happy with the disconnect when material comments become part of the issues
making double entry of them needed where issues need to be reported.

I also have liked the idea of using photo captions for issue comments however that would mean dragging text from a second open copy,
typing issues from scratch,or going through that long drop list that would be needed so that idea is out the window.

I do on occasion use a red border around photos to make them easy to see as defect related however that does consume time
as it must be done by creating a rectangular box and dragging it to the edges.
Sure would be cool to just click for one though.

I am not a giant fan of the drop boxes for the exact reasons you gave above.
My opinion is it is faster to just create a separate line and add [notes].

I have them on some comments more than anything just to be reminded they are an option in the software.

Cameron,

You have really summarized key points well!  Pay attention to "Click's".  If you have a "tab" with two damage-panel's for Fascia & Soffit; you have 5 clicks.  One damage panel would be 3 clicks

As Cameron stated...use NOTES.  Look at his example with the spaces; he typed    Flat Grading   not Flat grading.  Cameron eluded to this - the human mind can typically process three objects before it starts counting or reading.  Take (5)coins and throw them on the counter and your brain has to count to know how many there are.  Throw (3)coins on the counter and your brain will process the quantity instantly without counting.

Cameron also mentioned to COMBINED COMBINED COMBINED. This past weekend I meet with a Registered Nurse who works malpractice cases for Attorney's.  She dissects medical records and patient "charts" for errors in lawsuits.  She teaches her hospital nursing staff's - "When you write down a patient's condition, do it only once! It you state their condition multiple times in your "charts" - you risk using different terminology and opening yourself up to scrutiny and lawsuit.  This goes along with what Cameron said about PRE-WRITTEN COMMENTS.  You increase accuracy, efficiency & detail...and save time.

SYSTEM by SYSTEM is the ideal way to go. Breaking out KITCHENs, BATHs, & BASEMENTS are also fine! Breaking down every room is repetitive. That's not detail.

Keep your comments in an orderly fashion. At the top of your list are when things are good & comments used most often. At the bottom of your  list are when you need to call and expert.

 OK  Appears Serviceable-walkways in good condition
*****************************************COMMON************
 Raise/Settle  Raise settlement noted in walkway
 Crack-Minor  Typical cracks noted in the walkways for their age and wear
 Crack-Major  Major cracks and displacement noted in the walkway
 Spalling        Spalling is noted to the concrete surface

CallEXPERT    Contact a qualified contractor

I will also use blanks lines between comments, or asterisks for grouping *************Wood Shake Issues**********
This way I can group 10 comments together for a wood shake roof, and I'm not looking through my whole list.

Awesome post Cameron. You have a lot of great tips in there. I'm going to split that post off later into a new thread with Tips & Tricks from users.

You coming to Vegas by any chance?

Interesting stuff Cameron.
Not so sure about over consolidation however.

That was just a quick idea based on the items Steve had his Property Exterior section. Consolidation can certainly go too far just like expanding your number of tabs can. You're right, stairs and balconies still would need a tab and Steve could easily split off patios and porches to their own tabs and still end up with only 13 tabs total for the exterior compared to his original 35 tabs. That's still an improvement.

My own template does combine decks, porches and patios together but it works simply because of the general nature of homes in my area. 90% of the time if a house around here has a deck, it does not have a patio. And porches and decks tend to have so many similar characteristics that having them in the same tab has never been a problem for me. It's just a couple more tabs, maybe I will split them out...