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

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?

Someday man...  Someday...

We need to have a Midwest equivalent like in Chicago, Indianapolis or St. Louis.

Cameron,
You have detailed a lot of information for me. There are however some areas that I don’t understand thus have not used or use incorrectly.

Have a Purpose for Everything
1. Material descriptions work really well in the Selection panels and not so great in the Damage panels.
I thought that’s how the software was laid out. I know you can change a lot in the program, but changing some things you don’t know a lot about can become a problem. I believed that I could not build a better mouse trap then what Dom already had.

I don’t quite get the concept of the change you’re referring to.

Embrace Pre-written Comments
2. Well written and thought out canned comments is also a liability saver as well, because they provide consistency in your reporting.

This is good advice, and something I had not thought of.

Switch to a System-by-System Report
3. 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.

Not understanding what you are trying to explain to me here. Do you mean combine items, thus less tabs?

Widen Your Shots
4. Providing a picture
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.

Good advise, Thank You

Combine, Combine, Combine
5. 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.

I don’t have any knowledge of the use of Brackets or their function.

Limit Non-Defect Comments, Don't Report on What is Not Present
6. That make good sense, and that is what I was asking at first.

The NOTE Feature is Your Friend
7. Is this the brackets you are speaking of?

You put alot of work into this and I want to Thank You for what you have been doing.

Dan
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.

Dan, I don’t understand the concept of the brackets like I explained to Cameron, so I would not know how to
Group the comments as you suggest.

Steven the Notes feature is important to help you find comments.
I used to use >>>>>this<<<<< to help segregate and find text fields.

When you click a comment with **** it shows in the report while by creating  Notes  the bracketed words inside do not appear in the final report or captions.
speaking of which using captions is great to create a list in drop downs for text blow your pictures in photo edit.
Not using the HIP features may be your biggest time drag of all.

Try it out by doing a text box and clicking on the notes feature and then also try captions.
Bear in mind with captions you need to put the symbol against and at the start of the text message or word.

Please note you can also change text color which will show but I have all my blue or soft issue comments
in blue not only to help segregate but because those are common blue comments (never red) and never hard issue or summary comments.

Okay, let me see if I can provide a little bit of clarification.

Have a Purpose for Everything
1. Material descriptions work really well in the Selection panels and not so great in the Damage panels.
I thought that�s how the software was laid out. I know you can change a lot in the program, but changing some things you don�t know a lot about can become a problem. I believed that I could not build a better mouse trap then what Dom already had.

I don�t quite get the concept of the change you�re referring to.

This was one of the questions I initially asked because I wasn't sure how you were filling out your report. What I thought you were doing was using the damage panel comments when you needed to indicate an item is not present or an item was inspected and was found to be functional.

My suggestion is that you take every type of non-defect comments - limitation comments, "item appears functional" comments, "item not present" comments, material description comments, etc. - and only have them in the selection panels.  The reason is because it takes less clicks to insert them in the report. Less clicks equals less time. Again I could not tell from your report if you were using the damage panels for these types of comments but it appeared as such.

Switch to a System-by-System Report
3. 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.

Not understanding what you are trying to explain to me here. Do you mean combine items, thus less tabs?

Yes. Treat the interior as a single section of your template so every item, walls, floors, ceilings, etc., is listed only once and all comments relating to them show up only once. The same is true of items which are both interior and exterior in nature like the foundation or windows. Commit to only reporting on them in one section of your template.

Combine, Combine, Combine
5. 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.

I don�t have any knowledge of the use of Brackets or their function.

This suggestion was not about the brackets. In your Property Exterior you have 35 or 36 tabs, most of which are material descriptions separated out individually. I posted a photo example of what the template would look like and what the finished report would look like if you combine both material descriptions, limitation comments, functional comments and defect comments all under one tab for each item of the exterior. This would reduce the tabs you're working through and clear up your report significantly.

The NOTE Feature is Your Friend
7. Is this the brackets you are speaking of?

Yep, that's it and Bob did a great job of describing it.

I sincerely hope all this information is useful to you and not just overwhelming.

Lastly, on to the photos in Steve's report. Again, considering what his initial request was regarding the possible reduction of material comments, I went through all the photos and counted them out according to which ones are purely illustrating defects and which ones serve some other purpose. Here's the tally.

81 photos total, 32 informational/limitation photos, 49 defect photos

The numbers tell the story, because almost half of the photos were not defect related. It's worth considering that limitation photos are really for the benefit of the inspector. They aren't a hundred percent necessary to include in the report, since a note about any limitations present will accomplish the exact same thing. Having photos of any limitations for your personal records is a very good practice but they don't need to be in the report. Informational photos are for the benefit of the client and I'm sure every inspector has an opinion about the amount of benefit they provide. Identifying the location of some important utility controls can also be helpful within your photos.

What I noticed right away, though, is many of your photos were of components which were functional, photos showing information which was already adequately commented on or photos indicating the location of much less significant components. I'm not suggesting removing them all, but would encourage you to be a bit more picky about what you include in your reports, much the same as reducing some of the informational and material comments you have.

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You are also spending a large amount of time creating captions which could be simplified by using the CAPTION feature. Bob mentioned this feature and I couldn't tell from your report if you are familiar with it or not. I would assume you are not using it as it is similar to the NOTES feature you were asking about. In any event I will explain it for the benefit of anyone unfamiliar with it.

Using the Property Exterior: Grade as an example, when you create a new comment in the Damage Panel, you can click the "Caption" button at the top of the comment window and "Caption" will appear at the start of the comment window. Anything you type after this "Caption" will show up in the caption drop down list on the photo page once a photo is slotted into the Property Exterior: Grade section. So if your Damage Panel comment reads "CaptionImproper Grade Toward Structure", the caption "Improper Grade Toward Structure" will automatically show up in the photo caption drop down list once your photo is slotted in that section. This can greatly speed up captioning photos. Again, pre-made captions are just as beneficial as pre-made comments when written professionally and thoughtfully.

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There are also several photos in your list of 49 defect which may not need to be included either. It can become a habit to include a photo of every defect but there are many issue in the home which are so basic that having a photo is pointless other than those which need context and location. Cracking or deterioration in the walkway and driveway, moss growth on the roof, even outlets without GFCI protection are some example of issues which can go without a photo. Some items will be clear and understood by the client because they are no-brainers. And keep in mind, there are many inspectors who did this job years ago without the benefit of photos, onsite reporting, digital reports, etc. I personally try to only include photos of issues which I see as moderate to major in importance. I don't use a summary so this helps summarize the report for the client, and I can always add more photos if I want to. I take about 100-150 per inspection and use about 50-60.

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Here are some suggested shorter versions of your captions which would work fine and can be used for every report as needed. You'll notice 9-10 of them repeat even in the photos from your posted report. Let the photos work for you instead of typing long detailed captions. Identify the photo and move on. I put the word "unnecessary" before photos represented below which were not specifically defect related, not intending at all to deride your reporting. Many of them would add some benefit to the report, it's all up to each individual inspector. These are just ideas to help you see how keeping it simple still gets the message across.?  Again, give yourself the freedom to eliminate some of these from your report and free up your time. Your client won't suffer one bit.

Improper Grading - Front of home, grade
Unsecure Support Posts - Support posts not properly anchored
Non-Standard Supports - Not standard construction practice for support installation
(This one's fine) - Incorrect support
Steel Beam Not Secured - Metal support beam requires permanent anchoring
(unnecessary) - Retaining wall appear to function as designed
(unnecessary) - Retaining walls appear to function as designed
Non-GFCI Protected - Exterior outlets tested were not GFCI protected
(unnecessary) - Visible areas functioned as designed
(unnecessary) - Visible 1-layer of roofing with edge starter shingle
Moisture Damage - Soft, possible water damaged plywood deck
Recommend Monitoring - Monitor this area
No Secondary Drains - Recommend extending DS to lower gutter
No Secondary Drains - Exten downspout off of roof
Excessive Use of Roofing Tar - Curbing covered with roofing tar
(unnecessary) - Skylight tunnel in front of kitchen entry door.
Cracked Skylight - Skylight tunnel dome appears to have a crack in corner
Damaged Flashing - Seal bad, pipe and flashing should be replaced
Damaged Flashing - Broken open soil pipe boot
Moisture Damage - Soil stack boot leaking. Deck shows moisture stains
Moss Growth - Moss. Need more attic venting
Moss Growth - Moss
Turbine Vent Not Level - Turbine vent not level, slow to turn. Replace
Moss Growth - Moss. Poor venting condition
Previous Repair - Sun Room Roof patched with different shingles
Excessive Use of Roofing Tar - Roof tar that may indicate past problems
Open Seams At Flashing- Seal open at weather seal ring
Improper Installation - Corner splicing not standard practice due to water penetration
Door Rubbing - Rear entry walk door rubs at latch
(unnecessary) - Rear entry walk door
Unidentified Wiring - Unknown wire purpose
(unnecessary) - Pull down stairs, access over garage and sun room
(unnecessary) - Basic insulation coverage
(unnecessary) - Average depth about 8 to 10"
(unnecessary) - Insulation in upper floor attic
Moisture Intrusion - Moisture in crawlspace at time of inspection
Unsecured Junction Box - Box should be mounted permanently
(unnecessary? Was this a defect?) - Plug in fan operation
Junction Box Cover Missing - Open junction box, expose wires
Corrosion and Previous Leakage - Valve should be monitored for future leaking
(unnecessary? Was this a defect?) - Concrete channel for water runoff
(unnecessary) - Heater appears not to be in use at time of inspection
(unnecessary) - Water shutoff valve front of crawlspace, monitor for leaks
(unnecessary) - Additional Gate valves for water supply
(unnecessary) - Visual conditions in flue
Cracked Fire Brick - Rear Fire Brick insert is cracked
(unnecessary) - Blower cage and housing is dirty
(unnecessary) - Older high efficency furnace
Switch Cover Missing - Service cutoff switch needs switch cover
(unnecessary) - Main Panel located in Garage
(unnecessary) - Main electric service panel
Doubletapped Circuit - One circuit is double tapped
(unnecessary) - One on each floor and crawlspace(smoke detectors)
Damaged Fan Control - Attic fan control. Right knob broken
Panel Fasteners Missing - Panel is missing 1 screw, 2 washers and latch
(unnecessary) - Recommend monitor flex line for leaks
Excessive Use of Roofing Tar - Roof tar seal on flue pipe
(unnecessary) - Propane supplied water heater
Non-GFCI Protected - Outlets are grounded, no GFCI's installed
Exposed Wiring - Exposed wire. Careful not to damage
Corrosion and Previous Leakage - Monitor this valve for leaks
(unnecessary? was this a defect?) - Aluminum/foil duct hose
(unnecessary) - Typical view of all sliding door security measures
(unnecessary) - Egress of bedroom window
Inadequate Egress Opening - Egress of opening
(unnecessary) - Upper floor, bedroom #1 closet, attic entry
(unnecessary) - Unable to check window in tunnel for operation
(unnecessary) - Additional attic opening
Fan Producing Abnormal Noise - Upper floor, hall bathroom, fan has slight motor noise
Junction Box Cover Missing - 1/2 bath, main floor, junction box cover plate missing
Reverse Polarity Receptacle - GFCI tested with Hot/Neutral reversed
Corrosion and Previous Leakage - M.Bath,vanity-sink, supply shut-off valve. Monitor this valve for leaks
(unnecessary) - See Wet Bar Plumbing
Nonprofessional Installation - Not standard plumbing drain line configuration
Slow Draining Sink - Water drain very slow
(unnecessary) - Under stair storage
(unnecessary) - 2nd view of under stair storage
Exposed Wiring - Unprotected electrical wire. Use caution not to damage
Junction Box Cover Missing - Upper level, common area closet, open junction box
Hallway Door Not Square - Upper level, door at top of stairs, needs adjustment

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I've attached a blank template with all the current captions I have so you or others can copy and paste them in bulk directly to your template if you want. It should give you a good start if you haven't yet started using the Caption feature. I have a text file and a note on my iPad which I constantly add new captions and comments to as I write them during inspections. My new additions have never reduced much since the captions feature was made. I have 6 more captions to add from my inspection yesterday. It's an ongoing process, but every inspection makes the next inspection faster because I have more and more comments and captions already created and ready to click.

Good luck Steve, it really is a pleasure to evaluate all this and share some of the results of many hours of trial and error. These are all just my thoughts and nothing is written in stone, there are many other ways of using HIP and all are worth considering too. I hope this helps you and anyone else considering the same issue of improving their reporting.