greggovett

So a quick update/review if anyone is interested. I tried Homeguage, it seems great, easy to use, very intuitive, a few different ways to organize the report. I imagine once you get familiar with it and can play around with it it gets even easier and better, but pretty impressive right out of the box. One thing I would change is that you check inspected or not, there is no box to allow you to report on the condition, good, marginal, defective etc. However this might be able to be changed I havn't played around much with the software. Other thing I did not like was after doing an inspection I found out you can't save as a PDF to send to a client with the trial version, live and learn I guess. I also tried Home Inspector Pro, it looks easy to use and has some good features, mainly the ability to add comments very quickly, however I still havn't been able to figure out how to edit the comments so I have not completed an entire report yet. Also it seems odd that pictures must be added in a separate section of the software, as opposed to adding them as you write of each component of the house like most software allows you to do. I'm trying to get Inspect Express but having some troubles getting the trial software off their website, will update once I get a chance to use it. It seems that the user reviews are right up there with Homeguage though and everyone seems to like it. The more I look into different software I am starting to realize there is no perfect software that will write the report for you, someone should work on that.

Thanks for the replies, they all sound quite similar in that if you do the work on the back end it will make a customized report for you. I'm doing on on Home Pro today using their demo version, will let everyone know how it compares to Palm Teck. I have to admit that while technology doesn't make me cringe its not my favourite thing in the world, the general feeling I get is that windows based systems are better than android so now I've also got to decide between using my phone and an app and getting a windows based tablet and running everything off that. Erby, just wondering why you switched from Palm-Teck it seems to be one of the industry leaders.

Jim, I'm not sure to tell you the truth, I've mostly looked at some sample reports. I've noticed some focus on a narrative or general description rather than the actual condition of the house, I know on the report that was done for my house each component included a vague description "the roof material is vital as it keeps water from penetrating your house" I find it muddles the report and creates many more pages and much more reading than required.

As the title says I am looking into changing my reporting software. I currently am looking at either Palm-Teck or Home Pro. Does anyone have any experience with either of these, the reason I like these is that the reports are a good combination of a checklist system that easily allow you to add notes. (in my opinion anyway). So what it will come down to is ease of use both on site, with a mobile device or tablet and people personal opinions. I don't post often but follow the boards quite closely and know there is quite a bit of knowledge on here so any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

My first post here, thought I would chime in. I'm from a family of contractors and have been around construction for years, recently getting my home inspectors license. although I don't specialize in mold removal I have run into it. My thoughts are that if you find obvious mold, you locate the source of the problem fix it, remove any traces and repair/make everything look nice again. Most people are aware that there is an over abundance of DIY shows and will trust an experienced persons opinions. I did however have one couple that insisted that since I wasn't concerned about how bad mold was must have meant that I didn't know what I was doing. I tried to explain that the mold test that the "experts" do is pretty much the same test anyone can buy from home depot and send in. Never the less they went with someone who advertised that they were mold certified. Not sure how it turned out but not my concern anymore. Anyway to make a long story short I don't think mold is by any means healthy to find in a house but when you discover it you deal with the source, as it is usually a moisture problem that will cause other damage as well. So you find it, clean it and fix it.