Report Conventions

[Focal Point]

Question. Do we have to use conventions in our reports stating such things as...

Satisfactory, marginal and poor?

also, Major concern, repair, monitor, replace, improve and so on.

Or can we just state the facts and go on?

I don't really care for conventions because they seem to me to have a tendency to cause a lot of unneeded aggravation from all sides.

I wrote a couple of reports without the conventions and the way I see it, I still state the same un-biased, cold hard facts, and It seems to keep pissed off realtors out of my hair, "well what's left of it". Trust me when I say, I'm pretty good at pissing off realtors, and frankly, I dont really care...

however it would be kinda nice to get an agent referral once in a while.

Any thoughts?

[Chris Bernhardt]

I have always been unconfortable with thier use as they are ill defined. I use "satisfactory" and "see findings" In that portion of the my report where we are required to list the items of inspection and indicate whether they are satisfactory or not. I actually have a page devoted to the context and definition of "satisfactory" as I use it in the inspection report. I actually write it as "satisfactory*". Otherwise I try to just write the best narative I can and advice in the findings section of my report aimed at the understanding of my client.

I also found that developing a good understanding of the legal definition of "negligent misrepresentation" has gone a long way in guiding my language and discussion of the findings.

Chris, Oregon

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Focal Point

Question. Do we have to use conventions in our reports stating such things as...

Satisfactory, marginal and poor?

also, Major concern, repair, monitor, replace, improve and so on.

Or can we just state the facts and go on?

Good grief, I certainly hope so. There's no requirement to use those kind of labels. Personally, I have no bias for or against them though. They're a convenience that can either work for or against you.

I don't really care for conventions because they seem to me to have a tendency to cause a lot of unneeded aggravation from all sides.

And they're imprecise.

I wrote a couple of reports without the conventions and the way I see it, I still state the same un-biased, cold hard facts, and It seems to keep pissed off realtors out of my hair, "well what's left of it". Trust me when I say, I'm pretty good at pissing off realtors, and frankly, I dont really care...

however it would be kinda nice to get an agent referral once in a while.

Any thoughts?

I doubt that the practice will bring you agent referrals.

You should do whatever works for you.

One nice thing about the labels is that it helps customers to sift through the report quickly and pick out the important stuff. But there's certainly no requirement to use them.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[kurt]

I don't use them anymore; haven't for years.

I describe the conditions, what it means, & what it will take to correct. Trying to summarize mildly complex conditions into a single word isn't precise, and rarely accurate.

That said, I agree w/Jim in saying it's sometimes convenient for customers to latch onto when breezing through reports.

[Scottpat]

I tend to use "Not Installed Properly", "Serviceable", "Operable", "Working", "Not working", "Broken", "Not responding",and the famous "Failed Under Testing".

On commercial inspections I use: Good, Fair and Poor when I report on items.

Good= New or like new

Fair= Item is working

Poor= Item is not working, needs repair or is very old.

I do not like to use this type of Good,Fair or Poor scale for residential homes unless it is for an multi-family housing.