report software

[Jeremy]

Is anyone using Inspect vue report software?

[Chad Fabry]

A gazillion folks do. Glad to see you posting!

[Jeremy]

Good! Considering purchasing software and looking for opinions on this one. Thanks for the welcome, glad you recognized me.

[gtblum]

Hey J.

[Jeremy]

Hey G.

[hausdok]

Inspect Vue? (spit)

I'm an Inspect Express man myself. I don' need no steenking inspectorspeak written in passive voice by some wannabe inspector PHD; if I want gobbledygook, I'll write it myself.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[randynavarro]

Hey J.

[Tim H]

Originally posted by hausdok

Inspect Vue? (spit)

I'm an Inspect Express man myself. I don' need no steenking inspectorspeak written in passive voice by some wannabe inspector PHD; if I want gobbledygook, I'll write it myself.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Hey Mike,

I have been using IE for about 4 years now and I like it. A lot. Did you have a hand in writing the boilerplate? I have had to modify most of the boilerplate that I use (to accommodate regional differences, grammatical errors etc.), but it was worlds better than the other software that I test drove.

Tim

[Les]

Jemany,

Have you looked at Inspect Expess? Do you want easy or correct? I got no dog in this fight, but I do get to read nearly every "type" report out there.

I am guessing you are fairly new and it seems you keep pretty good company, so why not keep looking around and make an informed decision. In fact, now may be a good time to kinda scrap the old notions and settle on a format/protocol that reflects you most accurately.

just an old fart's opinion!

[hausdok]

Originally posted by Tim H

Did you have a hand in writing the boilerplate? I have had to modify most of the boilerplate that I use (to accommodate regional differences, grammatical errors etc.), but it was worlds better than the other software that I test drove.

Tim

Hi,

Yeah, I did at one point; however, the last time I downloaded an update and looked at the boilerplate I didn't recognize a whole lot of it.

One should expect to rewrite software boilerplate to fit one's own style anyway; just avoid passive inspectorspeak and write like you talk and it usually works out fine.

The beauty of IE is that it's designed with the compumoron in mind and it makes it easy to produce a decent report without a lot of agonizing and struggling with how to format it. It's super easy to format it and to make changes to it. Plus, it will kick out a full-narrative for you that might have otherwise taken hours to peck out on a keyboard; or, if you want a semi-narrative format for a report, all yo have to do is go into settings and turn on semi-narrative mode.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Les]

I have found most reports I read to be worthless when you examine them.

The typical inspector can read it and fully understand what he/she is writing. The dis-interested third party reading it repeatedly says "What the heck is this!". "Why!". "Bullsh#*".

In the twilight years of my service, I am of the opinion that most inspectors write bad reports because they don't know what their job is.

The best reports are Photos and a couple of sentences and the pre-inspection agreement "Sue me if I don't report to the best of my knowledge and experience. I don't know everything and ain't a fortune teller."

[Chad Fabry]

Please allow me, with tongue in cheek, to shine a high intensity discharge photon stream on prose that intentionally obfuscates the circumstances present at the time the inspector made the observations. Further, this inspector disclaims the effectiveness of the here attached disclaimer except for those cases where the user is identifying systems of an identical nature in an identical setting while being influenced by identical climactic conditions. Lastly this inspector profusely apologizes to those that have already sampled the following excerpt and urges said individuals to skip the text to avoid any unpleasant physical side effects.

Quote: No visual structural problems were noted in the inspection of the underfloor support and associated systems.

The inspection of this area is limited to a visual investigation for the apparent presence of the systems and evidence of obvious system failure only. There may be multiple individually engineered systems involved and their requirements may differ and/or overlap in function depending on the location, installation date, soil bearing capacity, manufacturers design data and requirements, as well as the engineered design and listings of the individual components or assemblies utilized. The support system is designed to support the weight of the home including occupants, furnishings and any additional snow loads imposed on the roof. The tie down system is designed to resist lateral and uplifting wind loads. An earthquake resistant bracing system is designed to minimize damage to the home and injury to occupants in the event of seismic related movement. The rating or listing, the location and the number of components will normally vary for each individual home and a thorough evaluation is beyond the scope of a home inspection. Further evaluation of the underfloor support and associated systems by a qualified engineer or inspector is recommended for all manufactured homes prior to occupancy. Manufacturers instructions, system plans and permits should be present and made available to the person conducting the review.id="blue">

[Jeremy]

I agree with what is being said as I have looked at most software out there. I also believe most of them have boiler that needs editing, which leads me to look for the one with functionality. I have to agree, IE probably has some of the better boiler plate. There has been a lot said about many of the report writers here on Inspector Journal and other forum sites, but I have not found much said of Inspect Vue. Made me curious if anyone was using it.

Chad, be careful with those high intensity discharge photo streams. You're gonna hurt someone.

[kurt]

Naah, ain't wrong.

You wanna stay alive in this biz, you better be able to form a complete sentence and understand the sentence needs a noun and a verb.

I think one also has to understand photographic principles. Fewer well chosen words, a couple good pics, and simple arrow or circle highlighting the condition makes for a very readable and understandable report.

The job yesterday (soffit vent redux) tells me I am on to something. The builder was getting real pissy about talking everything over right there, and I was responding with "I don't do it that way; you can read the report". The builder got more pissy insisting that no one is going to understand the report.

Every realtor present (3) hates me, but they all assured the builder that everyone would understand the report. They all made a point of deriding me, but at the end all said, "at least you can understand his reports because of all the pictures".

The client (2nd job) also chimed in with comments along the lines of "yes, the pictures and arrows are where it's at".

It ain't just words. It's a well orchestrated combination of words and lots of pictures.

You gotta have software that makes working with photos real easy.

Inspect Express has that part down. Way down. You can punch in your own words, the fewer (well chosen) the better.

And, this is from a guy that only a couple years ago argued that he didn't need pictures in his reports; he could describe stuff just fine.

Nope. Lottsa pics.

[hausdok]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

Whatever it takes to make people start nodding their heads...

WJ

That seems to change from one area to another and with how sophisticated one's client base is. I write full-narrative reports with very few pictures - normally nothing more than a picture of the house on the cover and a graphic or two - and you all know that I can be kind of,....wordy. The majority of my clients are foreign-born techies in the computer and software fields and most seem to prefer detailed explanations in language they can understand to brevity. I've found that it's normally the real estate folks, sellers, or builders who chafe at the report content.

It must be working, 'cuz I'm busier than I've been in many years and lately I've had to field excess work to other inspectors who've been around for decades longer than I have who're complaining that business is too slow.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[kurt]

Here's what I've found most true.

Folks that haven't seen many HI reports like whatever it is you hand them, be it 3 ring binder and checklists, 30 page single spaced narrative, comic book, whatever.

Everyone likes whatever you hand 'em. Kinda funny, but true.

[StevenT]

I've never used Vue, but agree with all that state boilers that are not easily understood are horrible. Jeremy, it just so happens that two of the best report systems available (in my opinion), are regular sponsors/advertisers right here at TIJ. Personally, I use Homeinspectorpro and am very happy with it. I can make my reports look like whatever I need to fit the circumstances, and once past the learning curve, it's very easy to use.

If ever I was to switch (which I doubt), the only system I would consider would be IE.

By the way, whichever system you choose, make sure to consider the support that comes with it. Once again, I have nothing but praise for Dom over at HIPro, and as far as IE goes, Mike has stepped in and helped me out when I had computer problems. I thought that was especially considerate of him, since I'm not even using his system.

Of course, beware. All will promise you the best support, but few will deliver.

[Jeremy]

Hey Guys, thanks for the input. I have been looking for almost a year and now I am ready. Tomorrow evening I will have a glass of wine, get the darts out and when I open my eyes I'll know which one of three it will be.

[Chris Bernhardt]

Never forget you can roll your own.

I wrote my own report writer using the visual basic built into word.

There is no report writer out there that does it in the manner I want.

But I'll warn you that the cost of writing your own is many many times more than what you'll pay for IE, which is what I would use otherwise.

Chris, Oregon

[Jeremy]

No doubt. That is one of those things that if you start, you get too invested in it to quit even though you have way more in it than you want. Then when you get done, you wonder, what was I thinking.

Yeah, I will hand over the cash.

[kurt]

You're right. With software, as one starts, one must continue. Download all the program samples and dink around with them because once you get invested in one, your in and you probably aren't getting out alive.

Chris is right. I started "writing" (formatting) my own operation in Filemaker Pro in about 1992 because there was nothing else out there.

Wooof......it's been a long haul, and I can't even begin to count the hours over all these years. Rolling your own is not a good way to go, although I've come up with something that's pretty damn cool.

[midwestpro]

Some people may disagree with me but I personally like InspectIt from AHIT. I have tried a few different programs and I am a fan of narrative styles and have tweaked my InspectIt report in various areas and personally love it and so do the agents I work with. As others, I include pictures in my report as well and I certainly think this helps. Just my .02.

[davidlord]

I've been using the InspectIt software for 10 years. Works for me.

[midwestpro]

Well, cant disagree with some of their verbage or for that fact some of their classes. I think overall alot of the software out their and classes that talk about limiting liability in reports include way to much gabalgook so that it may be interpreted in a different way should you ever be present with a lawsuit. This is one of the many areas that I have revamped in the Inspecit reports that I use, and on top of that I use much more comprehendible words and areas. I think that one of the most important things that an inspector can do to limit liability is 1) perform the best inspection you can 2) explain to the customer what they should expect and what they should not in an inspection 3) get them to sign a damn inspection-agreement personally I still dont know why some inspectors dont do this 4) Lastly, include an area in your report that has inspection restrictions (if it applied) for example if a bush/tree was in the way to properly evaluate an exterior wall, or you could not enter the attic STATE IT IN THE REPORT. We unfortunately live in a sue-happy country and I dont think it is going to change anytime soon so get on the boat and limit your liability...sorry a little off track