SOPs & Software

Thank you for another great class. You and Steve do a great job.
I had purchased a Standard Home Inspection Report Form last year from
Professional Equipment catalog however I noticed they all conform to
the ASHI standards.  Is there a paper Report Form that conforms to NACHI
standards so I can use to send a copy of an inspection to the Board to
get my license out of escrow.

I’m not sure what you’re really asking, but it sounds like you are asking what inspection report to send to the Board to get your license out of escrow.  That answer — to that unasked question — is that no report has to be attached to the “request” to “reactivate” your license.  The rules are at 815 KAR 6:010 Sec 8.  It’s in your PLI law materials.  If you think about it, it would not make sense to have done a home inspection/report while your license was “inactive.” 
    You just prepare a “notarized statement” (like a letter) giving the 8 items listed in subsection 2 of the regulation, at subsections (2)(a) – (2)(h).  No report.  (This is not a license renewal.)  If you want, call me when it’s sent in, and I’ll keep an eye out when I’m at the Board meeting.
    If I’ve got your question wrong, then (leaving the application aside, and just focusing on practice), I don’t think there’s a big enough difference between the Standard Home Inspection Report form that PE sells and a report under the NACHI SOP you would do in 3D to worry about the short gap between getting your license and installing software.  Even though NACHI points out that “at or near the end of service life” is not a significant deficiency under NACHI, and the Standard HI Report calls for that information, for example, the main problem with the form is awkwardness. You can leave those sections on the form blank, since NACHI does not require it.  Alternatively, if your business judgement is that your clients want some information in that department, you can handwriten it in the form (such as “older unit; budget to replace in near future” for instance).  It’s a pain, but it will get you over the gap between now and software.
    Even so, I’d suggest your focus should be on first impressions, as a business matter.  Coming out of semi-retirement, the first people who hire reactivated inspectors are giving them a break.  They will remember for quite a while if they are disappointed, and just as long if their expectations are exceeded.  Old style paper reports are unlikely to pleasantly surprise anyone, as I think you know.  Agents like the idea that professionals they use reflect well on them — by delivering up-to-date email reports, that are so much easier to use (no going to the copier store to make a request for repairs, for example), and that impress their clients (how do you put color photos in the Standard Home Inspection Report form, for instance?).  Nobody will tell you your report was a let-down.  They’ll just drift away.  And it can take a very long time, after you go to software, to convince them to give you another try.  Your note says you’re planning to get 3-D.  I’d say “don’t put it off.”  It will take a little time to get used to any new software, and to make sure you can pop reports out without a snarl when you’re back up inspecting.
    Call me if you’re unclear about any of this.  And please call me when you’re back in the saddle!

 

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