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Included With
Your Home Inspection
This is "The Guide" to operate
your home. Over 400 drawings and simple explanations that describe the
operation of the structural, electrical, and mechanical systems in your
home. Hundreds of solutions to common problems. This 300+ page book will
give you the information you need to effectively operate and maintain
your home.
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Sample
Home Inspection Report (Part 1)
I
am very pleased to have an example of my current home inspection report
on my website. For years I used preprinted checklist/narrative home inspection
reports that I filled out in the field. I knew I was a very capable home
inspector. Yet I always felt that the preprinted/handwritten home inspection
reports were unprofessional and inadequate. I have good handwriting but
there is just something unprofessional about crossing things out if you
make a mistake, or scribbling in the margins, or having to write very
short descriptions because you will run out of room otherwise. A few years
ago I made the switch to digital home inspection reporting with the goal
of having a truly professional report that would serve my clients better
and was also something that I could be proud of. There were a few decisions
along the way…...
Sample
Home Inspection Report (Part 2)
The computer generated narrative home inspection reports are much more
work, and so I had to make the decision to charge more, but I think the
final product has been well worth the extra fee. I also had to make a
choice of whether to print in the field or take it home with me and tweak
it, so that it was specific to the home and did not rely predominantly
on prepackaged "boilerplate". I knew a few inspectors that printed in
the field, so it was possible, but my gut reaction and experience told
me that writing the home inspection report the next day was vastly superior
to any field generated report, and I think it definitely is. There is
no substitute for being able to thoroughly think through the proper language
to describe a problem, defect, potential safety hazard, and give your
recommendations., to take the time to carry out any additional research,
not to mention running a spell check, There are many things that are laundry
list material such as "extend your downspouts away from the foundation"
or "install a railing for safety". But, I have found, that the homes I
inspect are also very unique with several specific problems requiring
specific interpretations. Simply put, I believe that field generated home
inspection reports that rely on prepackaged boilerplate fall short of
true professionalism.
Sample Termite
Report
The other major decision I had to make was whether to include digital
photos in the report. Many home inspectors do not do digital photography,
or if they do, they don't include it in the body of the home inspection
report. The reason is it's a heck of a lot of work. Again, being the perfectionist,
I decided to go the extra mile. There are several instances where digital
photography makes a huge difference. Taking pictures of roofs, for instance,
gives all concerned parties the inspector's view. Likewise, pictures of
the underside of a hot water heater or the inside of the electrical service
panel put all parties on the same page. The digital camera also allows
me to see things I wouldn't normally be able to see, such as when I insert
the camera in the ash pit of a fireplace and take a picture of the inside
where I could never get a good look, even with a mirror. Including the
photography in the body of the report gives much more organization to
the report and allows specific reference to the photos with captions,
circles, arrows, dimensions, and other visual cues. The sample report
I've included shows some of these situations and features, and demonstrates
why next day digital reporting with photography is vastly superior to
any other home inspection reporting format. Your home inspection report
will be very similar to what you see, and hopefully with many less problems.
The reports are in PDF format and are uploaded onto a website. You are
sent an e-mail notifying you that you can download the report and you
are given a user name and password to use. The whole process is very easy
and I've had very few problems getting the reports out to my home inspection
clients.
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Service Area
We
perform home inspections in the following cities and towns in Middlesex,
Norfolk, and Worcester Counties of Massachusetts:
Acton,
Allston, Andover, Arlington, Ashland, Ashburnham, Auburn, Ayer, Bedford,
Belmont, Berlin, Billerica, Bolton, Boston suburbs, Boylston, Boxboro,Boxborough,
Brighton, Brookline, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Clinton, Concord,
Dedham, Dunstable, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Gardner, Grafton,
Groton, Harvard, Holden, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hudson, Jamaica
Plain, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Marlboro, Marlborough,
Maynard, Medway, Mendon, MetroWest, Milford, Millis, Natick, Needham,
Newton, Northboro, Northborough, Norwood, Pepperell, Shrewsbury, Somerville,
Southboro, Stoneham, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Townsend,
Tyngsborough, Upton, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Westboro,
Westborough, Westford, West Roxbury, Weston, Westwood, Winchester, Woburn,
Worcester, Leicester, Leominster, Lunenburg, Millbury, Princeton, Shirley,
Sterling, West Boylston.
MA
Top 5 Home Inspectors
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Harmony Home Inspection of MA
All Rights Reserved
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