July 2015 Giveaway!!!! The MR160. $599.00 Value. Every Post Counts

The best and simplest giveaway yet.

Post in this thread. Every post counts...as long as it has any content at all.

The thread may drift, and that's okay, but I want to start off with a real conversation about the future of home inspection. I've lived in this industry for the last 32 years, 16 of them professionally you could say, and I'd like to think we've made a lot of progress as a profession in the last 10 years.

But then again...

Anyhow, let's have a conversation. What's next? What will become of standards or will they even be relevant? How does the industry look 5, 10, and even 20 years from now?

I may chime in here or there, I have some thoughts.

Here's your prize, but I think everyone will be a winner here;

http://inspectorshop.net/product/flir-mr160-with-igm-infrared-guided-measurement/

Here's the official giveaway photo to share with friends!

Onsite reports with increased improvements in technology is where I feel things are headed. Thinking outside of the traditional inspection model will also be key to success in the future of home inspection. The first things that come to mind for myself anyway.

I disagree with the on-site reports thing, I just can't possibly see doing that and providing a good report. I tried the mobile app thing, took way too much time on site to type everything into the phone/tablet and you can't use an auto comment for everything and then there's the times you need to think of how you want to word things to keep it simple yet professional. I personally use a notebook and shorthand notes for everything as I go through and then input everything at home. I also like to use pictures for everything and video as well. A phone or tablet would work for most the entire inspection except the attic, tough to get good pics up there with a phone or tablet. I use a really good compact digital camera that has a killer zoom and autofocus, makes my job much easier in an attic, especially getting strap pics for a wind mit. Just my $.02

As for your question about standards Nathan, I don't think they will matter or really be changed much, but the guys that go above and beyond and stay current with services like what you guys offer to offer more value to their customers are going to be the ones that really get ahead in the industry and others are either going to have to follow suit or fail because even the guys that are well established and not offering these extras are eventually going to start losing their agents to newer guys that are coming in and doing the extras as time goes on and more companies start following suit. Most agents care about their customers and want them to get the most value for their money. I know I'm new to this game, but I could see the writing on the wall as soon as I stumbled onto your services and that's why I jumped aboard immediately! The growth I've seen in such a short time has been amazing and I attribute most of it to having you guys in my corner and lots of good reasons for agents to try me out over the competition. If you have nothing different to offer an agent compared to who they currently use, why would they even talk to you other than the occasional lucky time that you might run into one that just had a bad experience with their current guy? Real tough to get a foot in the door without having things to set you apart and I thank you for all you do to provide me with those things! ☺

Oh and just in case anyone's wondering why I'm posting at 3:30am, its not because I'm up writing reports because I don't deliver them on site, lol. Just had another baby a few weeks ago, so I don't get a whole lot of sleep right now, haha, up every few hours with the little man.

Fine posts so far. I'm still waiting to throw in my thoughts...

The main thing you'll see is it'll get "techy"...I embrace technology, from mobile reporting, digital tools, etc... I even dictate my reports using voice recognition. To the client the reports can look better then old hand written ones, but the improvements may not be noticed by clients as much as us, it'll make our job easier.

I think onsite reporting is going to be a requirement in the next few years. Inspectors who don't figure it out will be like inspectors still hand writing reports.

On-site reporting is the way to go. Type the report and snap pics while you inspekt, upload the report to your computer inside your mobile office, put finishing touches, spell check and send.

The best benefit of onsite report is when you leave you're done

Technology will be one of the keys for the future. Drones and thermal provide more clues to what is going on with the house.

We are starting to do some onsite reporting. Emailing from the site, no printing. Tablet to to the report and finalize on the computer. I can say it does save some headache, not having to worry about being up late finishing reports at home.
Where it dosent work for me sometimes is when i have to research some items. Bit is is a work in progress to fine tune.

I think that the days of the one-man inspection company are numbered. They'll always be there, but I don't think they will be in the majority like they are now. It will be tough for them to compete with the multi-inspector firms that have easily recognizable fleet vehicles, full-time marketing departments, and increased availability.

I also think that the actually inspections will change to a more services based system. The SOP's will still be followed, but each inspection will be custom designed for the home and the buyer. Additional services that I already see are Thermography, Radon, Mold and Termite, but I wouldn't be surprised to see more companies offering other services as well. I am working on putting together an advanced HVAC diagnostic package, plumbing package, solar roof installation package, etc.

I am already working on the next big thing for our marketing. Not done by anyone yet as far as I can tell.

It doesn't matter what your name is!

My favorites were the Road Warriors from the AWA and early WCW days, and of course RVD when ECW reigned supreme.