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Re: Worst Client Contest
Brandon, I believe Jerry P addressed your question quite thoroughly and to suport his sage advice I'm one of two report reviewers for my association and I have seen more than once a photo inserted showing a defect with another in the background that went unmentioned. One such mistake like that will put your entire report under suspicion, not to mention you will pay for a fixin that unreported defect...
In the early years of my EW work we used only film cameras as digital cameras had not been invented yet therefore unavailable and after they where and became both available and really good they where almost always challenged in court by the opposing attorney as the photos produced were possibly being digitally altered, as if that couldn’t be done with a film shot?
Today all the judges and arbitrators accept digital shots, at least in the counties where I’m accepted as an expert witness. Even most all of the pro-photographers are now into digital photography. The date and time is nice, but not a requirement, so far.
Most of us put on power-point shows with the photos we have taken of all the undisclosed and/or unreported defects and after the inevitable dead silence at the end of the show the opposing attorney usually asks for a recess and then comes back and tells the judge or arbitrator they’ve reached a settlement. Back when I was in the trenches a photo saved me big money when the client claimed I missed a whole bunch of wall damage and should have seen it because the house was vacant. I sent him photos showing every area where the damage was located and all the seller’s furnishings covering it. End of story. Photos are powerful visual evidence…as Aaron stated.
BTW, I just bought a new Nikon D-80 and it’s really neat if anybody is shopping for a top-of-the-line camera. For home inspection pocket type digital cameras I’ve had good luck with the Nikon Cool-pix line.
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