I made it a practice to take a number of photos during my inspections (pre-digital age) and yet never used any within my reports. After I got them back from Walgreens or Longs I kept what I considered the significant ones including all the negatives. I also kept all my field notes; who was there, what was said, odd occurrences, etc. Scanned as many as possible and like Scott burned them on CDs. Couple of times they shut down a legal action such as when a client claimed the home was vacant and my photos showed mucho furniture and stored personal items. Many times a pack-rat seller has loaded their foundation crawl space, attic and/or garage so that one can’t visually see much of anything... Visual evidence is very strong in a court of law and usually when the claimant’s attorneys see such evidence their case goes away. California has a 4 year statue of limitations beginning from the date of inspection. Every 4 years is shredding day for CA inspectors and 4 years after retiring from the trenches is truly a day of celebration. For those that quit business or retire don’t forget to get “tail” coverage for your E&O insurance if you didn’t have an “Occurrence” type policy.
Claims Made vs Occurrence