Scott said "If you have never done work like this or work that might be used for litigation, I would most likely tell the folks to get an attorney and then let the attorney hire the proper folks for the inspections."
That is something I was going to add later, but now it a good time to do so.
When working for the tenants, your report is discoverable and can be used against them.
To step back to what I was going to suggest later, but Scott said it now, if you do your report for an attorney, you report is now considered "work product" and is not discoverable. The tenants' attorney may pick and chose what to use in your report, versus having to disclose the entire report. That is, provided the report is not released to the owner for 'leverage', but, as Phillip stated ...
Phillip said: "In my experience the client has unrealistic expectations about what your inspection and report is going to do for them. Many labor under the misconception that they will hand your report to the building owner and that he will gasp in surprise as he reads it and say "My God! I didn’t know!" and that he will then suddenly start getting everything fixed."
That's not going to happen.
Phillip added excellent advice with: "This is a very tight ethical rope for you to walk as an inspector. Do you take the tenant’s money now under circumstances like these?" and "The client would be better off using that money for a deposit on a better place in most cases."
Let's say you take $300 from 100 tenants, that's a very good payday for you.
But now those tenants are each $300 poorer ... with probably little benefit from that $300. That could be their families food budget for a month.
Phillip also said: "Do you really think there is an expert witness payday waiting down the road? If so, do the inspection pro bono or on speculation of future income."
If you think that will be the outcome, go for it, in fact, bring in the new reporters to film with you, letting them know you are doing the inspection pro bono to help the tenants out - could be a very big advertising coop for you, but, don't hold your breath for that payday as an expert witness - it is not likely to come.
The tenants get something they wanted: documentation of the problems.
The owner gets something they can accept: something else to ignore.
You get some good PR.
The news station get a good news story.
No one loses*, and there is only one winner - the news station ... while you will get good PR, is it worth all that time and missed income?
*Potential Losers - the tenants lose big time if the health department or fire department come in and force them to vacate the premises - where will they go to live?
Now, you lose too ... your 'good deed' PR turns against you because it was "your report" which caused the health department or fire department to investigate and ultimately force eviction because of unsafe or unsanitary conditions in the structure.
Tim,
"2. If they other attorney decides to have you subpoenaed to testify as to what you saw/wrote in your report, then you would not be getting paid."
That's a common misconception.
The other attorney can call you as 'Record Custodian", your response, and your only response, is "Yes, this is the
inspection report, dated so-and-so, for the inspection performed on such-and-such dates." Nothing more. As the Records Custodian, you CAN ONLY attest to the fact that the report IS, or IS NOT, *THE* report for that inspection. Period.
They can call you as a Witness of Fact, your response, and your only response, is "I will have to read the report. Only what is in the report is fact, I have nothing I can add as a Witness of Fact."
When they press for more answers, you then respond with "I can answer those questions as an Expert Witness, however, you would need to complete this Expert Witness contract and agreement before I can act as an Expert Witness, would you like to complete it now?"
If not happened already, the Judge will likely break in and ask you to let him/her look at your Expert Witness contract. Make sure all the blanks are filled in, dollar amounts, time rate, minimum number of hours, typically half days, so if you come one minute before lunch and leave one minute after lunch you have 'two half days'. The Judge will likely then give it back to you and instruct the opposing attorney to either execute the Expert Witness agreement/contract or change their questioning, and, if executed, he/she (the Judge) will likely add "I *WILL* make sure you pay the amount in the Expert Witness agreement/contract should you continue with this line of questioning." (or something to that affect).
Mostly likely, the attorney will respond with 'No more questions, Your Honor.', at which time the Judge will turn to you and say 'You are now excused and you may leave." That is when you get up and leave.
You may not have wasted that time as there will be at least two attorneys present who will likely acknowledge your savvy in the courtroom and quite possibly call you for future Expert Witness work.
