My First 5 Inspections as a Student - Reports?

**John C Hansen, LEED AP** · 02-17-2016, 10:25 AM

The Illinois License requirement is that I must do 5 inspections before I take the test. I am looking forward to those inspections and I think that I want to take them with 2 or 3 different inspectors rather than doing all 5 with the same person.
.
What is the expectation related to a student preparing a report? Will they wish to have me do a report to see what I will write and compare it to their own report of that inspection? Will they take time to comment on my photos and report? Will the State want to see my reports befor they let me take the test?

I do not yet have a reporting software package.

What do most student do related to reports for these five pre-license inspections?

Similar Threads:

**Steve Payson** · 02-18-2016, 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by John C Hansen, LEED AP

I do not yet have a reporting software package.

What do most student do related to reports for these five pre-license inspections?

When I first started out, I created a MS Word template based on my states SOP. I used that for my reports until I could afford reporting software.

**John Kogel** · 02-21-2016, 05:30 PM

I used the free trial version that was offered at the time by Horizon. This allows you to include some pictures and get a feel for reporting the modern way.
Try HIP or HomeGuage as well.
Anybody starting out should be including pictures, lots of them.
Text docs are for old timers that don't need to market themselves.

**John C Hansen, LEED AP** · 02-22-2016, 12:42 PM

Thanks Steve and John.
Just after I posted this question, I attended a meeting of one of the local chapters of an HI Association. I heard one of the members at that meeting recommend to everyone that when they are giving one of these inspections as training for new students, that they ask for the student to send them a report within two days just as though the student is in a real inspection business environment.
I had never read this anywhere before. I sorta expected this to be the answer and I was preparing to be writing reports from the first of my five inspections.

**Markus Keller** · 02-22-2016, 05:29 PM

If whoever you are doing ride alongs with isn't telling you to write a report, he isn't actually training you.

**Dan Cullen** · 03-30-2016, 06:51 PM

I am loathe to disagree with my esteemed colleague and fine gentleman from the State of Illinois but alas, I must. The 5 'field events' are not required to be training events. They are familiarization events. If the student and veteran inspector decide that a practice report should be part of the process that's great; if not, it doesn't have to be. Again, getting your license and becoming a home inspector are two separate but related processes. Crawl....then walk. IMHO.

**Garry Sorrells** · 03-31-2016, 05:16 AM

Dan,
I took a brief look at Ill Lic Law and process and did not see exactly what was required in the 5 inspection field trip requirement. Almost sounds like you could sit in the truck and eat lunch to meet the requirements. Like you stated "The 5 'field events' are not required to be training events. They are familiarization events."

**John C Hansen, LEED AP** · 03-31-2016, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells

Dan,
I took a brief look at Ill Lic Law and process and did not see exactly what was required in the 5 inspection field trip requirement. Almost sounds like you could sit in the truck and eat lunch to meet the requirements. Like you stated "The 5 'field events' are not required to be training events. They are familiarization events."

Garry,
Yes, the Illinois requirement is pretty loose. I chose to take training inspections with Five different inspectors around the Chicago area. I benefited greatly from the process of writing the five reports. I benefited from the feedback that I got from each of the inspectors. They had seen the house and they knew what was important.
I have visited association meeting where the topic of training was discussed, and the veterans all seem to affirm the opinion of Markus Keller when he writes "If whoever you are doing ride alongs with isn't telling you to write a report, he isn't actually training you." I got some great training from five great inspectors. And now that I did it this way I recommend this to all because the five different teachers gave me more ways to see the process in action than had I gone out on five inspections with the same teacher.
I take the State Exam this afternoon and then the real work begins.