Les Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 What is the most important skill a home inspector must have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenT Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 All of the above. Kinda like asking: Which is more important... to inhale or to exhale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 Steven, I see your point! Let's see, do I want to inhale or exhale? I know all about plumbing, but I did NOT inhale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted April 22, 2014 Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm the only one that voted "Other". Maybe that's because I inhaled.....[:-paperba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2014 ............I did not inhale that air! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 This poll is without merit. The most important skill isn't even on the list. What good is a home inspector without his most finely-honed craft? That of which I speak, of course, is Kung fu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 Hands down, communication and writing. If you get stumped on other things, usually you can research to find your answers. If you cannot communicate well, especially in writing, what good is anything you know? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 I's wit John and dem udders. If ya can't cumunicake, ya isn't anee good fer anyting. Lern sumptin from dey mastr Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 I's wit John and dem udders. If ya can't cumunicake, ya isn't anee good fer anyting. Lern sumptin from dey mastr Mac Marc, You have had far too much gumbo today!! [] I agree with "communications" ... it is the 'key'. I worked in the "communications department" with The Associated Press and I often commented at how bad we were with 'communicating'. Turns out ... not just at The AP ... everything we do relies on communications. I'm a ham radio operator and it is all about 'communications'. A lot of us hams don't communicate the 'best', but most strive to always improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 Hands down, communication and writing. If you get stumped on other things, usually you can research to find your answers. If you cannot communicate well, especially in writing, what good is anything you know? You could take a lot of pictures and use those to communicate. So change mine to good photography skills. That and a deadly spinkick. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 isn't this entertaining? I will let this go a couple more days then see what I can make of the false positives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 You could take a lot of pictures and use those to communicate. So change mine to good photography skills. That's an interesting idea, one that's not given nearly enough consideration. While one's writing is important, communicating an idea with a picture has inherent benefits. We still have the bulk of HI's fiddling around with boilerplate machinery that stresses defect recognition and the ability to hit a button on screen to insert canned verbiage into pre-formatted software contrivances in language foreign to nearly all consumers. HI's exist in an odd bubble that ignores the revolution and changes in communication forms of the last 20 years, and the fact that the next generation (those now moving into household formation) barely reads at all; their world exists in pictures and videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 see? I like the direction this is going. No John, the full nelson hammer lock is not a requisite skill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Simon Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 During my first five years or so, I felt that finding defects was much more important than the communication of same. Heck, my client was usually with me, saw what I saw, and I felt that was good enough. However, my writing/report was a mish-mash of inspector-speak drivel. I now give them equal weight; finding, then reporting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 All true. I was talking more about the form of reporting. Finding the stuff is easy; getting it ALL across to the customer is the hard part. We place too much emphasis on words, not enough on pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 ...would've checked other and defined as observation skills and on-the-feet-adaptability in terms of process. You have to be able to take in and process the unexpected. Have to adjust field routine to what you find, but if you cannot communicate your findings it is of no help to be observant, Watson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 "The roof shingles are lacking granule, they're curling up, the rain slots are worn out, and they're badly worn at the eaves. Have additional analysis by a licensed competent roofing contractor." Or..... "The shingles are worn out; replace the roof." Click to Enlarge 62.46 KB I propose that the first comment is meaningless to nearly everyone and the 2nd is structured and understandable to modern humans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosier inspector Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 Teaching is the best way to describe what I do. Investigation, analysis, and prescription are all important and necessary, but useless if not communicated effectively. Communication is so much blather if not anchored in an understanding of the subject. I inspect structures, but report to my customers on their potential home. A good teacher uses his or her skill set to assemble a course that reaches each student on a personal level. It seems to me that the trade is slowly spiraling down a path that is taking the customer out of the equation to produce a product instead of a service, much like our educational system. I try not to "teach to the test" and hope my customers come away better suited for home ownership than when we met. I vote for Other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkenney Posted April 23, 2014 Report Share Posted April 23, 2014 "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Amaral Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 A healthy appetite for wanting to read, research... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 A healthy appetite for wanting to read, research... Rob, I had forgotten about that! I do read at least 30minutes every day. Dedicated reading. Reading for fun more like 3-4hrs per week. Read Read Read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 A healthy appetite for wanting to read, research... Rob, I had forgotten about that! I do read at least 30minutes every day. Dedicated reading. Reading for fun more like 3-4hrs per week. Read Read Read. Yes, if you can't read, you can't play here. [] So what does your poll tell you that a pole or a Pole could not have told you? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 A healthy appetite for wanting to read, research... Rob, I had forgotten about that! I do read at least 30minutes every day. Dedicated reading. Reading for fun more like 3-4hrs per week. Read Read Read. Yes, if you can't read, you can't play here. [] So what does your poll tell you that a pole or a Pole could not have told you before? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 John, really does not tell me much. I used it to talk a little about communication rather than bedbugs! it was not intended to be science, just a tickler. It brought photos to the fore and got us talking about reading - it did something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafeKey Home Inspection Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 It's really hard to pinpoint the most important skill, but I think I would have to say communication skills as well. Good pictures don't mean much when the comment or narrative looks illiterate. Attention to detail is a must! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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