Review Homeguage , Home Inspector Pro , Horizon
21/03/09 11:00 Filed in: Home Inspection news
- There are several home inspector packages out there. Here is my review of three , Homeguage , Home Inspector Pro and Horizon
I looked at quite a few packages , almost all have a sample output document . Several never made it past this point, Inspectivue for example I found to be too wordy, I didnt want my customers to have to read a novel. I also came across several threads complaining about customer service and not compatible with windows vista 64 bit.
Report Host looked promising but I didnt like the output document and it needed a web connection.
1. Horizon
Pro
Made by Carson Dunlop, I found this software very apealing , probably because I have completed the Carson Dunlop Home Inspection course, I found the software layout fluid , easy to use and the output document , short sweet to the point and visually applealing.
Con
The software was clunky to use on both my Mac and PC, perhaps that was because I was using the demo software, however demo or not it should work. The pages were not rendering properly and I lost my confidense quickly , I did not want to base my businees on this package.
This software follows the current trend of being internet based, I don’t like this idea of always having to be connected to the internet to use a software package.
The biggest con was price, you can not own this product , its based on per use. At the lowest level the price is $12 per report. Yes it does include a download system as well as a calender and a method to keep a record of who paid and who didn’t, but at $12 per report this price is just to steep. Lets say you hope to do 200 inspections in your first year well thats $2400 US , if your canadian don’t forget to add 20% for the exchange rate.
2. Home Inspector Pro
Pro
The cheapest , at the time of my evaluation it was $350 US, however at the time of this writing the price has jumped to $499 US.
Very easy to use, non cluttered workspace, seemed to be well coded, it was fast and flowed well. Customer support was great I email a question and received an answer in two hours.
At the home website the developer hosts a forum which is well moderated and full of helpful information.
This software has a unique feature ,where you can create your own template based on how you like to inspect a house and then share that template with other members.
Con
The softwares most interesting feature is also its greatest flaw, after downloading the most popular user contributed template , which is also highly toted by the developer. I found this template missing details that could get an inspector in trouble with your home inspector association.
The answer to this problem is of course to create your own template based on your associations approved methods to inspect a house.
The output document does not condense information at all, every detail is its own paragraph. This creates a very lengthy report, for example after inspecting my own house, home inspector pro created a 45 page document, the same inspection written with homeguage created a 30 page document, same information was in each report. If your concerned about your costs and you print your reports, this extra paper and ink will add up.
I also wasn’t happy with the method of entering pictures to the report, it wasn’t intuitive. I like to add pictures as I go , home inspector pro wants you to add them at the end.
This program doesn’t seem to work well with my tablet, I often had to double tap to get it to register. I didnt have this issue with any other software.
3. Homeguage
Pro
Not cheep $850 US, however the good folks at homeguage accepted my canadian money at par, this saved me 20% . This software follows the ashi ( cahpi ) SOP , very well , this is a huge plus .
This software also prints an invoice with the report which I found to be helpful. My questions were also answered within three hours, support is everything if your not computer savvy.
The output document in my opinion is the best, the report was divided into several section of the home, each section consisted of a title page which summarized a great deal of the smaller details. This is a great feature since a smaller inspection document is of course less paper and ink.
Adding pictures to the report was a snap.
Con
Homeguage has gone through several revisions since its inception and it shows. The user interface is complicated and not intuitive at all, this software desperately needs a revision in this area.
Homeguage wants you to use its software upload and download system , but this costs $30 per month not cheep . I think a better system is to buy a external hard-drive for backups and email the reports directly to the customer .
Conclusion:
Without a doubt for me the winner is Homeguage, the output document looks good , and after the initial learning curve the software is relatively easy to use. I was satisfied with the customer service and very impressed with the fact they took my canadian money at par.
Home inspector pro has alot of potential , but it really needs to work on its output document . Allowing users to contribute their own templates although an interesting feature , in my mind not all that helpful and could lead to a lot of problems for first time inspectors.
Horizon needs to rethink their pricing structure , or at least allow the inspector to own the software. Horizon does output a nice document, however . I really don’t like the idea that Horizon is internet based.
Report Host looked promising but I didnt like the output document and it needed a web connection.
1. Horizon
Pro
Made by Carson Dunlop, I found this software very apealing , probably because I have completed the Carson Dunlop Home Inspection course, I found the software layout fluid , easy to use and the output document , short sweet to the point and visually applealing.
Con
The software was clunky to use on both my Mac and PC, perhaps that was because I was using the demo software, however demo or not it should work. The pages were not rendering properly and I lost my confidense quickly , I did not want to base my businees on this package.
This software follows the current trend of being internet based, I don’t like this idea of always having to be connected to the internet to use a software package.
The biggest con was price, you can not own this product , its based on per use. At the lowest level the price is $12 per report. Yes it does include a download system as well as a calender and a method to keep a record of who paid and who didn’t, but at $12 per report this price is just to steep. Lets say you hope to do 200 inspections in your first year well thats $2400 US , if your canadian don’t forget to add 20% for the exchange rate.
2. Home Inspector Pro
Pro
The cheapest , at the time of my evaluation it was $350 US, however at the time of this writing the price has jumped to $499 US.
Very easy to use, non cluttered workspace, seemed to be well coded, it was fast and flowed well. Customer support was great I email a question and received an answer in two hours.
At the home website the developer hosts a forum which is well moderated and full of helpful information.
This software has a unique feature ,where you can create your own template based on how you like to inspect a house and then share that template with other members.
Con
The softwares most interesting feature is also its greatest flaw, after downloading the most popular user contributed template , which is also highly toted by the developer. I found this template missing details that could get an inspector in trouble with your home inspector association.
The answer to this problem is of course to create your own template based on your associations approved methods to inspect a house.
The output document does not condense information at all, every detail is its own paragraph. This creates a very lengthy report, for example after inspecting my own house, home inspector pro created a 45 page document, the same inspection written with homeguage created a 30 page document, same information was in each report. If your concerned about your costs and you print your reports, this extra paper and ink will add up.
I also wasn’t happy with the method of entering pictures to the report, it wasn’t intuitive. I like to add pictures as I go , home inspector pro wants you to add them at the end.
This program doesn’t seem to work well with my tablet, I often had to double tap to get it to register. I didnt have this issue with any other software.
3. Homeguage
Pro
Not cheep $850 US, however the good folks at homeguage accepted my canadian money at par, this saved me 20% . This software follows the ashi ( cahpi ) SOP , very well , this is a huge plus .
This software also prints an invoice with the report which I found to be helpful. My questions were also answered within three hours, support is everything if your not computer savvy.
The output document in my opinion is the best, the report was divided into several section of the home, each section consisted of a title page which summarized a great deal of the smaller details. This is a great feature since a smaller inspection document is of course less paper and ink.
Adding pictures to the report was a snap.
Con
Homeguage has gone through several revisions since its inception and it shows. The user interface is complicated and not intuitive at all, this software desperately needs a revision in this area.
Homeguage wants you to use its software upload and download system , but this costs $30 per month not cheep . I think a better system is to buy a external hard-drive for backups and email the reports directly to the customer .
Conclusion:
Without a doubt for me the winner is Homeguage, the output document looks good , and after the initial learning curve the software is relatively easy to use. I was satisfied with the customer service and very impressed with the fact they took my canadian money at par.
Home inspector pro has alot of potential , but it really needs to work on its output document . Allowing users to contribute their own templates although an interesting feature , in my mind not all that helpful and could lead to a lot of problems for first time inspectors.
Horizon needs to rethink their pricing structure , or at least allow the inspector to own the software. Horizon does output a nice document, however . I really don’t like the idea that Horizon is internet based.