You know which bedroom had the staining, which roof slope you could not see and what prompted your recommendation for further investigation. Someone preparing a draft from your inspection material needs that context too.
A useful inspection pack brings your evidence and instructions together so the property can be described accurately. It does not need to be beautifully presented or read like a finished report. It needs to make clear what you observed, where you observed it and what you want the report to say about it.
Start with the right property and template
Include the property address, inspection date, report type and the template you want used. Provide any instructions about your preferred terminology, structure and level of detail. If you supply example wording, make clear that it is a style reference rather than evidence about the property being reported on.
A brief overview of the building helps orient the writer: its form, construction as identified during your inspection, extensions and relevant alterations. Distinguish confirmed information from anything understood, reported or still uncertain. The pack should preserve those distinctions throughout the draft.
Organise notes so findings have a clear home
A consistent arrangement makes notes easier to follow. You might organise them by report element, with room or elevation references wherever needed. Use the same names in your notes and photograph labels, particularly where there are several bedrooms, roof areas or outbuildings.
Define any orientation convention that could be misunderstood. “Left-hand bedroom” is less useful if nobody knows where you were standing. “First-floor front bedroom” provides a clearer location, with further identification where necessary.
Shorthand is fine when its meaning is unambiguous. If a note could refer to either a defect or a routine description, a few extra words can prevent an unnecessary query.
Give each significant finding enough context
For a defect, record the element, location, observed condition and extent as far as established. Include relevant measurements or readings with their locations and context where taken. Keep your assessment of possible causes separate from the observation itself, and state the recommendation you intend to make.
For example, “stain to ceiling” leaves several questions open. A fuller note might identify the room, the position of the staining, its approximate extent, any associated findings and whether the area above was accessible. Your own assessment then determines the advice. The writer should not have to infer a diagnosis or invent a recommendation from a photograph.
The most useful notes connect the finding, its location and your intended advice.
Use photographs to support the notes
A close-up can show detail, but a wider view helps establish where that detail sits. Where useful, include both and link them to the relevant note. Keep images clear enough to understand and grouped or labelled so the writer can find the right roof slope, room or elevation.
Flag the photographs that matter to a particular finding. A large folder of near-identical images can take longer to interpret than a smaller, clearly organised set. Retain your inspection records separately; the drafting pack should make the relevant evidence easy to navigate.
Photographs support your recorded findings. They cannot explain everything you saw, tested or could not access, so include that information in your notes.
Record limitations as carefully as defects
Make clear what was inspected, what was partly visible and what could not be inspected. Note the reason and the affected area: for example, stored belongings restricting a floor inspection, a locked outbuilding or a roof slope concealed by the building’s height and position.
“No defect noted” and “not inspected” communicate different things. An empty section does not establish either. If access was restricted, record your intended advice about that limitation so it can be reflected accurately.
Separate observations from information supplied by others
If an owner or agent supplies information about an alteration, repair or installation, identify the source and any supporting document you actually saw. A reported installation date should remain reported information unless you have evidence to confirm it.
The same applies to uncertainty in your own findings. If a material or construction type could not be confirmed, say so. Clear drafting should carry that uncertainty through to the report, with your instructions on any further checks required.
Make recommendations and priorities explicit
Identify any advice you want brought forward into the overall opinion, risks or further-investigation sections. State your intended timing and priority, together with any condition ratings you have assigned where the template requires them. These decisions should come from you.
If your notes change after the inspection, provide a clearly identified update and explain which earlier instruction it replaces. One current set of instructions is much easier to work from than several conflicting versions.
Check the pack before sending
A short final check can prevent avoidable delays. Confirm that the address and template are correct, files open, relevant photographs are included and any missing information is identified. Provide only the client information needed for the drafting task and use the agreed method for sharing the material.
At The Survey Edit, we prepare Level 2 drafts using your notes, photographs, template and instructions. A clear pack gives us a stronger starting point and can reduce queries. You remain responsible for reviewing the draft against your inspection evidence, making amendments and approving the report before issue.
If you would like to discuss preparing your first pack, send us an enquiry. You can also read how our drafting support works.
You inspect. We write.