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Every report leaves with the photos you expect.
Set the list, see it fill, issue with confidence. Choose the photos each report type must contain. Your surveyors see a checklist as they write, and a report can't be issued until each photo is there or the reason is written down.
Step one · Set the list
Your firm's standard, written down once.
Start from nine common views, then make it yours. Rename a photo, change the section it files under, add the ones your firm always takes, and remove the ones it doesn't.
Require set photos before a report is issued
On for Level 2 and Level 3
Level 2 Home Survey
9 photos
- Front elevation Front photo
- Rear elevation Tagged
- Chimney stacks D1
- Roof coverings D2
- Main walls D4
- Roof space E1
- Consumer unit F1
- Boiler / heating F4
- Drainage / inspection chamber F6
+ Add a photo
One list for each report type
Level 2 and Level 3 each keep their own list. Only your firm's managers can change it, and nothing changes for anyone until it's switched on.
Filed under its section
A photo filed under E1 counts for roof space. A photo filed under F1 counts for the consumer unit. No extra step for the surveyor.
Marked as the front
The front elevation counts when a photo is marked as the front of the property, the same photo that goes on the cover.
Tagged as the view
Any photo can be tagged as a view from the checklist, wherever it is filed. Useful for the rear elevation, which has no section of its own.
Printed in the report
Only a photo that prints counts. Photos kept out of the report, or held back as evidence only, don't tick anything off.
Step two · See it fill
Watch one report fill up.
A Level 2 on a Thursday afternoon. As the surveyor files photos, the checklist at the top of the report ticks itself off.
Required photos
0 of 9
-
✓ Front elevation Front photo
-
✓ Rear elevation Tagged
-
✓ Chimney stacks D1
-
✓ Roof coverings D2
-
✓ Main walls D4
-
! Roof space E1
Reason: No access, the hatch was painted shut.
-
✓ Consumer unit F1
-
✓ Boiler / heating F4
-
✓ Drainage / inspection chamber F6
An example report, shown for illustration.
How it works
A checklist in the report, not in someone's head.
Most firms check photos by reading the report through before it goes. This puts the list where the surveyor is already working.
A manager switches it on
Under Manage, Required photos. Check the starting list for Level 2 and Level 3, make any changes and save. From then on, every report your firm writes shows the checklist.
The surveyor files photos as usual
Each photo filed under a section on the list ticks that item off straight away. For a view with no section, the surveyor tags the photo from the checklist.
A gap gets a reason
Couldn't get into the loft? Write why. The reason clears the item and prints in the limitations of that section, so the client reads it in the report.
Step three · Issue with the gaps explained
Nothing goes out half photographed.
Until every item has a photo or a reason, the report waits. The surveyor is shown exactly what's left and taken straight to it.
Not ready yet
2 required photos are missing
Roof space, Rear elevation. Add a photo or a reason for each.
Open the checklist
Waits for the list
- Signing off
- Downloading or previewing
- Submitting
- Share link and customer link
- Release from a booking
Carries on
- Drafting and editing
- Adding and filing photos
- Reports already issued
- Firms with it switched off
Every way a report leaves
Sign-off, download, preview, submission, share links, the customer's link and release from a booking all wait for the list. Drafting never does.
Section E
Inside the property · Limitations
The floors were covered throughout and were not lifted.
Roof space: not photographed — No access, the hatch was painted shut and the seller didn't allow it to be opened.
Furniture and stored items restricted the inspection in places.
The surveyor's reason, printed where the client expects to find limitations.
Reasons the client can read
A reason prints in the limitations of the section it belongs to. The client sees what wasn't photographed and why, in your surveyor's words.
What actually changes
One standard across the whole firm.
1 · On site
The list is in the report
No laminated card in the van. The checklist sits at the top of the report the surveyor is already writing.
2 · Writing up
Gaps show before the client does
A missing roof photo turns up while the surveyor can still explain it, not in a call from the client a week later.
3 · Signing off
Every report meets the same bar
Whoever wrote it, the report has the photos your firm expects, or says plainly why not.
Plainly
What it does, and what stays with you.
Home does
- Keep your firm's list for each report type
- Tick an item off when a photo is filed, marked or tagged as that view
- Hold the report back until every item has a photo or a reason
- Print each reason in the matching section's limitations
- Leave reports you have already issued alone
You do
- Decide which photos your firm requires. The starting list is a suggestion
- Judge whether a photo shows what it should. Home checks where it's filed, not what's in it
- Write a reason the client will understand when a photo can't be taken
FAQ
Common questions about required photos
Setting the list
Which photos are on the list to start with?
Level 2 and Level 3 reports start with nine: front elevation, rear elevation, chimney stacks, roof coverings, main walls, roof space, consumer unit, boiler or heating, and drainage or an inspection chamber. You can rename, remove or add to either list.
Can each report type have its own list?
Yes. Level 2 and Level 3 each have their own list, and you can reset either one to the starting list at any time.
Is it on by default?
No. Nothing changes until a manager switches it on.
Who can change the list?
Your firm's managers. Everyone else at the firm can see the list, tick items off and write reasons on the reports they work on.
Where do I find it?
In your surveyor dashboard under Manage, Required photos.
Photos and reasons
How does a photo count towards an item?
A photo counts when it is filed under the item's section, for example roof space under E1. The front elevation counts when a photo is marked as the front of the property. A surveyor can also tag any photo as a view from the checklist, wherever it is filed.
Does a photo kept out of the report count?
No. Only a photo that prints in the report counts. Photos kept out of the report, or held back as evidence only, do not.
What if a photo can't be taken?
The surveyor writes the reason instead, for example "No access: the hatch was painted shut". That reason prints in the limitations of the matching section, so the client sees why it is missing.
Does Home check what is in the photo?
No. Home checks that a photo is filed or tagged as that view. Whether the photo shows what it should is the surveyor's judgement.
Issuing a report
What exactly waits until the list is done?
Signing the report off, downloading or previewing it, submitting it, opening it from a share link or the customer's link, and releasing it from a booking. Drafting and editing carry on as normal.
What does the client see if they open a link too early?
A plain message that the report is not yet available. The reason stays inside your firm.
Are reports we have already issued affected?
No. A report that was issued before you switched this on is left alone, unless it is changed afterwards.
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