01 · Section
Cover & summary
Property address, inspector identification, date, summary of major findings on the first page. Buyers, agents, and lenders scan the summary first. If the rest of the report is buried, the summary needs to stand alone.
02 · Section
Severity-tiered defect list
Reports that group findings by severity (Safety → Major → Concern → Note) outperform reports that group by system. Buyers care about urgency more than they care about category.
03 · Section
System-by-system detail
After the severity summary, walk through systems in inspection order: exterior → roof → attic → interior → plumbing → electrical → HVAC. Each finding gets photo evidence inline, not in an appendix.
04 · Section
Photo evidence
Every finding gets at least one photo. Wide shot showing context + close-up showing the defect. Photos in an appendix are a generation behind.
05 · Section
Recommendations
Every defect gets a recommendation: monitor, repair, replace, or evaluate by licensed [trade]. No defect without a recommendation.