An inspection report reviewer reads every commercial property condition report before it goes to the client. They check findings against the photos, test the cost tables line by line, and send drafts back to inspectors with clear notes, so buyers and lenders get a report that holds together.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, engineering and inspection firms · BLS, May 2025
You'll check every commercial report before it goes to the client. You review property condition assessments and inspection reports for scope, accuracy, consistency and clear writing, check the cost tables, and send drafts back to inspectors with specific comments. Your sign-off means the report is ready to deliver.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Review each draft against the client's scope of work and the firm's standard, such as ASTM E2018 for property condition assessments.
Check that findings, photos and cost tables match, and that every immediate repair and replacement reserve item ties to a described condition.
Check estimated useful life and remaining useful life entries for consistency across similar systems.
Edit for clear, plain writing and remove opinions outside the inspector's scope.
Return drafts with specific comments and track each one until it's resolved.
Keep report templates, the comment library and the review checklist current with the Inspection Manager.
Track common errors by inspector and share them for training.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Work the review queue in order of client due dates.
Call inspectors to clear up unclear findings or missing photos.
Check the limitations and deviations sections for areas the inspector couldn't access.
Release approved reports for delivery in [your inspection software].
Handle client revision requests after delivery with the original inspector.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Review turnaround time: [your target].
Reports delivered without client revision requests: [your target].
Errors found after delivery: [your target].
Reviews finished before the client due date: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years writing or reviewing commercial inspection, property condition or engineering reports.
Working knowledge of building systems: structure, roofing, envelope, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life safety.
Edits technical writing into plain language and checks cost tables line by line.
Experience with [your inspection software] or similar report tools.
6. Preferred Experience
Field experience as a commercial property inspector.
Degree in engineering, architecture or construction management.
Familiarity with lender report formats and requirements.
InterNACHI Certified Commercial Property Inspector or a similar credential.
7. Physical Requirements
Read and edit on a computer for most of the day.
Occasional site visits with inspectors for training.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Works from the office or remotely: [your setup].
Regular hours, with a heavier queue near lender deadlines and month-end closings.
Works closely with inspectors by phone and message while they're in the field.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new report quality reviewer gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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Clean grammar matters, but the real job is to catch a report that says one thing in the photos, another in the text and a third in the cost table.
The summary has to match the body
E2018 reports open with an executive summary, and its repair list and cost totals must agree with the body and the tables. If an inspector moves a roof from immediate repair to a reserve line in the body, the summary changes with it. Drafts get revised often, so this is where stale numbers hide. Source: ASTM International: E2018-24, Standard guide for property condition assessments.
The cost tables carry the weight
An E2018 report includes opinions of the cost to fix the physical deficiencies observed. Each immediate repair and reserve line should tie to a described condition and a photo. Quantities have to fit the building, and useful life entries should agree across similar roofs, HVAC units and parking lots. Source: ASTM International: E2018-24, Standard guide for property condition assessments.
Cutting what the report can't promise
E2018 lists out-of-scope items and sets out exclusions for warranties, guarantees and code compliance. When a draft says a building "meets code" or a roof "will last ten more years," the reviewer rewrites it as an observed condition and an estimate. The firm shouldn't promise what nobody checked. Source: ASTM International: E2018-24, Standard guide for property condition assessments.
The template has the reviewer track common errors by inspector. Keep that log to patterns, such as missing data plate photos or reserve terms that don't match the scope, and go over it with the Inspection Manager monthly. When it goes to the whole team, teach the fix and leave out names.
How much inspection report reviewers make
The closest BLS group for inspection report reviewers is construction and building inspectors. Construction and building inspectors who work for architecture, engineering, and inspection firms earned a median of $36.22 an hour ($75,330 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $74,690 median for construction and building inspectors in all industries. About 47,310 of the 146,720 construction and building inspectors in that survey work for engineering and inspection firms.
Set as a salary or an hourly rate. BLS doesn't track technical report reviewers apart, so the pay shown is for inspectors. A reviewer who checks senior inspectors' work should be priced near them.
Engineering and inspection firms
$75,330$75,330 median Middle half $59,460–$94,370 10th–90th $46,670–$120,370
All industries
$74,690$74,690 median Middle half $58,860–$94,710 10th–90th $47,140–$114,200
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Engineering and inspection firms
$46,670
$59,460
$75,330
$94,370
$120,370
All industries
$47,140
$58,860
$74,690
$94,710
$114,200
BLS doesn’t publish pay for property inspection firms on their own. These figures cover architectural, engineering and related services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has three or more years writing or reviewing commercial condition, inspection or engineering reports
Can tell from a photo when a finding about a roof, boiler or panel doesn't fit what the picture shows
Checks a cost table line by line and catches quantity and math errors
Turns technical notes into short, plain sentences without losing the meaning
Gives inspectors direct comments they can act on the same day
Teach these on the job
Your report templates and comment library
Each lender format the firm delivers
Your useful life and cost tables
The review queue and release steps in your inspection software
How to log revision requests and close them out
Reviewers work in the inspection software's review screens, a spreadsheet for testing cost tables, and a markup tool for comments. List the reporting platform in the ad, and settle remote versus office first, since the template leaves that blank.
Inspection report reviewer interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Consistency
The cost table shows a roof replacement in the reserves, but the narrative says the roof has many years left. What do you do?
A strong answer: Flags the mismatch, asks the inspector to reconcile it with photos and useful life data, and fixes the narrative or table.
Behavioral · Handling disagreement
Tell me about a time an inspector disagreed with your review comments.
A strong answer: Talked through the evidence and the standard, listened, and reached a decision that was documented.
Treat the template's targets as blanks to fill. Review times depend on the property type, so set them after a month of tracking your own queue.
Review turnaround time
Time from a draft entering the queue to its release or return, from the timestamps in your inspection software. Track first reviews and second reviews apart.
Reports delivered without client revision requests
Delivered reports with no client request to change content, out of all reports delivered in the month. Leave out requests that add new scope.
Errors found after delivery
Mistakes the client, a lender or the firm found after release, such as a wrong cost or a missing finding. Record what caused it and which inspector wrote it.
Reviews finished before the client due date
Reviews closed early enough to release the report by its due date, out of all reviews in the period. Pull due dates from the project tracker.
Not alone. Grammar is the small part. The reviewer has to notice when a rooftop unit's stated age doesn't match its data plate, or when a reserve line has no finding behind it. So the template wants years of hands-on time writing or checking commercial inspection, condition or engineering reports.
How much does an inspection report reviewer make?
Construction and building inspectors who work for architecture, engineering, and inspection firms earned a median of $36.22 an hour ($75,330 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $59,460 and $94,370 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Should the reviewer have field experience?
It helps a lot, and the template prefers it. Someone who has walked commercial roofs knows which photos prove a finding and which only hint at it. Send a new reviewer on a few site visits in the first months so they see the buildings behind the reports.
How many reports can one reviewer handle?
It depends on the report. A one-tenant shop is a quick read; a big multifamily property can take a full day. Track hours per review by property type for a month, then set queue targets from your own numbers rather than a rule of thumb.
Who handles a client's revision request after delivery?
The template gives it to the reviewer, working with the original inspector. Sort each request first: a fix to an error, a question that needs a clearer answer, or new scope. Fix and log errors, answer questions in writing, and send new scope to the inspection manager or sales to quote.
Can the reviewer work remotely?
Yes, if your software handles review and release online. The template leaves the setup to you. A remote reviewer still needs quick contact with inspectors in the field, so set hours when both sides can reach each other by phone.
