The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the solution Property Inspect has developed to meet the comprehensive guidelines for inspecting HUD-assisted properties using the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE).
Official HUD reports
A complete NSPIRE inspection consists of three inspectable areas - outside, inside, and a sample of units - completed in conjunction with one another. Once all reports have been finalised, an NSPIRE score is generated that includes:
Unit threshold of performance
NSPIRE inspection score
Property grade
Pass or fail
Inspectable Areas
Inspectable Area (NSPIRE) | HUD / NSPIRE Definition | Inspection Level Requirement |
Inside | Common areas and building systems within the property, including interior shared spaces and components such as electrical, HVAC, and fire protection systems | Property / Building level inspection |
Outside | The physical site and exterior of buildings, including grounds, parking, walkways, and building envelope components | Property / Building level inspection |
Units | Individual dwelling units within a property where residents live, including all habitable rooms and unit-level systems | Sub-property (Unit-level) inspection required |
Before scheduling your first NSPIRE inspections, you will need to ensure you have a building and a minimum of one associated unit configured in your Property Inspect account.
Click on the Units tab of a property,
Select the Add Unit button,
Update the relevant New Property Form and Save to continue.
Additional Articles for more information:
Schedule an Inspection
Navigate to the building within Property Inspect and schedule an inspection for the three inspectable areas: Outside, Inside, and Units.
Select the NSPIRE Tab of a property
Select Create NSPIRE Report to get started.
A full list of units belonging to this property will be displayed on the screen and the user can select which units should be inspected as part of the sample of units.
The conduct date of the unit inspections will default to the same day as the main conduct date for the building, however, it can be updated to allow for better resource planning.
Once the inspections have been scheduled, choosing the View Inspection option will enabled you to navigate to the individual inspection and start the inspection.
Conducting NSPIRE Inspections
Inspections will be available in the Property Inspect Mobile application, it is available for the inspector to fetch the inspection in a WIFI zone, and complete the inspection, off-network, off-WIFI, on-site. When syncing the inspection from the APP to the Online Editor, the inspector will need WIFI again.
Property Inspect saves all of the inspection data, including the address (accessible in a Map application) and contact information.
When the inspector arrives on site, they can start the report,
The start date and time will be recorded for analytical purposes.
If the geo-tracking is enabled, the geo-location will be saved.
Take a cover photo of the property and select, ‘Edit Report’, to formally start the inspection.
Each NSPIRE Standard is created as an individual section or block in the inspection report.
Select the standard,
Read the deficiency criteria,
Choose whether the deficiency is present by selecting the applicable button:
Observable Deficiency
No Observable Deficiency.
Not Applicable.
Add the Room / Area
And add a comment.
Additionally, inspectors can:
Take a photo or video,
And flag an action.
Generating the Output Report
Once an NSPIRE report is synced from the APP to the Online Editor, the report can be reviewed before marking the inspection complete and distributing the report as needed:
The final output report that is distributed will include:
The Severity and Correction Time, or,
The HCV Severity and HCV Correction Time, or,
All of the relevant information.
The NSPIRE Inspection Score
As soon as one of the inspections is complete, you will find an available NSPIRE Score on screen. (The final score, will be automatically calculated once all of the inspections have been completed.)
The Table at the top of the screen will provide you with:
The Unit Threshold of Performance,
The NSPIRE Inspection Score,
The Property Grade and,
A Pass or Fail.
The table below the score will provide the list of inspections included to obtain the NSPIRE Inspection Score, along with the number of defects by severity and the ability to view the inspection or the report.
At the top right-hand corner of the screen, you have the ability to view a combined NSPIRE report.