INTEGRATED HOME INSPECTION, WARRANTY AND VENDOR INFORMATION SYSTEM

• US 20080114655A1
• Filed: 01/10/2008
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Advantage Inspection International LLC
• Original Assignee: Advantage Inspection International LLC
• Inventors: Skidmore, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US11/972,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20080114655A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user

Abstract

This invention is a system for creating an interactive home inspection report having an inspection item associated with a target property by receiving home inspection information, creating an electronic home inspection report, determining whether the inspection item needs maintenance or repair, receiving vendor information from the vendor computer readable medium associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with the inspection item if the inspection item needs maintenance or repair, generating an embedded link from the vendor information, including the inspection item and the embedded link in the home inspection report if the inspection item needs maintenance or repair so that a viewer of the electronic home inspection is provided with a link to the vendor content who provides good or services associated with the inspection item.

Claims

1. A system for creating an interactive home inspection report having an inspection item associated with a target property comprising:

a computer readable medium;

a set of vendor information stored on said computer readable medium representing vendors that can provide goods or services associated with the inspection item and having vendor content associated with each vendor; and

,

a set of computer readable instructions embodied in said computer readable medium for receiving home inspection information representing the inspection of an inspection item, creating an electronic home inspection report according to said home inspection information, determining whether said inspection item needs maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, generating an embedded link from said set of vendor information associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with said inspection item on said electronic home inspection report if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair, including said inspection item and said embedded link in said home inspection report if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair so that a viewer of said electronic home inspection is provided with a link to said vendor content who provides good or services associated with said inspection item.

2. The system of claim 1 including a set of computer readable warranty creation instructions embodied in said computer readable medium for creating a home warranty policy according to said home inspection information that initially excludes an inspection item that is in need of maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, receiving repair information representing that said inspection item has been repaired, and including said repaired inspection item in said home warranty policy so that said inspection item that are initially determined to be in need of maintenance or repair can be repaired and included in said home warranty policy.

3. The system of claim 1 including a set of computer readable warranty creation instructions embodied in said computer readable medium for creating a home warranty policy according to said home inspection information that calculates a premium if a covered inspection item is in need of maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, receiving repair information representing that said inspection item has been repaired, and calculates a reduced premium according to said repair information so that home warranty insurance premiums are reduced if said inspection item that is initially determined to be in need of maintenance or repair is repaired.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said vendor information includes a service area associated with said vendor; and

,

said computer readable instructions include instructions for only including said embedded link in said home inspection report if said vendor associated with said embedded link'"'"'s service area contains the target property.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said embedded link is a link to said vendor'"'"'s web page so that actuating said embedded link from said home inspection report displays said vendor'"'"'s web page.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer readable instructions include instructions for determining whether said inspection item was present in the target property, generating an embedded link from said set of vendor information associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with said inspection item on said electronic home inspection report if said inspection item was not present, including said inspection item and said embedded link in said home inspection report if said inspection item was not present so that a viewer of said electronic home inspection is provided with a link to said vendor content who provides good or services associated with said inspection item that was not present.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer readable instructions include instruction for delivering said home inspection report electronically so that said the viewer of said home inspection report can use said embedded link for viewing vendor content.

8. A system for creating an interactive home inspection report having an inspection item associated with a target property comprising:

a inspection computer readable medium;

a vendor computer readable medium in communications with said inspection computer readable medium;

a set of vendor information stored on said vendor computer readable medium representing vendors that can provide goods or services associated with the inspection item and having vendor content associated with each vendor; and

,

a set of computer readable instructions embodied in said inspection computer readable medium for receiving home inspection information representing the inspection of an inspection item, creating an electronic home inspection report according to said home inspection information, determining whether said inspection item needs maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, requesting vendor information from said vendor computer readable medium for if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair, receiving vendor information from said vendor computer readable medium associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with said inspection item if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair, generating an embedded link from said vendor information, including said inspection item and said embedded link in said home inspection report if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair so that a viewer of said electronic home inspection is provided with a link to said vendor content who provides good or services associated with said inspection item.

9. The system of claim 8 including a set of computer readable warranty creation instructions embodied in said inspection computer readable medium for creating a home warranty policy according to said home inspection information that initially excludes an inspection item that is in need of maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, receiving repair information representing that said inspection item has been repaired, and including said repaired inspection item in said home warranty policy so that said inspection item that are initially determined to be in need of maintenance or repair can be repaired and included in said home warranty policy.

10. The system of claim 8 including a set of computer readable warranty creation instructions embodied in said inspection computer readable medium for creating a home warranty policy according to said home inspection information that calculates a premium if a covered inspection item is in need of maintenance or repair according to said home inspection information, receiving repair information representing that said inspection item has been repaired, and calculates a reduced premium according to said repair information so that home warranty insurance premiums are reduced if said inspection item that is initially determined to be in need of maintenance or repair is repaired.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein:

said vendor information includes a service area associated with said vendor; and

,

said computer readable instructions include instructions for only including said embedded link in said home inspection report if said vendor associated with said embedded link'"'"'s service area contains the target property.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein said vendor content is a link to said vendor'"'"'s web page so that actuating said embedded link from said home inspection report displays said vendor'"'"'s web page.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein said computer readable instructions include instructions for determining whether said inspection item was present in said target property, generating an embedded link from said set of vendor information associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with said inspection item on said electronic home inspection report if said inspection item was not present, including said inspection item and said embedded link in said home inspection report if said inspection item was not present so that a viewer of said electronic home inspection is provided with a link to said vendor content who provides good or services associated with said inspection item that was not present.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein said computer readable instructions include instruction for delivering said home inspection report electronically so that said the viewer of said home inspection report can use said embedded link for viewing vendor content.

15. A system for creating an interactive home inspection report having an inspection item associated with a target property comprising:

an computer readable medium;

a set of vendor information stored on said computer readable medium representing vendors that can provide goods or services associated with the inspection item and having vendor content location information identifying the location of vendor content associated with each vendor; and

,

a set of computer readable instructions embodied in said computer readable medium for receiving home inspection information representing the inspection of an inspection item, creating an electronic home inspection report according to said home inspection information, determining whether said inspection item needs maintenance or repair or was not present during the inspection process according to said home inspection information, generating an embedded link from said set of vendor information associated with a vendor whose goods or services are associated with said inspection item on said electronic home inspection report if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair or was not present, including said inspection item and said embedded link in said home inspection report if said inspection item needs maintenance or repair so that a viewer of said electronic home inspection is provided with a link to said vendor content who provides good or services associated with said inspection item.

16. The system of claim 15 including a set of computer readable warranty creation instructions embodied in said computer readable medium for creating a home warranty policy according to said home inspection information that initially excludes an inspection item that is in need of maintenance or repair or was not present according to said home inspection information, receiving repair information if said inspection item was repaired, including said repaired inspection item in said home warranty policy according to said repair information if said inspection item was repaired, receiving existence information if said inspection item was purchase, and including said purchased item in said home warranty policy if said inspection item was purchased.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein:

said vendor information includes a service area associated with said vendor; and

,

said computer readable instructions include instructions for only including said embedded link in said home inspection report if said vendor associated with said embedded link'"'"'s service area contains the target property.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein said embedded link is a link to said vendor'"'"'s web page so that actuating said embedded link from said home inspection report displays said vendor'"'"'s web page.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein said computer readable instructions include instruction for delivering said home inspection report electronically so that said the viewer of said home inspection report can use said embedded link for viewing vendor content.