HomeGauge Internet Tools
Gold / Uploading Reports — Frequently Asked Questions

How do I upload my report?
Please be sure to have read the upload instructions located here. If you still have questions then come back here for more frequently asked questions.

What do I do if I already have used a real estate agent once?
You do not need to create a new account for the Real Estate Agent each time you do an inspection for them. Remember that their user name and password are created one time and used for every report from then on that you or any other SHGI inspector does for them. Be aware that they can change their user name once they sign in with it but as long as their email address is the same the HomeGauge system will work. If you do not have an existing agent's user name at the time you are uploading the report you can also enter it later on the web site.

What if I entered a wrong email?
If you create a user account and the customer or RE professional did not get it you will need to Assign a new user name for that RE Agent or Customer. You do not need to upload the report again. So what you do is:

1. Run the HG software.
2. For correcting a customer click on the "Customer" button. For correcting a real estate professional go to the "Report Info" button and hit the "Select" button and then the "Internet" tab.
3. Type in the correct email address.
4. Click the "Create" button to create a new user name with the correct email
5. Use the "SHGI -> View Reports" menu
6. Find the already uploaded report
7. Beside where it says HG User Name click the link that says "Change" next to the customer name or RE pro and enter the new user name from step 4.
8. Send the notification emails again.

The report listing says the email notification was sent but the customers/agent is telling me they did not get the message. Is that possible?
Yes. This happens sometimes, and here is a list of reasons why this might happen and what you can do about it. Click Here

Why does it say that my report upload is too large?
The report upload size for one report is limited to 5MB when compressed (zipped up) which can easily be close to a 10MB report. This is a very large report if the files are all created correctly. The average HomeGauge report is less than 1MB. One common issue when inspectors first start out, is that they store the original inspection photos from the canera in the individual report folder for the current inspection.  If you are removing the pictures from your camera and storing them on you computer's hard drive, create a folder somewhere else, such as under "My Pictures".   Everything stored in your report folder will be uploaded to the web.  If you have extra, high resolution pictures stored in that report folder, the upload file will be too large to successfully upload. Another common issue is that the inspector includes a large information attachment. Depending on how the attachment was created it may be unneccearily large. If you have a large attachment that you would like to attach to many reports please email it to support@homegauge.com so that we can take a look at it.

What do I do when the Real Estate Agent forgets their password (and they will) and is computer shy?
You can tell them to go to Lost Password?. Or it may be easier for them if you click on lost password, enter their email address which will generate an email to them that will have their user name and password needed to enter and retrieve report. This only works if their email address is correct.

What are 3rd PARTY emails?
The reason for this feature is to allow the home inspector to send a link to someone such as the Seller, Warranty or Mortgage company, contractor, engineer etc. Do not send it to the Customer or RE Agent. You want them to sign in to become a user. This way we can provide services to them and allow them to keep their report. The third party link is temporary and should be used with the Customer's permission. Get in the habit of asking the Buyer and their RE Agent if they would like you to send a copy to the Listing agent. This will help bring you more business after they see your killer report.

The third party password I sent no longer works. What happened?
First, take note that the password is case-sensitive and has to match exactly in order to work. Also check that the Caps Lock key is not turned on by mistake. If it still doesn't work, it is possible that the 3rd party password was changed by another user. The client (typically the home buyer) has the ability to change the 3rd party password, as does the real estate professional, if the REP has been given permission to forward the report. Generally there is no need for the password to be reset and there is a clear warning about this on the website, but if it is, just send a new 3rd party email to the user who is having difficulty. The new 3rd Party Email will contain the current password for the report.

What is "Make Report Public"?
This feature is only used for a "SELLER'S INSPECTION" or for making a sample report to be displayed on your web site. By making the report public, anyone can see the report by going directly to the link for the report. You can feature the Seller's Inspection on a Real estate agent's web site by pointing their web site person to this link. From there they can create a link on their site that will take a prospective buyer straight to the report. See the Overview and the Help for Seller's Inspections here.

Can agents and buyers get their report at my own website instead of HomeGauge.com?
Yes! Here's How:
Currently, when you upload a report and send them the link and password, they are brought automatically to the sign in at www.HomeGauge.com. But if you have your own website, you could be branding your website by having the agents and buyers arrive at yourname.com to pick up their report. To drive customers and agents to your site, you need to first send a block of html code (below) to your web admin to insert into a web page where the agent or buyer can sign in. Secondly, you need to change the link on your uploaded reports email notification. Follow the easy steps below and start driving customers to your website today!

Step 1
If you have your own website (not through HomeGauge), just copy/paste the form code below into the html of your website, or email it to your webmaster. You are welcome to modify the appearance of the login form however you like. Once you have the login form working on your website, you can change your email report notifications to point to your website instead of HomeGauge.com. If you are a HomeGauge Platinum user, this form is already available to you in the Website Builder. You cannot paste this form directly into the Platinum Builder, but you can publish the login form to appear below your site menu on all pages using the "More Options" menu.

Step 2
Go to your list of online reports on HomeGauge.com (you must sign in), pick a random report and click on the link to send a notification email. At the bottom of that page you should see a button to Edit your default email message. On that page, change the "${SIGNIN}" text to the address of the web page on your website where you have your login form. Be sure and use http://www.yourname.com/mypage.html (where mypage.html is the page that contains your login form).

It's that easy! Automatically send agents and customers to your website. Before long, your agents will know that they can see their reports anytime by going to your website and signing in.

**Make sure your site has a working login form before changing your email notifications. The form can be on any page, but make sure the email links to the page with the form on it.

How do I download a report from the website? (to open/edit in HomeGauge software)
Click on the My Reports link after logging into HomeGauge.com. This link is at the top of the menu on the left hand side of your screen. If you do not see this link, make sure you are logged into HomeGauge.com and click the Home Inspector tab in the upper right.

After clicking the My Reports link, find the inspection that you want to download. Once you find it, click the Download Report link under the picture for the inspection. A new window will pop up asking you what you want to do with the file called "inspectionumber.zip". Inspection number will be an actual number, for example - 146237.zip.

Click the "Save" button and choose the location to save the file. This location needs to be your My Documents\HomeGauge\Reports folder. Browse to that folder in the Save window and click OK.

Go to your My Documents folder, then the HomeGauge folder, and finally the Reports folder in Windows Explorer. You will see the file that you just downloaded. Right-click on that file and click "Extract All..."

A wizard will appear that will walk you through extracting all your report files from the zip file you downloaded. Choose the default answers for each question, allow the extraction to finish, and then when you are done you may close out any windows that have opened.

Restart the HomeGauge software and the report that you downloaded will be available for you to open.

*Important Note: If you upload your report using the PDF format, only the PDF file will be uploaded. This means that you will not be able to download that report in the future in a form that can be opened and edited directly in HomeGauge Software (uploading in the standard html format is required for that purpose). However, your PDF report will be backed up for 5 years and will be easily accessible at any time. Only the html format documents that include the main report will be downloadable to be opened and edited in the HomeGauge Software.

Do you still have other questions? Try the online Message Boards for inspectors.