For Property Appraisers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll use Otter.ai on your phone to transcribe property condition notes in real time during inspections — narrating as you walk through each room — so you leave the property with a complete, organized text record instead of a collection of handwritten notes, sketches, and voice memos to decipher back at your desk.
What you'll need
Go to your phone's app store and search "Otter.ai." Download the free app and create an account using your email. The free plan gives you 600 minutes of transcription per month — at 30–45 minutes per inspection, that's 13–20 inspections per month at no cost.
What you should see: The app opens to a home screen with a large microphone button at the bottom center.
Troubleshooting: If prompted about microphone permissions, select "Allow" — the app doesn't work without this.
Open the app. Tap the large microphone button at the bottom — a timer starts and the button turns red. Say: "Test: this is the kitchen, approximately 12 by 14 feet, hardwood floors in good condition." Tap the button again to stop. Tap on the conversation that appears — you'll see your words transcribed in near real time.
What you should see: Your spoken words converted to text, organized by timestamp. The transcription takes about 10 seconds to appear.
The key to getting useful transcriptions is narrating in a consistent format. Before your next inspection, practice this structure:
Room announcement: "[Room name]. Dimensions approximately [X] by [Y]."
Flooring and walls: "Floors: [material, condition]. Walls: [condition, any damage or updates]."
Fixtures and features: "[Specific items]: [condition and any notable details]."
Overall room rating: "Overall condition: [C1 excellent / C2 good / C3 average / C4 fair / C5 poor / C6 severe]."
Example for a kitchen: "Kitchen. Approximately 14 by 18. Floors: tile, good condition. Countertops: granite, installed approximately 2018, very good condition. Cabinets: raised panel, showing moderate wear on door faces. Appliances: stainless, matching set, appear functional. Range hood: functional. No visible water damage or deferred maintenance. Overall condition C3, average."
When you arrive at a property, before entering, open Otter and start a new recording. Say: "Property inspection. Address: [full address]. Effective date: [today's date]. Appraiser: [your name]. Beginning inspection." This anchors the transcript and makes it easy to identify in your library.
Walk through in the same order every time. Suggested flow: exterior first → garage → entry/foyer → living/dining areas → kitchen → master bedroom and bath → additional bedrooms and baths → utility/laundry → basement or crawlspace if applicable → back exterior and yard.
For each area, narrate using your standard structure. You can speak naturally — the transcription handles conversational language fine.
Tip: If you notice something unusual (a crack in the foundation, evidence of water intrusion, unpermitted addition), say: "FLAG: [description of issue]" — this makes it easy to find critical notes when reviewing the transcript.
When you finish the inspection, tap to stop recording and say: "End of interior inspection. [Any final notes about overall condition or unusual circumstances]."
Back in your car or at your office, tap the recording in the Otter app to view the full transcript. Tap the three-dot menu → Export → Text to get a plain text version. Email it to yourself or copy it to your report-writing workspace.
What you should see: A clean text document organized by timestamp, with your room-by-room narration fully transcribed. Ready to paste into ChatGPT for cleanup into professional report language.
For exterior condition:
"Narrate exterior: street appeal, siding material and condition, roof type and approximate age or condition, gutters, driveway/walkways, landscaping, any deferred maintenance."
For a property with issues:
"FLAG items to highlight for disclosure: [list items you narrated as FLAG during inspection]"
For a condo inspection:
"Add at start: note that this is a condominium unit; I only have access to interior. Exterior, common areas, and mechanical systems are association responsibility."