How to Get Ready for a Home Inspection

Home inspections have become an almost mandatory part of the home buying process. Buyers usually order one to help them get a complete picture of the home’s physical condition. But many sellers hate the home inspection because of how it can overturn the work they have done to market their home, find a buyer for it, and agree on a purchase price.

Until the home inspection stage, sellers have control over how much they want to sell their home. But the inspection appears to take this power away and put it in buyers’ hands. With the home inspection, buyers seem to gain the upper hand in deciding the actual value of a seller’s property. Consequently, sellers see the home inspection as a nuisance.

But is it true that home inspections completely transfer the power to determine a home’s price to the buyer? Not if the owner’s sales price depends on the actual condition of their home, says Redsail Management Company. It means that sellers are not entirely powerless during the home inspection. Rather than passively waiting for the assessment, there is a lot they can do to influence its outcome.

When expecting a home inspection, homeowners have the option to:

• Treat it as an unnecessary waste of their time and try to dissuade the buyer from having an inspection. But doing this might make buyers more determined to have the assessment.
• Or they can see the situation from the buyer’s perspective and work to make the process speedy and smooth for everyone concerned.

If this second option sounds like something you want to do, this article will show you how.

How to get ready for a home inspection

In real estate transactions, first impressions matter a lot. Preparing for a home inspection begins with presenting your home in the most favorable light possible, by:

1. Cleaning, creating access, and removing clutter

• If the home looks clean and tidy, the inspector naturally assumes the systems, structures, and appliances are in good shape.
• Clean the furnace filter, stove, and oven. Remove your laundry from the washer and dryer. Take dishes out of the sink and dishwasher.
• Inspectors need access to every part of the home. If they can not assess an area, you may need to pay for a second visit.
• In storage areas, move items, at least six inches, away from walls and the home’s systems.
• Organize closets that serve as access points to the attic. If possible, clear out the attic.
• Around the home’s exterior, clear up to two feet of space around the perimeter.

2. Check the function of things

• Test the operation of doors/windows by closing and opening them; inspect seals and locks. Check weather stripping on all doors.
• Turn on all faucets in the home to check the water pressure; ensure that they are all working.
• Flush toilets and make sure there is no leak.
• Switch the lights on and off to test them; replace burnt-out bulbs.
• Check that fan’s ducts are venting out of the attic as they should. Check ceiling fans.
• Inspect heating ducts in the crawlspace.
• Open and close garage doors manually and with the remote. Also, test the reverse safety feature.
• Check that gutters and downspouts are discharging correctly.
• Ensure the pilot lights on the water heater and gas-powered appliances are on.

3. Checks your home’s safety

• Using the self-test function, check the operation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. If necessary, replace batteries.
• Examine fire extinguishers and ensure gauges are in the proper position and devices are working.
• Ensure that you cap the gas lines.
• Hire a professional to do thorough pest extermination.

4. Complete the repairs and improve the exterior

• Check if the areas around bathtubs and sinks need re-caulking.
• Reapply grout in tiled areas if the grout is missing or thinned out.
• Fix all water-damage issues and unclog blocked or slow drains.
• If there are missing, bent, or bowing roof shingles, replace them.
• Check the insulation in the crawlspace and attic for damage.
• Wash the roof and remove all debris from the gutters.
• Remove all overhanging tree branches.
• Clear debris from around the A/C compressor and foundation vents.
• Slope the soil away from the home’s foundation.

5. On inspection day

• Have all of the home’s records (maintenance, repairs, and insurance claims) ready.
• Provide the keys, remotes, and passwords to gates, garage doors, electrical boxes, ceiling fans, lights, etc.
• Label each key for easy identification and leave them, along with the paperwork, on the kitchen table.
• Make sure the utilities are on and create a sketch marking the location of various features around your home’s exterior.
• Get ready to leave the home, for at least three hours, along with your pets and everyone else in the house.
• Wait for the buyer and home inspector to arrive, welcome them, and hand everything you have prepared over to them.

Now, go and find some fun things to occupy your mind and hope for the best.