When you are getting ready to sell your home, the home inspection phase can make or break all your work to find a buyer. The home inspection will confirm the quality of your home to the potential buyer, or it will contradict your claims about the property, explains American Heritage Property Management.
The outcome of the home inspection has very significant consequences on how soon you can sell the home and for how much. If buyers don’t like what they see in the home inspection, they can walk away from the deal without losing their earnest money.
Even if a buyer chooses to buy your home despite what the inspection reveals about the property, they may use the inspection report to press you for a lower selling price. You don’t want this; the way to prevent it is by preparing for the home inspection.
Although you have no direct influence over a home inspector’s reports, you have control over what they will see. If there are no issues in your home, the inspector cannot uncover any problems. To prepare for a home inspection, you should get your home into shape.
To do this properly, start before you list your home. But even if your home is already listed, you can still do it. What you don’t want to do is wait until you have found a buyer and the home inspection is already scheduled. That’s because you need time to prepare for a home inspection.
How to get ready for a home inspection
1. Clean and tidy up
The first step is to clean up your home; a home in the best shape can still make a terrible first impression if it is clean and tidy.
- Sweep the entire home and get rid of clutter.
- Clean the stove, oven, and furnace filters (replace the filter, if necessary).
- Look at your storage spaces and organize them.
- If closets are access points to the attic/crawlspace, arrange or empty them.
- In the attic, basement, or crawlspace, move the contents of each space from the walls to give the inspector room to check all surfaces and fixtures.
2. Check the operation of various home features
Check the home to ensure all components are functioning as they should.
- Run faucets and check them for leaks or drips.
- Flush toilets to be sure they are not slow and don’t run for a long time after flushing.
- Check the water pressure.
- Check light switches and power outlets; replace broken and burnt-out light bulbs.
- Check window locks and seals; open and close them repeatedly. Do the same for doors
- Make sure all doorknobs are securely fastened and in good condition.
- Inspect doors for signs of aging or damage; be sure the weather stripping is intact.
- Test the manual and automatic control for garage doors, plus the reverse safety function.
3. Check the home’s safety and security features
- Check the function of your smoke, Carbon Monoxide, and Carbon dioxide detectors. Use the self-test function if there is one. Replace batteries for devices that are not functioning appropriately.
- Inspect the fire extinguisher; ensure all gauges are at the expected levels.
- Check that gas lines and chimney entry points are properly capped.
- Do thorough pest extermination for the entire property – interior and exterior.
4. Do the necessary repairs
- Replace the caulking around bathtubs and sinks, if needed.
- Check for water damage in areas that are prone to it.
- If there are torn screens or cracked windows, fix them.
- Inspect the insulation in the attic and crawlspace for damage.
- Replace tile grout that is stained or broken.
5. Check the home’s exterior
- From across the street, inspect the roofline. Inspect the roof up close from a ladder.
- Remove all growth and debris from the roof and gutter system.
- Look for damaged or missing shingles and assess other roof features for damage.
- Check siding, external trim, and caulking around doors or windows for damage.
- Clear the entire yard of trash and all stored items.
- Remove tree branches that are dead, diseased, or hanging too close to the roof.
- Clear around three feet of space around the entire perimeter of the house.
- Slope soil away from the base of the house to prevent water from pooling.
6. Final preparations
- Gather the entire repair, renovation, and maintenance records for the home into a folder.
- Assemble the remotes, keys, or passcodes for garage doors, sheds, ceiling fans, gates, and electrical boxes and leave them on the kitchen table.
- Label every key or remote for easy identification.
- Label electrical boxes and similar features for easy identification.
- Make sure the pilot gas is on for all gas-fired appliances.
- Make sure you don’t turn off utilities.
- Empty the sink, dishwasher, and laundry machine.
- Get ready to leave the house with your family and pets for the next three hours.
