You may never thought about it!
You are selling your house and the home inspection is scheduled.
What are you to do to prepare?
As I tell all my clients who are selling their home, you can prep by:
1. Removing items from attic access
2. Clean the house thoroughly.
3. Remove your pets or crate them
4. Complete obvious repairs
The house should show as nice as when the buyer came through. An attractive, well kept house impresses the buyers and the home inspector. The home inspector tends to look "less closely" if the house is spotless and there aren't doors hanging off the hinge(or other obvious repairs.
The reality is that a home inspection will always come up with a repair that the seller was never aware of! It is the fact that none of us are in every nook and craney of the home we love.
You will note in the attached article below written by home inspector that he provides some insight as to what can make their
job a bit easier(without causing the seller much work or a problem).
Just common sense items.
Here are the thoughts by an
We see it every day. Sellers who don’t take the time to ensure a smooth home inspection and who pay for it in the long run. The spring market is upon us. A little preparation can ensure sellers have great home inspections .
If a seller does this, he’s about two hours late for his presentation. On inspection day, the house should be empty of the owners and their presence. In fact, everything should be just like it was on the initial viewing day. Be ready for inspection day by getting up and out of the house an hour before the appointment. The home should also be clean and pets should be removed or crated.
If something isn’t working properly, don’t try to hide it. We will find it. Buyers get very suspicious when sellers deliberately try to conceal defects. They immediately see you as dishonest and wonder what else you’re hiding. It’s not worth losing their confidence over a trivial defect. Just leave a note: “We know about it and we’re getting it fixed.”
In addition, make sure the location of attic and crawlspace hatches are identified and are easily accessible, as home inspectors hate moving your stuff.
If the hatch is in a closet, remove any clothing that is hanging directly under the hatch as well as anything on the floor. Your home inspector doesn’t want to move your smelly sneakers.
It’s also important to check every area of the house for blown light bulbs. This includes the crawlspace, attic, garage and furnace room. We don’t want to waste time determining if a fixture is inoperable or simply has a blown bulb.
Do you have a septic system or a well buried in your yard? If so, make sure you leave a sketch of the locations. There’s nothing worse than a group of contractors, home inspector, buyers and their REALTOR® wandering around a yard needlessly, searching for something you know the exact location of.
Lastly, please don’t leave your dirty laundry in the washing machine or dryer. We have to test these appliances and we don’t want to pull your dirty underwear out of the washer in front of everybody. Also, make sure your oven and stovetop are clear and clean so that we can easily test them without setting off the smoke alarm.
Some of these items may seem like REALTOR® 101, but I’ve noticed over thousands and thousands of home inspections that only the most successful REALTORS® pay attention to these details. Help your seller help themselves—and you—get ready for inspection day.
By David R. Leopold
By David R. Leopold is the owner of Pillar To Post Home Inspection located in Fairfield County, Conn.
By David R. Leopold is the owner of Pillar To Post Home Inspection located in Fairfield County, Conn.
For more information, visit www.pillartopost.com.
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