Preparing For A Home Inspection

(Whether you are getting ready to sell your home or just want to see how things are running, a home inspection is a very important thing.)

Home inspections can take anywhere from a few hours to a day, depending on the size and condition of your home. While you may think that home inspectors will do all of the work, there are still a few things you should do to prepare your home for an inspection, which will make things run smoothly not only for you but for the inspector as well.

Elizabeth Weintraub of about.com wrote an article for the website, “Getting ready for the home inspection,” that discusses the top few things you can do to get ready for the inspection.

In different areas of the country, there are different traditions or specific situations that govern whether the buyer or the seller arranges for the inspector.

“Some local governments require that the seller provide the buyers with a detailed home inspection while giving the buyer the option to obtain her own inspection. In other parts of the country, the seller provides only disclosures and the buyer pays for her own home inspection. Whether you're producing a seller's home inspection for the buyer or expecting the buyer's home inspector to show up on your doorsteps, it's best to be thoroughly prepared.”

The first (and simplest) thing a homeowner can do before an inspection is to clean up! “This sounds so simple yet home owners often overlook this tactic. Home inspectors are people first and inspectors second. As people, they carry preconceived ideas of how well a home has been maintained. Clean homes say you care and take care of the house.”

Next be sure you are ready at the scheduled time, because inspectors are known to be prompt and early. Also, be prepared to be away for at least three hours, since many buyers accompany inspectors and feel awkward asking questions if the seller is hovering around.

Before the inspection, be sure that all of your utilities are plugged in, even if the house is vacant. It will be impossible to test certain appliances and utilities if they have not been plugged in or charged for a while. Not doing this simple task could cause the inspection to be canceled and the whole home selling transaction to be delayed even more!

Be sure that you provide access to the garage, attic, basement, electrical boxes and any outbuildings. It is easy to forget to unlock or leave a key for these things since many times they are not used very often.

“Leave the remote controls for your garage door opener or a key if the garage is unattached to the house. Unlock the covers for your sprinkler system and electrical box. Leave a key for exterior building access.”

After you have thoroughly cleaned your house and made the other preparations to your home, do not forget to have all of the recent repair papers ready and organized for your inspector to look over.

“Make available to the home inspector all invoices and documents regarding remodeling projects or new items such as a roof or furnace. If you've upgraded the electrical from ungrounded to grounded, installed a new dishwasher or repaired a leaky faucet, find the paperwork. It will give the buyer peace of mind to know those items were re-inspected.”

Making these preparations well in advance of the inspection should help things to run smoothly.

Back to Articles