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When it's time to sell your home, you're in an exciting period with a large list of tasks to accomplish, including the home inspection. Your potential buyer will arrange (and typically pay for) the general inspection, including an onsite visit and report prepared by the inspector, but there are steps you can take to make the process as seamless as possible. In this blog post, we’ll give you tips to follow for a stress-free home inspection.
Before Inspection Day
If you’ve arrived at the point of a home inspection in the process of selling your home, chances are you’ve been showing it around in close-to pristine condition. Here’s a list of some details that you may have overlooked that will help you prepare for an upcoming home inspection:
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Clean windowsills and door tracks. Inspectors will be opening and closing every window and door in your home, so take a moment to wipe off dead flies and dust that may have accumulated. Go over your door’s locks, hinges, and handles to ensure they’re working smoothly.
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Clear dryer vents. Believe it or not, dirty dryer vents actually make it onto the inspection report.
- Service your HVAC system. Every home has an HVAC, or Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning System. Within the air system is a filter that collects pollution and debris that is floating around in the air around your home. If you haven’t done it recently, you’ll want to service your HVAC system, making sure to replace your filters.
- Caulk around hardware. Sellers should touch up missing caulk around hardware in the kitchen and bathroom, including sinks, faucets, tubs, countertops, and tile.
- Change light bulbs and batteries. It’s not a good look when a home inspector goes to turn something on and it doesn’t’ work. Go through the house and make sure all lightbulbs are working. You’ll also want to check batteries on remote controls for ceiling fans, light dimmers, garage door openers, and other commonly used electronic features of your home.
- Test the ice maker. If you have an ice maker in your freezer, check to make sure it is turned on and producing ice.
- Check special property features. If your home has special features like a pool or spa, lawn sprinklers, exterior lighting, or a mechanized gate, check them over to make sure the mechanical functions are all working properly.
On Inspection Day
For a house of average size, a home inspection typically takes two to three hours, and the inspector’s report should be ready a few days after that. On inspection day, the home inspector will go through the interior and exterior of your home, recording any broken, defective, or potentially hazardous issues present in the house and surrounding area. Here are a few tips to help inspection day run smoothly:
1. Set some ground rules.
Even if regulations don’t require it, you can ask inspectors to wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, and foot coverings inside your home. Respect the boundaries of both home inspectors and household members by practicing social distancing. Having hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes readily available is a good idea, and you can ask inspectors to use them after touching any surfaces. You can also request that they clean up any dust or debris they might disturb.
2. Give inspectors room to work.
The inspector is going to need easy access to your home and elements they are examining. They are not allowed to touch or move your personal items, so if an inspector can’t access something, they’ll have to come back on another day, prolonging the process for everyone. Be sure to clear unobstructed paths to water heaters, HVAC units, electrical panels, cellar or crawl spaces, attics, and specialty features. You should move vehicles out of the garage to give inspectors plenty of room to walk through easily.
3. Explain how things work.
It can be frustrating trying to figure out how remotes work in another person’s home, and if the home inspector can’t determine how something works, they may report it as inoperable. If you’re there to explain how systems, appliances, and other equipment operates, things will go more smoothly. To ensure socially distanced safety, you may want to consider writing up and leaving an instruction sheet for the inspector.
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