My advice for sellers who are fretting their buyer’s home inspection.
Home inspections are not fun. A stranger arrives at your front door, you let them in, and then they proceed to dive into every nook and cranny of your personal space for hours on end. They open the closets, flush all the toilets, fire up the oven, run the dishwasher, climb onto the roof, wander around in the attic, and more.
After all that comes the most dreadful time of all: the potentially one- to two-day-long period in which the appraiser finalizes their assessment of your property. What will the inspection report say? The home inspector works for the buyer, and that buyer is the only person with whom they’ll be discussing their findings. Here are some recommendations on how to get through the inspection with your sanity intact:
Besides getting your home in tip-top shape, the best thing you can do is disappear; homebuyers are likely to be present during the inspection (usually closer to the end), and they’ll feel more comfortable discussing their concerns with the inspector if you’re absent. Under no circumstances should you follow the inspector around your home—it drives these professionals crazy, and with human nature being what it is, the process may become needlessly tense.
“The best way to prepare for an inspection: Get your home ready, then get out of the way.”
So get your home ready, then get out of the way, but don’t forget to take your pets with you. Also, make sure the inspector has unobstructed access to your attic, electrical panel, sprinkler box, water heater, and all other important home systems. The following are some of the most common repair requests I see:
- HVAC units not properly heating or cooling
- Foggy windows
- Hail damage on the roof
- Broken sprinkler heads
- General plumbing issues and under-sink leaks
If you want a better understanding of what a home inspector will be looking for and are be curious to see a generic home inspection report, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email anytime; I’ll be happy to share one with you! Also, you can bring all your other general questions and real estate needs to me; I’m here to be your resource.