{"id":2306,"date":"2014-07-11T21:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-07-11T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeadvancer.com\/?p=2306"},"modified":"2014-07-11T21:00:27","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T18:00:27","slug":"selling-your-home-17-ways-to-prepare-your-house-for-inspection-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeadvancer.com\/selling-your-home-17-ways-to-prepare-your-house-for-inspection-success\/","title":{"rendered":"17 Ways to Prepare Your House for Inspection Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
In general, it’s good to have intimate knowledge of your house’s nooks, crannies, and weak spots. Not everyone knows how to prepare their house for inspection success. The following items are things you should consider<\/strong> before the inspector visits your home, possibly bringing up major and minor issues that could cost you money off your sales price or worse \u2014 the deal itself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ensure access to critical areas of your house is clear. Think about your electrical box, furnace, hot water heater, and air conditioning units, attic door, and any other possible locked spaces. Also, make it easier to access under sink plumbing work and back access, as well as any areas, blocked off by storage, etc.<\/p>\n If the inspector cannot gain access, he or she will be unable to include them in the report<\/strong>, raising questions for your buyers.<\/p>\n Go through your entire house to all the sinks drains \u2014 one by one \u2014 and run the water. If you notice a slow drain, you can try using store-bought clog removers (consult with staff to find the right one<\/em>). For very slow or even totally clogged drains, call in a plumber to inspect them.<\/p>\n Same goes with any slow flow or blockage at the water source.<\/p>\n Examine your attached light fixtures. Make sure all the light bulbs are working. Inspectors only get an overhead view and cannot determine if the bulb itself is out or if there’s possibly an underlying electrical problem.<\/p>\n Replace your furnace return air filters. Not only do dirty filters impact the efficiency of your overall HVAC system, but they also show neglect, which isn’t the type of impression you want to leave with your inspector.<\/p>\n Be sure to have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Test before inspection day<\/strong> and look at the expiration dates. You should have a smoke alarm on every level of your home \u2014 including the basement.<\/p>\n As for carbon monoxide detectors, there should be at least one<\/strong> in your home, in the sleeping area.<\/p>\n Check to see that the earth slopes away from your home versus toward it to avoid basement water issues. Even if there’s no evidence of water entering your home, it’s a good idea to slope dirt away in flowerbeds and other areas that come in contact with your foundation.<\/p>\n If your home has any cracked windows or broken screens, you may want to fix them before the inspector comes. Even if a crack isn’t a big issue on some basement window, it will still show up in your report.<\/p>\n Do you see a lot of carpenter bees hanging around? Or perhaps a steady line of ants near your home? Any sort of infestation \u2014 especially of wood destroying insects like termites \u2014 will show up on your inspection report<\/strong>. It’s best to take care of it<\/a> proactively.<\/p>\n Any sort of caps needed in and around your home should be there. Any unused gas lines \u2014 even if shut off \u2014 should be capped<\/strong>. As well, any chimneys or flues should be capped to prevent debris, including leaves and animals, from clogging off critical vents.<\/p>\n For example, a home we recently had inspected had a clog in the water heater flue creating a dangerous buildup of carbon monoxide.<\/p>\n Or at least take a look at any overhanging vegetation at your property. Trees that are over roofs can prematurely shorten roof life by inviting moss and lichen to take hold. Rodents can gain easy access to your chimney and other openings.<\/p>\n And the obvious:<\/strong> If there’s a low-hanging or unhealthy branch, it could always fall onto the roof.<\/p>\n If you know you have asbestos, lead, or other health and safety issues in your home, it’s good to disclose this information before embarking on the sale process<\/strong>, to begin with. Otherwise, be prepared for these items to show up in a report.<\/p>\n Though they are usually not confirmed without further testing, “suspected<\/em>” hazards could certainly scare away potential buyers.<\/p>\n Flush your toilets to see if any aren’t performing as they should. Sometimes a fix is as easy as adjusting the water level in your tank. Other times, a clog or hard water (creating sediment<\/em>) might be to blame \u2014 or perhaps a faulty design.<\/p>\n Go to each outlet in your home to see if any aren’t working. It’s also a good idea to note any weird issues with your electrical system that you have observed and lived within your time at the home. Any flickering light fixtures or slow switches, etc., can be signs of a problem<\/strong> for an electrician to investigate.<\/p>\n Many older houses, especially those with plaster walls, have hairline cracks. Many of these cracks are not concerning, as they mostly indicate the expansion and contraction of the wall material with normal house settling and temperature fluctuations.<\/p>\n If you have cracks in your foundation or exterior, or your doors and windows aren’t closing from misalignment, you may want to have them checked before inspection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n While you’re at it, open and close all your windows and doors to look for anything that’s creaking, loose, or otherwise not functioning properly. Look at hinge pins, door knobs, and anything else that seems amiss.<\/p>\n1. Clear Access<\/h3>\n
2. Banish Clogs<\/h3>\n
3. Replace Bulbs<\/h3>\n
4. Filter Out<\/h3>\n
5. Mind Your Monitors<\/h3>\n
6. Observe Grading<\/h3>\n
7. Check Cracks<\/h3>\n
8. Get the Bugs Out<\/h3>\n
9. Cap It Off<\/h3>\n
10. Trim Your Trees<\/h3>\n
11. Think Big<\/h3>\n
12. Go With the Flow<\/h3>\n
13. Spark Interest<\/h3>\n
14. Crack It Open<\/h3>\n
15. Swing Around<\/h3>\n
16. Address the Issues<\/h3>\n