If you are selling your home, a home inspection can literally make or break the sale. A bad result from the inspector can lead to a lot of problems, from money out of your pocket to the sale falling through entirely. It’s important that your home make a good impression during the home inspection.
Follow these tips to prepare your home for a successful home inspection so that the sale can go off without a hitch.
Home Inspection Tips
Take a walk around the grouds home inspection.Put yourselves in the inspector’s shoes and take a walk around your home, inside and out, with a critical eye. Look for cracks, damages, leaks, and anything else that looks out of the ordinary. Take care of any necessary repairs ahead of time.
Give it a deep cleaning
A home that has been cleaned and cared for shows a lot better than one that hasn’t. Don’t assume home inspectors will look past the dust and grime. A clean home will always make a better impression and help with the overall result of the inspection.
Keep things maintained
If certain things haven’t been serviced in a while, don’t leave it to the new homeowners to take care of it. Keep everything maintained, such as vents, filters, bulbs, and other things around the home that need to be regularly cared for.
Test monitors
Important monitors in the home, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, should be tested regularly to make sure they are in working order. Also, be sure to switch out the batteries every six months.
Clear access
Your home inspector should be able to move freely around the home without any obstruction. Make sure that they can reach and move around the attic, basement, hot water heater, electrical box, air conditioning unit, etc. without any delays or difficulty.
Trim trees and clear brush
Outside, trim back trees and bushes, and clear away brush and leaves. Not only will this put forth the impression that the home has been well cared for, but it will also make it easier for the inspector to do their job. Also, be sure to clean out the gutters.
Leave keys and remote controls
If you don’t plan on being at the property while the home inspector does their job, be sure to leave any keys and remote controls (such as for the garage door) so they can move freely throughout the property.
Leave utilities on
This is a big one: don’t turn off the utilities before your home inspection! Your home inspector will need to check that everything is in working order, so it’s important that the water and electric still be on at the time of the inspection.