Did you recently put your home for sale on the market? Here’s how you can quickly prepare you home for an upcoming house inspection.
If you’ve recently put your home up for sale, you might be looking at an impending house inspection. This might seem like a stressful time, but it doesn’t have to be! Getting your home inspected is a bit of a thorough process, but you can prepare yourself for it ahead of time to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
If you want to make sure that you pass inspection with ease, you’re in the right place. Keep reading to learn all about tips for quickly preparing your house for a home inspection.
Do Some Outside Cleaning
The inspector isn’t just going to be looking at the inside of your home; they’re going to be looking at the outside too. This is the time to start making sure that everything that might be cluttering your outside space is cleared away and looking neat and tidy.
This means that any overwhelming growths, clusters of weeds or sticks, or furniture are all cleared away to leave room and a nice appearance for the inspector.
If there are any entrances to crawl spaces, sheds, or basements outside, make sure that they’re accessible to the inspector.
Make Everything Accessible
While you’re making outdoor areas accessible, don’t forget about your indoor areas. This means that if you have any cabinets that have been closed up for ages, now is the time to re-open them and make them available again.
Access to the attic and basement, if applicable, should be easy and open. Any fences should be unlocked and nothing should be obviously off-limits.
Check Your Roof
Most people aren’t familiar enough with their roof. Are you?
Now is the time to clear away the mess and gunk from your roof tiles and gutters. Whether it’s a standard home inspection or a housing authority inspection, your inspector is going to want to ensure that your roof is in good condition.
If there are problems with the roofing, now is the time to fix them. It might be costly, but it will help you in the long run.
Look for Leaks
While you’re hanging out with your roof, it’s a great time to look for leaks or water damage to fix before your inspector comes around.
Not all leaks come from roof problems. Some come from problems with pipes, or even problems with the foundation. You need to find those leaks before it’s time for your house inspection.
There are ways to identify leaks and water damage if you haven’t done it before, so just take a quick look around your home.
Check Doors and Cabinets
Go through your home and really ensure that all of your doors and cabinets are in working order.
Are the hinges in good condition? Do they squeak, or are they hard to open? Is there any rusting or warping, or separation from the doorway?
These might not be things that you notice day to day, especially if you’re used to them. An inspector, however, might be looking for just these things while they’re doing their detailed home inspections.
Deal With Bugs
Everyone has a stray beetle or spider here and there, and an inspector likely isn’t going to notice this as a serious issue.
An ant colony, termites, or a wasp nest, though? You might have some problems.
If you’ve been casually ignoring some extra friends living with you in your home for a while, it’s time to get that handled. Consider calling a professional to do a thorough investigation of your home before it gets inspected to avoid issues.
Check Your Plumbing
You don’t have to be a professional plumber to know when something isn’t quite right with the main plumbing fixtures in your home.
Do you have any strange drips in any of your faucets? Is your water pressure in your faucet remarkably poor? Has your toilet been running just a little bit too long?
These might be things that fade into the background of your life, but an inspector is going to notice them pretty quickly. Save yourself the trouble and check on these things ahead of time.
Turn on Pilot Lights
If you have several pilot lights in your home, you may not keep them all on year-round. While some are always essential, others become less important as the weather warms up.
An inspector is going to want them all on, though. Before your inspection, double-check to ensure that everything is on.
Prepare Your Paperwork
If there have been repairs, renovations, or any changes made to the home while it’s been in your possession, you should keep records of these.
The records should be collected and ready to give or show to the inspector if they need them. This is great proof of care for your home.
Be Prepared Day-Of
The day of the inspection might be stressful, but at this point, you should be pretty much ready for whatever the day has to throw at you.
On the day of, you should make sure to rid the perimeter of your house of any errant debris or toys. You should ensure that all gates and doors are unlocked and easily accessible without outside help. Leave lights and utilities on.
Basically, you want everything to be as easy as possible for your inspector.
Expect them to come early, so get any last-minute details out of the way long before you anticipate their arrival.
Are You Ready for Your House Inspection?
Home inspections can be stressful, but if you prepare ahead of time, they’re no big deal. Your house inspection will go smoothly as long as you know your house and that it’s been kept up thoroughly.
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