Home inspection questions

Hi All,
I am in the process of selling my house, and the buyers home inspector is scheduled to view the house next week.
The house is in overall good condition, but I was wondering if there were any helpful hints that I should be aware of to make things go more smoothly. Replies from home inspectors especially appreciated. Thanks :slight_smile:

Double check your furnace for leaks, your basement for water and/or mold, and your chimney for residue. I’m sure there’s more, but these are things I know that can be dealbreakers.

Hmmm. Well, if you have a copy of the inspection from when you obtained the house, I’d take a look at that and see what kinds of things are on it. Then, look around your house and see if what’s mentioned is still in existance.

Make sure any appliances that will be left with the house are in full working order, all outlet/lightswitch boxes have their covers on, etc. If one of the celing lights/fans/whatver is being held together by duct tape, that really isn’t a good thing. :wink:

Also: if you are using a lamp in a closet for light, I’d unplug it and move it elsewhere. With the house I’m currently in, the inspector dinged the previous owner for doing that. (Reason: since it wasn’t designed to be in there, the heat from the bulb could prove troublesome, plus the cord wasn’t secured down so someone could accidentally get tangled up in it and end up with a hot lamp smacking down on them.) Really minor, since the owner was going to keep the lamp anyway.

What else… make sure they can get to all kinds of areas of the house: attic (if applicable), under the house (not all do this, from what I know: but if they do, make sure the access is in fact accessable), easy access to appliances that stay with the house (water heater, heater, A/C, etc.).

And don’t forget: they’re there to help protect the people who are going to (hopefully!) be buying your home, and so they should be very nity-picky. Don’t fret, and don’t worry about it! (Or at least try not to!)


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Make sure you’re not around during the inspection. And if you are, stay out of the way and be quiet. As a former inspector’s assistant, nothing bothers the inspector more than some overly-proud do-it-yourselfer bragging about his handiwork. It can make the inspector look even more closely than normal, finding EVERY minor flaw that exists.

If you have unpermitted work on your house, get the permits retroactively. Lack of permits is also a pretty quick deal breaker.

Make sure the furnace area meets all code regs, is clean, and in good working order.
Make sure there is no appearance of structural damage such as cracks where the ceiling and walls meet.
Make sure Kitchen appliances work & Bathrooms are clean(especially grout).
Make sure garage(if you have one) is not cluttered.
Make sure there are not any cracks around the foundation & check windows for good seal closure.
Roof should not have any missing tiles.

If the inspector sees what he maintains is insect damage (either from carpenter ants or termites), he may say there’s an infestation present.

This may not be the case, however. Damage only indicates the presence of wood destroying insects at some time in the home’s history. An infestation means that insects were present at the time of inspection.

This may seem like a mere semantic difference, but it could mean the difference between you having to pay for termite treatment as a condition of the sale and a mere glitch on the report.

If the inspector writes down “infestation”, ask if live insects were present and observed. Press them on this, and you may want to call in your own inspector, preferably one who has experience, or is licensed in the termite/pest industry.

I’ve seen more than one sale get queered because the inspector saw damage which was obviously (to me, anyway) old, and wrote down “infestation” when absolutely no insects were present.

simple homer, where did you get your inspector? Was it one suggested by the real estate person perhaps?

Hi All ! Thanks for the info :slight_smile:
DAVEWOO71: great info to know, thanks
Handy: I am the seller, I do not know where the buyer found the inspector

Well, you can always get your own inspector if you can afford it…there was a 20/20 tv program about them once, being not quite so honest in order to sell or get a better price.

handy has a point. Not that they’ll all be dishonest, and I imagine the only way they’d benefit from a better price would be a kickback, but there’s no reason you can’t hire your own inspector.

I stress the termite/pest licensing bona fides because very often the inspectors know a lot about engineering, construction, electricity, etc., because they were in those fields to some extent. But not termite control. And most states require testing to become educated and licensed, and that costs money. So they wing it. And I’ve seen them be wrong, either misdiagnosing what caused the damage, or as I mentioned above, making assumptions on incomplete evidence. It wouldn’t hurt to ask them if they’re licensed, just to maybe put them on guard.