So you have accepted
an offer and now the buyer has scheduled a home inspection. What
should you do to prepare your house? No, this is not an article on
passing a home inspection or avoiding defects. If you have defects
they will be found and now is probably not the time to address them.
This is about how to get your home ready for the inspector to review.
Why would you want to do that? Because you are the one coming home
afterwards. A few minutes getting ready can make a huge difference in
what you come home to, and whether another trip will be needed. Most home
inspectors are respectful, and make every
effort to leave no trace that they were there. A little attention
to how you leave the house will help, and here are a few areas to focus
on.
In the kitchen:
Remove items from the sink, the inspector will be running water in
the kitchen. Most inspectors wont move things so items left in the
sink are likely to get wet if left there. Also, check under the sink,
we always look for the water shut offs and if blocked may start
feeling around for them. While your putting those disses away, clean
off the top of the stove. If the inspector test the appliances, which
most do, you don’t want empty pans heating up. Also, ovens are
tested to insure they don’t tip when the door is open, Murphy Law
says the one that tips will be the one with pots on the burners.
Lastly, unplug some items from the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters
so they can be tested.
In the bathroom:
Items left in the tub or shower will get wet in an inspection, also
take a second to turn the shower head in a little. Inspectors check
for “functional flow” which requires running the shower. Too
often shower heads spay water on the floor if the curtain or door is
open. Before leaving the bathroom unplug that electric tooth brush or
razor. Most inspectors won’t unplug items to test the Ground Fault
Circuit Interrupters and simple list it as untested if items are
already plugged in.
Attic access: If
your home has pull down stairs that great, most don’t. If your
attic access is in a bedroom closet take a minute to move items out
of the way. If the inspector can’t get to the attic they will
likely ask to return after the area has been cleared. Access to the
attic is a big deal so most inspectors won’t hesitate to request
someone come move the owners personal items and come back the next
day.
In the bedrooms and
general interior: Pull up the blinds. Inspectors need to test a
representative number of window, and some test them all. If your
shades are down and curtains closed the inspector will open them. In
most cases this is not a concern, however if you have delicate
curtains or older shades, even the most careful inspector may not
return them the way you prefer. Like the kitchen and bathroom, try to
have some outlets accessible, inspectors attempt to test at least one
in each room.
These may not sound
like much, and most of this will go unnoticed if done, however if not
done it can make for not only an inconvenient inspection, it could
mean coming home to a house that looks like someone was poking
around. While we are actually doing just that, we try not to let it
show.
