Tips to Prepare for your Home Inspection

When you're ready to get your home being inspected by a Texas Professionally-Licensed Home Inspector, here are some ways to make your home inspection go more smoothly, and possibly alleviate some concerns up front which may delay the closing process.

1.     Make sure that your utilies are all on (water, electric, and gas if applicable).
2.     Enlist the professional expertise of family members, friends, etc. for help with pre-evaluating the condition of systems such as: roofing; electrical; plumbing (including water heaters); heating/air conditioining; foundation, etc.
3.     If using a gas furnace, heater or stove, confirm that your pilot lights are on and functioning correctly.
4.     If you have pets, remove them from the premises on the day of inspection, or secure them outside so they do not hinder the inspector from doing his or her job. Be sure to tell your agent or your inspector about any pets at home.
5.     Check and replace any burned out light bulbs before the inspection. This can avoid a possible "Light is inoperable" comment on your report that may suggest a more serious electrical problem.
6.     Test your smoke detectors and CO2 monitors; replace dead batteries.
7.     Clean or replace dirty HVAC air filters. They should fit securely.
8.     Remove stored items, debris and wood from the foundation areas, as these can be cited as "conducive conditions" for termites.
9.     Remove any items which block access to HVAC equipment, electric service panels, water heaters, attics and crawl spaces.
10.     Unlock any areas the inspector must access - attic doors or hatches, electric service panels, closets, fence gates and crawl spaces.
11.     Trim tree limbs from the roof and shrubs from the house to allow the inspector access to where he or she needs to inspect.  Clean out your rain gutters.
12.     Do a preliminary check of your house and attend to any missing or broken items that can easily be replaced/fixed. This may include items like latches, locks, doorknobs, wesather stripping, windows, screens, gutters, downspouts and chimney caps.
13.     Caulking/sealing:  Caulking/sealing exterior and interior areas of your home should be part of routine maintenance.  Examine and caulk/seal areas such as:  exterior walls, including around windows, doors, etc. to prevent intrusion of moisture and vermin;  interior walls and floors around wet areas such as bathtubs, showers, kitchens, etc.
14.     Electrical:  Manually test your Ground-Fault-Circuit-Interrupter (GFCI) receptacles in kitchens, bathrooms, and garage. If your home is equipped with Arc-Fault-Circuit-Interrupter (AFCI) circuit breakers; test them manually.  First turn off all computers in the home, as the manual testing will disconnect power to various circuits in the home.  AFCI circuit breakers (if present) will probably be located in Sub Panel or Main Service Panel, and can be identified as having their own Test Buttons.
15.     Air conditionining:  Find the location of your interior evaporoator coil/air handler. There should be undoubtedly a Primary Condensate drain line which should be draining freely.  Check the safety drip pan beneath the evaporator coil/air handler.  It should be dry, not rusted, and free of debris.  If it is wet or rusted, you have probably have had some previous or on-going condensate drain blockage which should be investigated and remediated immeidately.  If you see water dripping from a PVC pipe located over a window, this is another sign that you should have your A/C condenate drain lines investigated immediately.
16.     The inspector will probably want to run the dishwasher through a cycle. If you have dirty dishes in there, you might as well have them ready to wash on the day of the inspection.
17.     Prepare your Seller's Disclosure.  Be honest.
18.     The house doesn't have to be spotless, but make sure it's reasonably clean and uncluttered the day of the inspection. Impressions count, and the photos taken during the inspection may be included in the final report, so why not put your home's best foot forward on the day of the inspection?

 Checking these areas before your home inspection will help you to sell your property more quickly, and can make a difference to your bottom line.

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Created on Aug 6th 2020 02:29. Viewed 302 times.

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