Find an Agent

Home Inspection Preparation Checklist for Sellers

home-inspection-prep

There are a number of steps involved in the home selling process, one of which is getting a home inspection done. Once you’ve accepted an offer and entered escrow, your buyer will schedule a home inspection. They’ll choose an inspector and will pay for the service, but it’s up to you to prepare your home. Keep reading to learn how!

  1. Clean the House Like You Are Expecting Company:
    Inspectors will need to be able to access and test all of your home’s mechanical systems and appliances. Before your inspection, pick up any clutter to make it easy to get around your home. Make it easy on the inspector to test out all your appliances and fixtures – like sinks and toilets. For example, make sure not to leave dirty laundry in the washing machine or dirty dishes in the sink dishwasher. Be sure to replace any burnt-out lights as well, so it’s easy for the inspector to tell the difference between a burnt-out bulb and a malfunctioning light fixture.
  2. Don’t Try to Hide Anything:
    If something isn’t working, your home inspector will find it. That’s why it’s better to disclose all known issues to your buyer before the inspection even happens. In fact, the law dictates you must divulge any and all known problems. But if you forgot something or if there are prior repairs you think may come up during the inspection, it’s never a bad idea to leave a note for the inspector, so they know what to look for. Also, be sure to include details on what, if anything, has been done to remedy the issue. For example, if you had a leak in the garage in 2015, but you had it patched by a professional – offer receipts showing the work was done by a licensed contractor. Last but not least, if you know any of your access points are difficult to get to, leave notes on how best to get to those as well.
  3. Treat the Inspection Like an Open House:
    It may be tempting to hang around the house and see what the inspector finds, but don’t. Most inspectors will show up for an appointment 30 to 45 minutes early in order to get everything set up – and you should make sure all your home’s occupants have somewhere else to be. All pets should also be absent or crated. Remember too, that the buyer will often accompany the inspector at the appointment, so you want to make sure they are just as impressed with your home at the inspection as they were at their initial viewing.

A home inspection is an important step in the home buying process. As the seller, adequately preparing your home for the inspection will help build trust between you and the buyer as negotiations continue.

Interested in buying or selling?

We've improved the traditional real estate model with modern technology to cut costs, not quality.

Get started today