When you sell your home, expect that potential buyers do require a professional home inspection before they complete the transaction. Not all buyers request this, but preparing your home for an inspection can prevent unwelcome surprises. You don’t want the buyer to back out of their contract to buy or delay the closing because of seen or unseen defects in your home.
Engaging a professional inspector to look over the home can be an extra expense that many sellers do not wish to incur. Often, an experienced real estate agent can look over the home, point out obvious flaws, and make suggestions about what needs to be done to make your home more appealing to buyers.
Cautions When Selling “As Is”
Planning to sell your home as-is? You may not want to do any renovation on your home, but having a home inspection done before you put your place on the market can help your agent set a fair price, based on the condition of your home.
Having a “fair price” may not prevent interested potential buyers from trying to negotiate an even lower price, while multiplying the dollar amount it takes to fix any defects. As Dan Stewart, president of the home inspection company Pillar to Post notes, “For every real dollar of cost, the buyer thinks it’s $2 or $3 more.”
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Tips To Prepare For A Professional Home Inspection
Before your professional home inspection, check below for a few things you need to do to prepare:
Clean your house
Presenting your home as clean, uncluttered, and neat makes it easier for the inspector to do his or her job. The inspection does not critique your lifestyle, but a clean, fresh home sends out the message that your house is well maintained. The cleanliness includes gutters, garage, and outside areas.
Don’t keep red flags flying
Inspectors note things such as flaking paint, cracked windows that don’t open and close, inept or not-to-code DIY projects, leaky faucets, water spots on ceilings, walls, and baseboards, unpleasant orders that could indicate mold, and more. Addressing these problems keeps the inspector moving along in examining your home and reducing the list of problems you may uncover.
Anticipate buyer concerns and prevent surprises
Hire a professional to clean and examine your HVAC system, address plumbing problems and signs of water damage, and examine your roof. Make the repairs before your home is on the market and prepare your agent to answer questions that buyers ask about the age and condition of mechanical systems in your home.
Ensure to connect utilities and keep your pilot lights lit
To make sure everything functions properly, the inspector needs to see your plumbing and electrical systems in action, so your power on and your pilot lights lit. If your house is vacant, turn on your utilities to prevent delays in closing.
Selling appliances with your home?
Keep appliances clean and in good working condition before listing. Your agent may recommend buying new appliances if the current ones detract from the appearance of your kitchen.
Ensure that there is workspace around your furnace and water heater.
The inspector needs to access these areas to examine and test these mechanicals; it is not his job to move boxes or clutter away from the work area.
Allow access to attics, basements, garages, and outbuildings
Provide keys, if needed, along with clear access to reach these areas that provide insights as to the condition of your home.
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Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
