When you’re in the process of selling your home, you have to make sure that both you and your home are ready for the inevitable home inspection. Buyers use home inspections to get a feel of the more technical side of their purchase and to ensure that they’ll be getting their money’s worth. In many instances, the results of a home inspection can lead to a buyer being able to pull their offer without penalty.
To avoid this from happening, you’ll want to have a grasp on what home inspectors normally look for in an inspection so you can take care of any defects beforehand. Here are some to note:
Interior Inspection
After years of staying in a home, we tend to overlook certain defects and brush them off with familiarity. As for other problem areas, there are just some things typical homeowners don’t bother to check. Either way, a home inspector will definitely see everything that you don’t.
1. Plumbing
Anything that water comes out of can be a potential problem for you, and defects in these fixtures can be a huge turn-off to buyers given that water is integral to everyday life. On your own, you can find the obvious leaks and test if your water pressure is normal. However, you will likely need the help of your own home inspector to get a closer look at the pipes.
2. Electrical
Households tend to take note of busted outlets that have never been repaired. You may want to refresh on this and repair these accordingly. Busted outlets could be linked to deeper issues in the electrical setup of your home and could potentially pose a fire hazard.
3. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
Homes with built-in HVAC systems will definitely get a meticulous checkup – from the age of your relevant appliances, your home’s ducting, and even its insulation as insufficient insulation could lead to larger utility bills.
4. Exterior Inspection
You can expect inspectors to do more than circle your lot. Defects in a home that can be determined from its exterior tend to be found in its roof or even its crawlspaces, and an inspector is sure to check these out.
5. Grading
A home’s grading is the slope of the ground surrounding the home. Ground sloping away from the house is ideal because it ensures that storm water won’t end up flooding your home. If you find that your grading isn’t ideal, there are ways to remedy this for your safety and your buyer’s confidence.
6. Exterior Walls
Much can go wrong when it comes to a home’s exterior walls. There’s the more obvious bad or chipped paint job, perhaps damaged or missing siding, incorrect clearance between the ground and your siding, and so on. Some of these aren’t real causes for worry but others can be symptomatic of deeper problems.
7. Foundation
Foundations tend to no longer be visible to inspectors. However, as these are more integral to the structural soundness of a home than most other parts are, inspectors find ways to check the state of your home’s foundation indirectly.
These are a lot to keep track of, and going through articles on the internet won’t make you an expert in home inspection. If none of these steps are practical for you, however, you can still sell your home to an investor like Blue Hen Homebuyers. As a home investor, we buy all kinds of homes, regardless of their age or condition. Call our offices today at 910-802-2222 to learn more about how we can help you.