As a homeowner who is selling your property, it feels great to be so close to having a sale finalized with one special potential buyer. Then you realize that a home inspection is coming, and you know so many serious problems are found during inspection that could make your buyer back out. You may have convinced yourself that your home is totally fine, but a professional with a non-sentimental eye might just see the nasty things your home is hiding.
To be one step ahead, check out these top home maintenance problems that are found during home inspections. By figuring out what you can fix, you can save your deal and sell your home!
1. Leaky Roof Nightmare
When roof leaks are left unattended, these can turn into major home maintenance problems. Leaks allow water to find its way through walls and floors, causing significant damage like mold growth. What’s worse than proliferating mold is that roof leaks can lead to wood rot that will weaken your home’s structural framing. The usual signs for roof leaks are water stains in your ceiling, damaged flashing, roof rot, as well as buckling, curling, and missing shingles.
2. Scary, Shoddy Wiring
Aside from roof leaks, another common home maintenance issue involves electrical problems. These can be anything from malfunctioning receptacles to faulty wiring. Home inspectors often find improper breakers in the electric service panel, receptacles wired backward, and ungrounded fixtures. All of these require immediate attention, because electrical issues could result in a fire. To spot electrical issues, check if your circuits and breakers go out regularly. You should also inspect if your outlets and switches are charred or discolored. These are usual signs for potentially dangerous situations.
3. Beware Basement Seepage
If you see water stains along your basement walls or floor, this means you have basement seepage to worry about. Basement seepage has the potential to lead to full-fledged flooding, which will concern your potential buyer. An experienced basement waterproofing contractor can give you a bid on quickly fixing any minor basement problems before they become huge.
Other signs for basement seepage are musty odors, efflorescence (white or sometimes grayish ash on basement walls), and spalling (when the concrete or brick surface of the basement start to flake away, peel, or pop off).
4. HVAC Help
When it comes to heating and cooling equipment, regular maintenance is a must. So if you haven’t cleaned the dryer vent in years or you haven’t changed the furnace filter in a decade, you will have to face the wrath of the home inspection results. Lint build-up inside vent pipes can cause bulging, and not changing furnace filters can result in a broken-down furnace. Water heaters and air conditioning systems should also be serviced yearly. So if you have not been doing any of this upkeep, you have to start before your buyer ends up throwing away your deal.
As a homeowner who wants to see the sale push through, the best thing you can do is disclose all of the home maintenance problems you already know about to your potential buyer. This will help you both negotiate fairly when it comes to the final price of your home.
If you know that your home has maintenance problems and you don’t have the time or money to patch it up, you can consider selling your home to Blue Hen Homebuyers. We buy Jacksonville, NC houses in any condition! Simply fill out our web form or call us at 910-802-2222, and we will get back to you with an offer.