You've worked hard to prepare your home for sale. You had the rooms repainted, minor issues fixed, and kept it spotless for open houses. Now you've accepted an offer.
What Is a Home Inspection?
Home inspection is a crucial aspect of the home-buying or home-selling process.
A home inspection involves a visual examination of the roof, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, and doors, as well as the house's physical structure and mechanical systems.
As a buyer, it will help you avoid purchasing a property with major flaws. As a seller, it will reveal all of the repairs you'll need to do before you place your house on the market.
How to choose and hire a home inspector?
You want a trustworthy inspector who will watch out for your best interests while also understanding your home's demands and needs. Request that your real estate agent name a few inspectors that they have previously dealt with and who they believe will provide you with a fair and honest report.
Prepare for your home inspection
To minimize unwanted imperfections on the report, it's critical that you prepare for the inspection.
Before your house inspection, double-check the following items:
1. Gather receipts for any regular or maintenance work you've had performed on your house or its components.
2. Remove junk from areas such as the basement, attic, garage, and crawl space.
3. Ascertain that the electrical panel, furnace, and water heater are all accessible to the inspection.
4. Lock up pets during the inspection.
5. Check that the light bulbs are not burned out and that they are in good operating condition.
6. To check for obstructions, run water through each sink and bath.
7. Replace filters in HVAC systems.
8. Repair any cracked or damaged windows or screens.
9. Trees that are contacting or near to the roof should be pruned.
10. To keep the roof from leaking, replace any missing shingles.
11. If the house is uninhabited and the utilities have been shut off or disconnected, reconnect or turn them on.
What to anticipate during a house inspection?
To establish the house's safety as a dwelling, a qualified home inspector will examine all functioning parts of the house. The report will then take 3 to 4 days to complete. The home inspector will check the inside and outside of the house for any damaged, defective, or dangerous items. The inspector's goal is to take note of the house's existing state and any safety or repair problems, not to remedy or warn you about possible difficulties.
Home Inspection Checklist
The inspector will not check into the plumbing or sewer system, nor will he examine behind walls or move anything away from the foundation. Home inspectors only report on what they can see, not what they can find.
There are several things that house inspectors check for. These are mainly:
1. Foundation
2. Structure
3. Exterior
4. Interior
5. Plumbing/HVAC
6. Electrical
Here are some things that a home inspector will not look at:
1. Landscaping
2. Sprinklers
3. Sewer
4. Swimming Pool
5. Chimney/Fireplace
6. Drainage
7. Floor coverings
8. Evidence of rodents/mice/rats
9. Wood destroying pests like carpenter ants/termites
A home inspection is a crucial step in ensuring that your new house is free of any unforeseen problems that might put your finances in jeopardy. Finding a reputable real estate agent you can trust to take you through the process is one of the greatest ways to set yourself up for success.