How To Pass a Home Inspection

A home inspection is an independent third party evaluation of the house. It is not based on a pass / fail system, but is simply intended to inform the buyers about the house they are buying. But there are things you can do to make the home you're selling more attractive to the buyers. So here's some tips to make the home inspection process go smoothly for you.

Disclose, Disclose, Disclose.

If you know of problems in your home disclose them. A buyer is less likely to come back to you with issues raised during the home inspection if you've already told them about them. If you've done work to the house and didn't pull the appropriate permits disclose it. Most home inspectors and / or real estate agents are going to check anyways, so be up front about it. If you have to add 10 pages to the disclosure report do it. Buyers would rather see a full list of items than a blank sheet of paper.

Repair, Repair, Repair

If you know of problems in the house, fix them prior to the inspection. I see it all the time. Sellers living in the house and the kitchen sink drain leaks. Covers missing from electrical outlets and junctions boxes. These are literally less than $1 at the local big box store and they come with the screws. Take a half a day and walk through the home making a list of the small repairs you can tackle yourself and do it. While these small repairs may be minor in the eyes of the inspector those first time home buyers may very well be overwhelmed by the long list of small items.

If you know of a larger problem, such as a cracked foundation call your local foundation repair company and have them give an estimate in writing. They'll generally do this for free. Then either have the repairs done or disclose the problem and provide the estimate.

Oh yeah, have your furnace cleaned and tuned up. You know you've never had it done and it should be done yearly. It's only about $100 to $150 and if you haven't had it done recently I can almost guarantee the buyer will ask you to have it done after the inspection. Make sure the company you hire to do it leaves the evaluation sheet taped to the furnace so the inspector will see it.

If you're unsure of what to look for when your walking through the house making your list keep in mind, "if it doesn't look right it probably isn't". You could also hire your own home inspector to have the house pre-inspected prior to putting it on the market. You may use this report as a punch list to fix the items around the home or as a supplement to your disclosure report. Buyers love to see that the house is pre-inspected. However, here in Minnesota many cities require a pre listing inspection. These inspections are not home inspections. They are evaluations of the property to make sure they meet the cities ordinances. They are extremely limited and generally only take about a half hour while a true home inspection will take a few hours depending on the size of the house and the condition of the property.

Move Your Stuff.

George Carlin has a great bit about people and their stuff. A home inspector cannot move your stuff. It's not that they don't want to, it's that we're not allowed to. So if you've got a television blocking access to your water meter, clothing blocking access to your attic and a stackable washer / dryer blocking your electric panel, move it before the inspector gets there. If you don't the inspector will indicate in his report that the item was not accessible due to personal property and suggest further review after your stuff is moved. Guess who's going to end up paying for the inspector or "qualified contractor" to come back after you've moved your stuff? It won't be the buyer.

Don't Try to Hide Things.

A good home inspector will know if you're trying to hide something. I see it especially on "flipped" houses. There is nothing worse than the home inspector finding a hidden problem and the buyer asking, "Do you think the seller was trying to hide it?" Remember, we're hired to give an independent third party evaluation of the property and we're going to be honest with our clients. If we think the answer is "Yes", that's exactly what we'll tell the clients.

Meet Our Minnesota Home Inspectors

Ken Rowe

• ASHI Certified Inspector #242887
• Member of Southern Twin Cities Association of Realtors / St Paul Area Association of Realtors
  
• 7 years experience as a full time Home Inspector with; Premier Inspectors of America, Land America Property Inspection Services, and Buyer's Protection Group
• Approximately 4,000 Home Inspections performed
  
• 17 years in residential and commercial construction.
• Lives in St Paul and services the 11 county metro area.

Heather Rowe Radon Manager

• Member of the Southern Twin Cities Association of Realtors / St Paul Area Association of Realtors
• Follows USEPA guidelines and procedures for residential radon testing
• Lives in St Paul and services the 11 country metro area

To schedule your next inspection call 651-489-4633

Winter Promotion Reminder

Reminder; our Winter Promotion goes until the end of February. $100 off or a free radon test with your home inspection. Call 800-285-3001 to schedule.

www.minnesotahomeinspectors.com

Finding the right home inspector

So you've searched for and found a house and your offer was accepted, congratulations! Now you have to find a home inspector. Your agent may offer some suggestions, you might search the internet or the yellow pages. You find the terms NAHI, NACHI, INTERNACHI, ASHI and a ton of others you don't know. What do they all mean?

They are the associations the inspectors belong to. See, many states including Minnesota do not require licensing or any other certifications of home inspectors. You could literally hire someone to inspect your $300,000 investment who has never shown competency in the home inspection industry. They may literally be inspecting their first house...yours.

Not all associations are the same. Some provide "online certification" in as little time as 30 minutes. Some only require you pay a fee and they're instantly a member.

ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors is a national professional association of home inspectors and building professionals who examine and report on the physical condition of existing buildings, with focus on residential properties including single family homes and smaller multi-family dwellings.

ASHI certification requires a combination of education, specialized training in home inspection topics, experience, passing a certification exam, maintaining continuing education credits, and agreeing to abide by a national code of ethics for home inspectors.

· ASHI is the only home inspection association to achieve this accredited status.

· ASHI Certified Inspectors are the only home inspectors who have completed a recognized certification process.

· Third-party certification validates ASHI member qualifications and professional competence.

Keep in mind there are differences in ASHI members. Make sure your home inspector is an ASHI CERTIFIED Home Inspector. The others may only be Candidates or Candidates with Logo Use. The latter two have not passed the educational, experience or exam requirements that the ASHI Certified Home Inspectors have.

http://www.minnesotahomeinspectors.com

Our View of Basement Seepage

Given the right condition, any basement can leak. No one can predict if a basement will leak in the future, and in many cases, it's not even possible to tell if a basement has leaked in the past. Basement seepage is the result of water concentration along an exterior foundation wall - which then seeks an entry through foundation cracks. It's important to eliminate the cause, not just seal the entry point. Over time, neglected moisture intrusion problems can create significant structural and indoor air quality problems. However, the majority of wet basement problems can be eliminated, or at least reduced to a tolerable level, by improvements to exterior grading and proper performance of gutters and downspouts. The most common cause of wet basements is poor surface and roof drainage. In fact, our experience indicates the vast majority of wet basements are simply caused by surface rain water from improper drainage or slope. Keep in mind, a 1,000 square foot home with an attached garage will have over 1,100 gallons run from it in a one-inch rain. That's a tremendous amount of water. Imagine a downpour on a home with blocked gutters. Conditions change, foundations move, gutters become blocked, landscape changes, and extended periods of drought or rain occur -- all of which can cause changes in the basement. Wet basements are a major concern -- but shouldn't necessarily kill a deal.

While basement seepage is a critical issue, often simple remedies are available and are well within the scope of most homeowners/buyers. Not only do our inspectors fully examine the basement and explore any potential defects , we present this information in a manner that helps our clients keep the issue in perspective.

For basement seepage, we recommend the following before seeking a
specialized contractor:

Make sure the land around the house slopes in the right direction. This can require as little
as a couple of bags of topsoil or as much as a new driveway.

Pay attention to localized low spots like gardens, window wells and the space between
sidewalks and foundation walls. Be sure to check the grading below decks and porches
as it is often bad.

Examine gutters and downspouts. Gutters must be sloped properly to drain. Downspouts
must be frequent enough (every 35 feet) to prevent overflow in heavy rain.

Look where downspouts discharge. If they go into the ground, the below-ground portion
of the drain may be broken or plugged. This almost guarantees a wet basement in the
vicinity of the downspout.

Malfunctioning integral gutters can be very serious. The water leaking out of the gutters
usually ends up in the structure, causing rot and other damage. It is best to have downspouts
discharge onto the lawn -- preferably six feet from your home.