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.