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Just received a contract for your home? Now, it’s time to get your house 'inspection-ready'.
Selling your house? Having it inspected before you list can be a very good idea.
It takes a lot of work to put a house on the market, especially
if you've lived in your house for a while. You want your
house to look its best so you can 'wow' potential
home buyers. This means getting rid of clutter, cleaning
up the outside, making needed repairs and, of course, decorating
to perfectly set the stage. Often though,
small things like replacing air filters or putting new batteries
in the smoke detectors are overlooked in the process. While
home buyers won’t notice
them when they are falling in love with your house, the home
inspector will.
Many home buyers are looking for houses that are move-in
ready and promise to be maintenance-friendly over
time. Small items which need attention can add up to
the impression that the house might be more work than they
can take on. As a result, it’s
important to take care of them before the home inspection.
A home that needs a lot of repairs, even if they
are minor in nature, can be overwhelming.
By investing a little of your time preparing for the
home inspection, you can eliminate items from the inspection
report. This will help the buyer feel more confident
about the home and will help you to sell your
house faster and for more money.
Here are a few tips to get your home ‘inspection-ready’:
1. |
Confirm
that the water, electric and gas service are turned on and the gas
pilot light is burning so the inspector can check everything in one
visit. |
2. |
The inspector
will need to access the crawlspace, attic, electrical panel, HVAC equipment,
water
heater, backyard sheds and all closets so be sure to unlock and/or remove
items and furniture blocking these important areas. |
3. |
Replace
burned out bulbs to avoid a “light is inoperable” report
that may suggest an electrical problem. Install covers for electrical
outlets and switches where needed. |
4. |
Attend
to broken or missing items like doorknobs, locks and latches; window
panes, screens and locks; gutters, downspouts and chimney
caps. Clean your gutters if they have debris. Windows should open
and close freely. |
5. |
If you've enjoyed your fireplace from time to time, have a chimney sweep
give it a good cleaning. This will remove build-up on the liner so that
it can be properly inspected.
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6. |
Clean
or replace dirty HVAC air filters. They should fit securely. You may
even want to have your HVAC unit serviced if it's an older unit and
you've lived in the house a number of years. |
7. |
Remove
stored items, debris and wood from around the foundation. These may
be cited
as 'conducive conditions' for termites. |
8. |
Fix
leaky faucets and toilets which 'run'. Remove grout stains and replace
missing tub stoppers. |
9. |
Test
smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace dead batteries. |
10. |
Ensure
pets won’t
hinder the inspection. Ideally, they should be removed from premises
or secured outside. Tell your
agent about any pets at home. |
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If you're getting ready to sell your
house, a 'pre-listing' home inspection can help you determine
how best to prepare your home
before you put it on the market -- so you can sell it faster
and for more money.
In fact, if your house is more than twenty years old or, if
you've lived in your house for a number of years, a home inspection
can be especially useful. When you're busy like so many, chance
are that you're not fully aware of how your house has aged.
However, you'll want to know if your house has any problems
which need
to be corrected before you open your home to potential buyers.
A pre-listing inspection will help identify the important things
to repair so you know where to focus your time and budget.
And importantly, you'll know that you received a fair price
for your
home at closing.
In contrast, significant problems not discovered by you will
be identified by your buyer's inspector -- this can be stressful
and may result in a lower selling price or even a cancelled contract.
The most important thing home buyers want to know is if
there are any major problems with the house -- especially those
which
are structural in nature. While most everything can be fixed,
a
major problem can be expensive to correct. If the inspector
finds that your house is free of major problems, this will
be a great
selling
point.
If the
house does have a significant issue, this can give you a chance
to repair it or factor the cost of repairs into the selling
price.
- A comprehensive home inspection which identifies the good things about the house and those things which are most important to correct before putting your home on the market.
- A hard, color copy of the report in a presentation binder which can be used as a marketing tool when showing the house or during an open house. We will gladly update this report if any repairs are made.
- Twenty, full color Inspection Summaries which provide a balanced view of the home’s condition. These can be kept inside your home as a nice takeaway for potential buyers.
- A small yard sign indicating that your home has already been inspected.
- 1 re-inspection at no extra charge, when repairs are complete.
For more information about pricing and appointments, give us a call today at 843-873-8897.
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