4 Home Inspection Tips for Sellers
When you sell a home, prospective buyers will most likely hire a home inspector. They will need a home inspection done if they are planning to finance the house. The property could look immaculate, and the price might be in line with your neighbors, but hidden issues can lower the value of your home. The buyer will want to be certain that there won’t be expensive repairs required before moving in.
An inspection contingency clause gives the buyer several days to have an inspection performed on your property. If the house inspector reports significant problems, the buyer may ask you to fix them first. The to-do list could get extremely long! That’s why we have compiled a few home inspection tips for sellers, so you can prepare your home for the sale.
Big-ticket repairs include:
- roof
- foundation
- major appliances
- HVAC
- electrical
- plumbing
- lights
- mold or mildew issues
- pests or infestations
Here are four tips to help you go through that home inspection process smoothly.
1. Have a dependable real estate agent
Your real estate agent does not do the actual inspection, but they should give you advice and tips about the preparation of the property for showings and inspections, as well as negotiations, credit repairs, etc.
If you can’t trust your real estate agent to do these things, you need to find a better one.
Talk to your agent about foreseeable problems and make a plan. What will you do if a buyer asks for those renovations to be made?
Having someone on the same team as you who has experience and knowledge is invaluable!
2. Be Transparent
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” doesn’t apply when selling a house.
Be upfront with your agent regarding major issues on your property. The house inspectors will find them and report them to the buyer.
Your agent should market the problems to prevent the wrong people from showing interest, wasting your time. You want to attract people who are willing to tackle those repairs. When you advertise your property for sale and include a credit for the known damages, they know that you have reduced the price. They are already receiving a discount and won’t ask you to fix it.
Being transparent not only weeds out uninterested prospects. It also makes you more trustworthy. And people tend to purchase from those they feel they can trust.
3. Prepare your home for the inspection and presentation
Repairs are not the only things you have to worry about. Operational requirements depend on the type of financing the buyer is using. Conventional loans and government loans will each have their own individual checklists that your property must comply with in order for the loan to be approved. Conventional loans don’t usually require utilities to be left on, but most government loans do.
Ask your agent beforehand:
- What utilities should I leave on?
- What maintenance should I do before a home inspection?
Maintenance has many forms, and one of the most important leads us to the last of our four home inspection tips for sellers:
4. Keep it clean
You may be living in your home while trying to sell it. Not everyone has the luxury to move to another location and keep the property spotless 24/7. Whether you are living there or not, it is imperative that you keep the entire house clean and eliminate the clutter that might interfere with the presentation.
Inspectors can refuse to inspect a property that doesn’t give them the freedom to access and assess your home properly. Home inspectors will not move around objects or risk their safety to do their job.
Declutter your property inside and out. Everything should be easily viewable and accessible. Remove debris or dangerous materials like broken glass. Tidy your home and make it easy for the inspector to complete their checklist!
If you are still confused about what major renovations your home may need and worry that it will create obstacles in the home selling process, it might be worth the investment to hire a home inspector yourself. This narrows down the work ahead of you and allows you to address problems in your own time before you put your house up for sale. You want to get the best price for your property, and the best way to do that is by raising your home’s value with big and small renovations. You may be surprised what a little paint and a few new light fixtures can do for your ROI.
Interested in learning more? Take a look at Why Sellers Should Get a Home Inspection After Remodel – How to Increase Your Home’s ROI.
