Southern New Jersey home sellers spend a lot of time and money to prepare their home for potential buyers…adding granite countertops, new carpeting and fresh paint – even colorful spring flowers. These efforts help to make your home stand out from the others on the market, but an important and often overlooked step is preparing your home for an eventual home buyer inspection.
We inspect homes throughout Southern New Jersey for a living. Every day our inspectors report many of the same safety, repair and improvement items in our home inspection reports. Items which for lack of a better word clutter the home inspection report and detract from the positive aspects of the home. We believe that many of these problems could have been addressed in advance by the home seller with little effort and minor costs. Most of the items can be done by the home owner, while others may need to be performed by a professional.
So here is our list of 15 things you can do to prepare your home for a home inspection:
1. Gutters which are full of leaves and debris are unable to perform their intended function of channeling water away from the house. Keeping the gutters clean should be part of regular maintenance. Ensure that gutters and downspouts are secured and that they extend 5 feet from the house.
2. Trim back tree branches and shrubs to ensure that they are not in contact with the house or roof.
3. Ensure there are a minimum number of smoke detectors on each floor. Test them, do they work? Is the smoke detector chirping? If so replace the battery.
4. Check to make sure that light switch or outlet covers are not missing or damaged. Replacing missing or damaged covers is a very inexpensive repair.
5. Test all interior and exterior light fixtures. Most often it is as simple as changing a light bulb.
6. Check to see if the doorbell works.
7. Fuse box should be properly labeled.
8. Check under the sinks -- are the traps or faucets leaking? The home inspector will test each faucet and report concerns. Repairs by a plumber or trusted handyman are often inexpensive.
9. Check to make sure that toilets do not continue to run after the flush. Often simple adjustments are needed to correct this.
10. Clean the dryer vent and make sure that the dryer vent is metal rather than plastic. Dirty dryer vents and those which are not metal are a safety issue. On the day of the home inspection make sure both the washer and dryer are empty so their operation can be tested.
11. Install a new filter to the furnace.
12. Make sure windows operate smoothly (not stuck or painted shut).
13. Check that all interior doors latch to the strike plate.
14. Make sure handrails are securely fastened.
15. Schedule a Seller home inspection.
The last recommendation may be the most important of all. Scheduling a seller inspection will allow you to identify and fix items before they interfere with your buyers offer. This will allow you to negotiate from a position of strength. It also demonstrates that you are a committed and honest seller.
Good luck selling and remember your efforts to prepare your home for a home inspection will be greatly rewarded in the end.
Chase Millard
Vice President, ValueGuard
ValueGuard Home Inspections
856-429-4188
800-965-8520
www.nj-homeinspection.com
www.pa-homeinspection.com
