How Does the Home Inspection Process Work?

You’ve put all kinds of work in getting your home ready for a sale. You planted ads, brought in countless interested buyers, and weathered the ever-changing housing market. You’re so close to the finish line you can taste it.

However, there is still a step or two that needs to be taken. Hold off on the champagne and focus on getting ready for the home inspection process. You need your home inspected by a professional before your sale can close.

How does the home inspection process work and what do you need to know about it to have things run smoothly? Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.

What is a Home Inspection?

A home inspection is a standard requirement by states all across the country. Before a home sale can be officially closed, an inspector must come in and verify the overall health and safety of the home.

An inspector will look at a variety of things when they come into a home. Their overall goal is to identify any elements of the home that are unsafe or nearing the end of their service life. It’s important that these elements are made apparent to the would-be buyer prior to the sale of the home being completed.

Failure to disclose these various things would leave a seller liable under the law to the home buyer. Both the buyer and seller often do their own inspections in order to protect their own interests.

Many home sellers do their own inspection prior to the house being put on the market. This gives them some time to make necessary repairs to the home before showing it to people. The buyer inspection usually takes place after the buyer has made an offer on the home.

If certain discoveries and concerns are dug up as a result of the inspection, the buyer has the opportunity to renegotiate their offer or even rescind their offer altogether.

Typically, a home inspection will take a few hours to complete for a home of average size. After an inspector leaves the home, there will likely be a few days wait as a report is put together.

What Do Home Inspectors Look For? 

The primary thing that a home inspector looks for when making their way through a home is safety concerns. Following concerns of safety and health, an inspector will also make note of any major defects they are able to notice.

Structural issues are a major thing that home inspectors will look out for when touring a home. They will also look for evidence of water damage, plumbing issues, or faulty electrical systems.

Most home inspectors will also take a good deal of time to look into the HVAC system installed in a home and ensure it is working properly. They’ll look out for things like mold and other potential health concerns. They’ll even crawl up on the roof and look for damage and potential issues up there.

The only thing home inspectors won’t really bother themselves with are issues that are more cosmetic in nature. Peeling paint, a door that doesn’t latch quite right, and things of this nature: this is not the wheelhouse of a home inspector.

If one is very concerned about these kinds of elements in a home, they’ll need to keep an extra eye out on their own.

Preparing for a Home Inspection

If a buyer’s home inspector is coming to your property, it’s essential that you and your home are prepared. But do you know how to prepare for a home inspection?

There are a number of steps you can take to ensure you get the best possible report back from a home inspector. The more thorough your work is, the happier your buyers will be as well.

First and foremost, you should ensure that an inspector has access to all essential parts of the home. Keep doors open and access to electrics and water unlocked. The last thing you want to do is frustrate an inspector by making it more difficult for him to perform his duties.

If you can, it’s also a good idea to clear out clutter and present your home as cleanly as possible. A lack of clutter will allow an inspector to do their job much more easily.

Do your own little checks on things before an inspector comes. Run water in every sink and bath and ensure there are no clogs. Make sure all bulbs in your home are working and there are no electrical issues.

Replace, if you can, the filters in your HVAC system so clean air is moving easily through the home. Go ahead repair any issues you might have been putting off with doors, windows, and your roof.

If you do any maintenance and repair work in your home, organize receipts of this work. This will create a paper trail that you can refer to when talking about potential issues that arise with your home.

With this preparation in place, you should be better prepared for an inspector to arrive and look around.

Understanding the Home Inspection Process

It can be exciting to be so close to closing a sale on your home. However, you still have the home inspection process to get through before you can seal the deal. The above information can help you to prepare for this inspection and complete the sale of your home.

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