| A HOME INSPECTION CHECKLIST FOR SELLERS |
| O.K., you’ve accepted the buyers’ offer, so now, in most cases, they’ll hire a home inspector to check out the house. This generally happens before the lender does an appraisal, because if the buyers made their offer contingent on the inspection, it could uncover a deal-breaker. Here’s what you as a seller should do to prepare. |
| Get your own pre-listing inspection. Hire your own inspector to document your home’s condition before you put it on the market. Then disclose any issues in the seller disclosure, or address them and put the fix and/or upgrade in the listing—e.g., “new deck railings,” “freshly sanded and stained hardwood floors.” Doing this virtually eliminates the risk your sale will fall apart due to unknown inspection issues. Whether it’s for your own pre-listing inspection or one done by the buyers, do the following 10 things before the inspector shows up. |
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| Flip every switch. Make sure all light and ceiling fan switches work. If fans only operate on a pull chain, tell your agent to inform the inspector. Set out all remotes. These are for lights, fans, and items such as electric window shades, gas fireplaces, sound systems, pool heaters and pumps, spas, fountains, jacuzzis, etc. Label each remote, with operating instructions. Look at every window. Open, close, and lock them. Open shades, blinds, or shutters to see if any window panes are cracked or fogged, or if screens are torn or missing. Refresh any caulking that’s fallen out, worn, or brittle. Examine window sills, frames, and surrounding drywall for evidence of leaks, and fix before the inspector comes. |
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| Service the HVAC. Have a specialist check, clean, and change filters on all heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units. Check fireplaces and stoves. With a gas fireplace, check that there’s gas available and run it. If necessary, bring in a gas appliance contractor to test it. If you’ve never used it, put that in the seller disclosure. With wood fireplaces and stoves, have chimneys swept and chimney caps checked. Examine caulking and grout in showers and baths. Re-caulk and re-grout if needed. |
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| Clear access to attic, storage space, basement, crawl space, garage. If your home has any of these areas, make sure the inspector can get to them. Because of liability risks, inspectors do not touch or move the seller’s possessions in any way. If they can’t access these areas, they can’t complete the inspection and will have to come back, possibly at additional cost. Test the lawn sprinkler system. Look for broken or damaged heads and make sure sprinklers aren’t hitting the house. Leave instructions on how to run and test the system and—most importantly—what settings the inspector should return it to. Go through all pool equipment. Have a pool company test and service everything. If there’s a heater that hasn’t been used or doesn’t work, put that in the seller disclosure. Include special instructions. If you have techy, quirky items, note how to work them, as well as instructions on how to leave your home when the inspector is finished. |
The Jim Passi Team at Citywide Home Loans proudly serves Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia and Flordia. If you are looking to buy a home or refinance, we have you covered. Apply Now to get started.
