Ready to impress a home inspector?

• Posted on February 1, 2016
• by mikew
• in Fix It & Use It
• No Comments.

Last Thursday was a hard day for me with my inspections. There were two homes I inspected – one built in 2001 and the other 1968. Both had very large crawlspaces and the moment I popped the covers I was overwhelmed by that all-too-familiar smell of rat urine. Disgusting! It got worse as I pushed through rodent droppings. Structurally sound but rodent activity permeated the insulation and covered the vapor barriers. I got mad as I slid through these two indescribable scenes, grrr! I had to asked for God’s help with my attitude before I sat with my client.

I want to offer this advice to those of you getting ready to sell your home: Impress your potential buyer’s home inspector! Put us in a good mood. Cause us to praise the sellers and their home. The key is not in milk and cookies but in these ways:

• Be sure your crawlspace is fully accessible and rodent and water free. Perform a pre-inspection and follow through with repairs (clean-up) if necessary. This is the number one thing for me!
• Clear walking aisles among the boxes stacked in your garage so that someone can get to all walls.
• Provide clear and easy access to your electrical panel, hot water tank and furnace (3 feet on all sides is a good rule of thumb). Be sure the crawlspace and attic entries are accessible. If we cannot access it easily inspectors cannot report on it.
• Leave labeled keys to detached garages, sheds, closets and any locked doors.
• Clean your kitchen. Wash the dishes piled up in your sink and empty your dishwasher so we can fully inspect the dishwasher.
• Don’t store things in your oven or microwave.
• Clean-up any pet piles in the grass around your home – PLEASE! Inspectors are paying attention to the home and we all hate it when we step in land mines.
• Wash around your toilet – because we have to inspect and touch around the floor of the toilet.
• Leave written instructions if something is confusing – “Dear inspector…”

Buying a home is an emotional experience. You can make it a genuinely positive one. Boy I wish the two sellers had cared enough to impress this home inspector last week.