Why You Should Have Your Home Inspected Before You List It

When it comes to selling your home, the last thing you want to do is hold up a sale because of a simple problem that could have been identified by investing in a home inspection.

While it may not be the No. 1 item on your to-do list as you prepare to list your home, a home inspection is an integral piece of the puzzle.

Bringing to light any problems or issues that need to be addressed, a home inspection can save you a lot of time, money and headaches. Buyers are skittish and any small problem can send them running for the hills. In addition, buyers frequently ask for a credit rather than allowing the seller to do the repairs themselves. Since they don't have any realistic idea of what a repair will actually cost AND they want the work done by a licensed contractor (even if it is simply changing a light bulb) their estimates are usually grossly inflated.

Find out what is wrong with your home and fix it before hand. Then you can disclose all the things that are RIGHT with your home rather than the things that are wrong. You can rest assured that the buyer's inspector will find the same items that need repair, so just get out in front of the buyer's anxiety and control the situation.

Here are some of the most common problems a home inspector can unearth.

Bedroom Windows. All rooms listed as bedrooms must have an operating window with 30 square inches of clearance for fire escape. Bedrooms must also have heat. If a home is listed with three bedrooms, and one does not meet both these requirements, it cannot legally be called a bedroom. Call it a den instead. Overselling a house by increasing the number of bedrooms will just annoy the buyers.

Furnaces and Compressors. Rust in the heat exchange is a common problem that shows up during home inspections. Just get your furnace serviced and get a statement from the service provider that the furnace is in working order. Another common problem involves missing insulation where required by code at the time the house was built, or an improvement or replacement was installed.

Electrical Issues. Common electrical code violations include electrical junctions not enclosed in a junction box, a lack of GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens, or reverse-polarity on outlets. These are inexpensive things to repair, but by not doing so, it can hold up a sale.

Lifesaving Equipment. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are required by law in most states, and not having them will be considered a code violation.

Plumbing. A number of plumbing issues are very common, ranging from dripping faucets to loose toilets and improper drainage. All of these are easy to fix.

Structural Problems. While these can be more expensive to fix, if they aren’t taken care of properly, they can derail a sale. Issues in this area include rotten wood trim around windows and doors, rotten or delaminating siding and missing flashing on roofs or above windows and doors.

Extra Rooms. If you had your basement fixed up at some point while living in the home, or even added a sunroom, be sure you have the proper permits in place. This will need to be taken care of before any sale can go through. Don’t put your home sale in jeopardy because of code violations that can be easily fixed.

Hire an inspector, make the necessary changes and enjoy the comfort it brings when the closing comes to fruition. For more information about home inspections and code violations, contact the Lise Howe Group at 240-401-5577 or email us at lise@lisehowe.com today to get recommendations for great inspectors who can put your mind to rest.