As certified home inspectors, Detail View is typically hired by real estate agents or potential home buyers to inspect a house before they buy it. But there’s a whole other side to that equation—the home seller. While hiring an inspector before putting your home on the market can be an effective strategy for ensuring your home is sale-ready, most home buyers don’t take advantage of it, so here are a few tips for home sellers to get their home inspection-ready.
Try to Look at Your Home with New Eyes
If you’ve lived in a home for years or decades, there’s a lot you’ve gotten used to. There may be things that have deteriorated over time that don’t bother you. So before you put your home on the market, pretend it’s not your house and ask yourself, “If I was buying a house today, what would make me question buying this one?”
Now is your chance to fix anything, so what would you fix? Are there light fixtures that aren’t entirely secure? Loose wires? Are there any odd smells or mold in the basement? These are the things that may be offputting to a buyer.
Use All Your Senses
Inspectors and buyers don’t just see your house when they walk through it. They’ll also smell, hear, and even touch things. So keep all your senses sharp as you look at it with new eyes.
(Don’t) Let There Be Water
Even if you don’t spend much time in the basement, it can be a significant sticking point for home buyers. See if there is any water damage down there. Also, ensure there aren’t any places where water still gets in. Sealing leaks from water is essential for the home’s foundation.
Hinges, Door Knobs, and Grout, Oh My! Fixing the Minor
With home sales, little things matter. Your home might be solid and sturdy, but if you let minor but obvious things go, a buyer will worry about what else may be wrong that they can’t see.
If your door creaks, add some WD-40. Got loose hinges or door knobs? Tighten them! Regrout tiles where the grout has deteriorated. These items don’t take much time, but they can be the difference between whether a buyer feels good as they see your home (and comes back for a second look!).
Check Your HVAC Before the Certified Home Inspector Arrives
When was the last time your HVAC was serviced? Get it checked out before showing your home and see what the HVAC company says about it. Clean your ducts and change your filters.
Gutters and Downspouts
Gutters and downspouts are some of the areas that can cause the most damage to a home if installed improperly. Leaks or water coming toward your home can cause mold and damage. Take a good look at them! If something is loose or broken, you should fix it before putting your home on the market.
Once you fix everything, clean your gutters and downspouts to make an extra good impression!
Clean and Declutter
Now, we’re stepping away from the strict purview of a certified home inspector just a bit here, but this is still very important! Clean and declutter your home.
A dirty home won’t fail an inspection, but it will make a buyer or certified home inspector wonder how much you care about your house. A clean home also makes a better impression on a buyer. They’ll feel better when they tour your house. That initial feeling is like curb appeal—it goes a long way to getting a potential buyer to the next step of the home-buying process.
Want To Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection?
Of course, if you want to be extra prepared to sell your home, hire a certified home inspector! Detail View would love to help you prepare your home for sale. Give us a call!
