Even though most houses in North Colorado Springs are reasonably new, buyers almost always want to have the home they are purchasing inspected. As a home seller, it can benefit you to have your home inspected prior to listing it. This will help you to get a head start on any obvious issues (making for a much smoother transaction once under contract). Many buyers will still choose to have the home inspected themselves, but having a recent inspection report on hand may also help to put their minds at ease about buying your home.
Here’s some excellent tips, provided by Wall To Wall Inspections, that can help to speed up an inspection done on your house.
- Confirm that water, electric and gas service are on, with gas pilot lights burning.
- Ensure pets won’t hinder the inspection. Ideally, they should be removed from premises or secured outside. Tell your agent about any pets at home.
- Replace burned out bulbs to avoid a “Light is inoperable” report that may suggest an electrical problem.
- Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and replace dead batteries.
- Clean or replace dirty HVAC air filters. They should fit securely.
- Remove stored items, debris and wood from the foundation. These may be cited as ‘conducive conditions’ for termites.
- Remove items blocking access to HVAC equipment, electric service panels, water heaters, attics and crawl spaces.
- Unlock areas the inspector must access – attic doors or hatches, electric service panels, closets, fence gates and crawl spaces.
- Trim tree limbs to 10′ from the roof ans shrubs from the house to allow access.
- Attend to broken or missing items like doorknobs, locks and latches; windowpanes, screens and locks; gutters, downspouts and chimney caps.