PREPARING for the INSPECTION
Buyer - Understand the home inspection process, its benefits and limitations. The weather or accessibility to an area may cause a limitation. Our buyers are always encouraged to attend the inspection. It will be an informative and educational experience leading to a fully informed purchasing decision. Our objective is to discover major deficiencies that may effect your buying decision. Preventative maintenance suggestions and minor deficiencies are not usually considered grounds for renegotiation but may be brought to your attention as a courtesy. The inspector will supply a rough cost estimate for remedying major deficiencies.
Seller - There are many deficiencies that frighten buyers or affect the price of a home much more than the cost of the repair. The following tips should help you prepare yourself and your home for the buyer and their inspector.
Disclosure
Do Not attempt to hide any problems or defects. This could cause future liabilities to jump up and bite you when you least expect it-- honesty is the best policy.
Serious Defects
If you think you're home has a serious defect get it professionally evaluated. The problem can always be fixed and often for much less than you expect. A serious defect will usually impact the value of your home considerably more than the cost of the repair.
First Impression
Give the impression that your home is well maintained, an attitude of pride of ownership
-- trim trees, bushes and grass
-- clean debris from eavestroughs
-- replace broken windows and hardware
Good Working Order
Make sure everything is in good working order
-- doors and windows open and close smoothly and don't stick
-- clean and service the furnace and replace the filter
-- clean and service the humidifier, remove scale etc.
-- service plumbing fixtures, dripping taps, running toilets etc.
-- overhead garage door should run smoothly and automatically reverse
Bathrooms
-clean and repaired caulking around bathroom fixtures and repaired cracked grouting
Exterior
-- repair or replace caulking as required around the exterior of the home around doors, windows and other openings in the exterior finish.
Exterior Trim
-- paint and repair exterior trim as required
-- this helps aesthetically and protect the trim and windows seals from deterioration
Storm Water Management
-- make sure eaves troughs are well secured and cleanout leaves and debris.
-- make sure eaves trough downspouts discharge at least five feet from the foundation
-- make sure that landscaping is tapered so as to encourage water to flow away from the house.
Water Damage and Stains and their Cause Should Be Repaired:
-- probably the biggest deterrent to a home buyer is signs of water damage
-- excess condensation on windows damages drywall below the windows
-- roof or plumbing leaks or overflows from plumbing fixtures that have stained ceilings below.
Access:
-- make sure to provide easy access to the furnace, hot water tank, electrical panel, attic hatch, garage and all rooms in your home
-- don't give the appearance of hiding something by having large amounts of stored items against a wall. Buyers do assume the worst.
Your Smoke Detectors Will Be Tested
-- if they are connected to monitoring service, inform the monitoring company and your inspector
Many home sellers choose to have a professional inspection performed before they list their property for sale. The inspection report can serve as a valuable tool to prepare your home for sale.
The Report
Our computer-generated report is the leader in the industry. We've combined the best of the checklist and the narrative style format to offer you a clear understanding of your home. The report is easy read, prioritizes the findings and includes photo documentation plus diagrams. This helps you understand which areas need to be addressed immediately and which can wait. The report will identify all major deficiencies and safety hazards that are visible at the time of the inspection and provide repair and replacement costs and maintenance advice.
The Equipment - As a leader in the inspection field we are continually upgrading our inspection equipment and report delivery. Every inspector carries state-of-the-art inspection equipment including moisture detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, combustible gas detectors, electrical circuit testers, digital cameras, portable computers and printers.
Moisture Detector - The moisture detector detects excess moisture in building materials behind finish surface that you can see. The inspector can determine if a stain on the surface is the sign of a onetime overflow above or if it is an active leak.
Carbon Monoxide Detector - Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless and deadly gas. It is produced as a product of incomplete combustion. We perform the carbon monoxide test first in the furnace plenum to determine if the carbon monoxide is being produced and then in the living area to determine if it is escaping into the home.
Electrical Circuit Tester - The electrical circuit tester is needed to determine the continuity of wiring, the polarity, the presence of grounding and the operation of ground fault circuit interrupters. [CFCI's]
Combustible Gas Detectors- Combustible gases are safety hazard and this detector is used to determine their presence.
Tic Tracer - This tool is used to determine whether electrical current is present in an electrical wire or fixture.
Water Pressure Gauge - The water pressure supplied to home is tested to insure it is adequate for your needs yet not so high it will cause failure in your plumbing fixtures
Digital Camera - A picture is worth 1000 words is a well-known saying. This is definitely true of the pictures in the home inspection report. It may be necessary for our client to explain a deficiency to the third party and a picture makes an explanation more understandable.
Please do not forget: KalloTeam is always here to advise and help!