It’s one thing to go through the decision-making process of selling your house. Perhaps even harder is all the preparation to get it ready for sale. If you choose to list your house on the property market, a crucial part of attracting buyers is getting it ready for inspection.
You may get a home inspector to conduct a pre-inspection even before you start receiving prospective buyers. However, there’s a high chance that serious buyers might pay a professional to inspect the house and serve them with a report to inform purchase decisions.
Either way, a home inspection report provides sellers and potential buyers with information about the condition of a home. This information enables home sellers to fix or update the house before buyers start showing up. On the other hand, buyers who commission home inspections before purchasing can identify areas that need repair and use them to negotiate lower prices.
Selling a house becomes more complicated when there are tenants involved. Click here now to learn how to handle them. If you plan to sell it soon, here are essential things you need to do to prepare for a buyer inspection:
- Clean The House
The first thing any homeowner should do to get your house ready for buyer inspection is clean and tidy it up. A messy, untidy house can cause buyers and inspectors to suspect that some parts of the home aren’t cared for well. Keep your house clutter-free to give buyers or their inspectors a clear view of all features, including walls, floors, closets, and cabinets.
- Take The Necessary Safety Precautions
In getting your house ready for buyer inspection, you need to take the necessary precautions to make your home safe. There are several steps to enhance the safety of the house.
For instance, place new batteries in smoke detectors, install a fire extinguisher, and exterminate rodents or bugs that may be present in the home. Other steps that you may take to secure the home include testing your carbon detectors and capping chimney entries and gas lines.
- Clear All Access Points
When conducting a buyer inspection, professional inspectors need to access every part of the house, including hard-to-reach spaces, to prepare an objective report that reflects a home’s condition. A good home inspection involves checking the state of the furnace filter, attic, oven and cooking stove, closets, and crawl spaces.
You can prepare these spaces for a buyer inspection by cleaning and decluttering them. Consider emptying the storage in the attic, clear four to six inches of space around the perimeter wall around the exterior, and organize any closets in crawl and attic spaces.
- Ensure All Items In The House Function Well
Another thing you need to do to prepare your home for a buyer inspection is to ensure that all the items, particularly those that inspectors check, work well. Start by testing everything and marking those that need repairs. For instance, test window seals and locks, flush the toilets, run the ceiling fans, and turn light switches on to see how they work.
Further, ensure the functionality of garage doors by opening and closing them automatically and manually. Don’t forget to check the door stripping, the downspouts, as well as fan and heating ducts and ensure they all work fine. If any of these items aren’t functioning well, get relevant professionals to fix them before the inspection.
- Repair The House
A critical aspect of getting your house ready for buyer inspection is repairing any broken parts. Replace light bulbs, repair damaged bathroom pipes, unclog clogged drainage, and re-caulk sinks and bathtubs.
If your home has a dingy grout, consider updating it. Check your windows and replace any cracked or worn-out screens. Further, assess the roof and replace missing shingles. Check the crawl and attic spaces and replace damaged insulation.
- Give Your Home’s Exterior A Facelift
Your home’s exteriors are the first things potential buyers see when visiting the property. To prepare your house for buyer inspection, give the exteriors a facelift. You can do this by cleaning the gutters, pressure washing your house siding, or adding a fresh coat of paint.
Clear any debris from downspouts or foundation vents and trim overgrown tree branches that may be hanging over you’re the roof of your house. If you have cracked drive and walkways, consider resurfacing them to give them a new look. Mow the lawn and slope the soil away from the home to facilitate water runoff.
Final Thoughts
Buyers want to see or get a property inspected by a professional before they finalize the purchase. An inspection enables them to determine a home’s actual condition they wish to buy. To sell your property quickly, prepare your house for buyer inspection by implementing the five tips discussed above.
