Since home inspection isn’t like a car inspection, technically all homes “fail” their inspections, requiring some extra work to be done to make them sell quickly. If your home isn’t in the condition that it should be, your sale might take longer or have to go for less than you’d like. With some common home inspection findings that homeowners overlook, you could get ahead of the 8 ball and keep your inspection running smoothly.
Look for these five issues for the smoothest inspection possible.
1. Problems in the Foundation
If you live in a house for years, you’ll grow accustomed to problems that other people notice right away. A house that’s built on a slanted foundation won’t register if its slight enough.
Sloping floors go unnoticed by most homeowners. Unless the problem is really severe, it’s likely that you’ll live in a home for years with a floor that’s at a slant. Until the day you drop a basketball and it rolls into the corner of the room, you might not realize anything is wrong.
An inspector knows that sticking windows and doors are more than just a vague problem with the way the home is guilt. When a home is finished, the doors and windows usually open and shut smoothly before anyone moves in. After a few years, a home settles and if the foundation isn’t well made, doors end up sticking and some windows won’t open.
If there are cracks in the foundation, all is not lost. Small cracks can be filled with silicon caulking or some epoxy. Whether your home is new or not, waterproofing your exterior with a simple coating ensures it lasts longer.
2. Is Your Home Badly Maintained?
If your home isn’t well-maintained, you might not even notice. Little bits of mold and mildew build up int he corners of our homes all the time without us even noticing. However, there are more severe problems that home inspectors tend to notice.
Homes that need a coat of paint are more subject to rapid decay and deterioration. Paint is a way to make a home look nice but it’s also an element that ensures that the surfaces of your home are protected?
Worn carpeting should be replaced if possible. Even if the new homeowner is going to tear it up, you need to keep up appearances for the time being. That new carpet could inspire the sale of your home.
A cracked driveway should be repaved. Leaving your driveway in poor condition says that you don’t seem to care. While it might not be dangerous, your inspector is sure to change their approach to your home if it looks bad from the outside.
3. How’s Your Plumbing?
If you haven’t checked on your plumbing in a while, you should get it looked at before you try to sell your home. Small problems with plumbing often belie other problems that are more costly and complicated to fix later on.
In homes where the water pressure isn’t what it should be, drains must be cleaned and routed. Even if things seem clean and clear, keeping up appearances by having them preemptively cleaned helps your home to seem ready to be sold.
Slow drains are often the sign of old plumbing that hasn’t been properly cared for. In many cases, plumbing that gets filled with grease, hair, or other debris builds up over time, making problems progressively worse. If pipes freeze with all of those things stuck, along with water, they’ll end up bursting from the pressure.
If you see leaks in your ceiling, fix them ASAP. Failing to fix your leaks, leads to much more complicated issues. Leaking pipes end up introducing mold and mildew into the walls, ceiling, and floor.
4. Keep The Air Flowing
If going into your attic in the summer is a death trap, you’ve got problems. Your attic may become warmer in the summer as the heat from the rest of your home collects there, sandwiched against the sun hitting the roof. However, there should be enough ventilation to allow someone to breathe when they’re up there.
Vapor condensation all over your house is another issue that has to do with your ventilation. If your roof soffits are blocked, you won’t get the airflow that you need.
Make sure you have roof vents and that they’re properly installed to allow the right amount of air flow. Your bathroom and your kitchen should have vents with fans so that air flows in and around.
If vents are blocked, your inspector is sure to notice.
5. Take Wiring Seriously
If you have a few light switches that are spotty or some outlets that don’t work consistently, you might not think much of it. However, these small issues indicate much bigger things. If you don’t have the wiring in your home carefully installed, you could end up with injuries or even with a fire.
Wiring that hasn’t been updated could be insulated with fabric. Insulation that’s been made out of flammable materials is liable to result in marks from your inspector.
Loose outlets have the potential to leave metal exposed that’s connected to your power lines. If that’s the case, one slip and plugging something in quickly turns into a trip to the emergency room.
Make sure you have enough power as well. If you don’t have at least 100 Amps coming into your home, you’ll put pressure on your line and risk overheating it.
Common Home Inspection Findings Keep Homes From Selling
If you don’t avoid some of the common home inspection findings above, you’re likely to hold on to your home longer than you’d like. The better you prepare your home to be sold, the better of a price you’ll get.
If you’re wondering when the right time to get a home inspection is, check out our guide for details.