Home Inspection before You Put Your Home on the Market

When you are considering selling your home, it would be a great idea to do a few home inspection checks prior to placing your home on the market. We might even suggest doing it before contacting your realtor, or maybe get them in on it as well as they know the industry and could even make some suggestions before the cleaning, before the home improvements and before the staging. After all, who wants to make renovations to the home that may have low market value?

When you are considering selling your home, the idea is to have it on the market for the least time possible and get an offer straight away and for the price that is right for everyone, right? Well, in a perfect world….you get the idea. Most often, folks are looking to buy a house that they don’t have to fix up so try to make your home as ready to move in as possible.

What things do you need to look at?

Now that you are on board with giving your home a once over before putting it on the market, let’s look at what you should check out, and that’s pretty much everything – leave no stone unturned.

Exterior structures

• Check out the roof, any loose or missing shingles, any gaps between the shingles and roofing material with the chimney, if you have one, or with any venting

• Look for loose screws, nails or any kind of material

• Thoroughly inspect roof for anything that could cause potential leaks

• Gutters should be cleaned and inspected for potential clogs, leaks or damage

• Inspect the siding, regardless of the type of material (vinyl, brick, wood, etc) for cracks, holes or pieces missing

• Take a look at the windows to be sure they are properly sealed/caulked and in working order

• You may not know much about foundation, but start off with looking to see if there are any cracks as that would be a good indication of shifting

Exterior appeal and misc

• Be sure that all shrubbery are trimmed back and not touching your exterior walls

• Have all trees trimmed back and not hanging low over the house/roof

• Keeping mother nature off the house can help prevent growth of mildew and mold or further damage to the foundation as well as help prevent easy access to your home for pests.

• If you have a crawl space, check underneath to be sure there aren’t any leaks

• When was the last time the house was painted or the trim updated. We aren’t saying that you need to paint your house, but if the paint is chipped or the trim needs to be replaced due to rotten wood, damage or chewed trim – it might be a great time to do this before putting on the market

• How does the rest of the curb appeal look?

• Is the grass and lawn well maintained, the landscaping on point and the garden looking good?

• Are there areas where the grass isn’t growing because of the trees or other areas due to poor drainage? This is a great time to begin this process so it gives time to grow while working on other projects before listing your home

• Termites or pests – you will have a termite inspection when the home inspector comes through, or prior to the offer period, but it can’t hurt to have a pest control person check out the house and if all is clear, provide an inspection report at that time

Interior structures - The same review you gave to the exterior will apply to the interior

• Check out the walls, ceiling and floors – looking for leaks, cracks and foundation shifting

• Take a look at the insulation in the attic to see if there are any leaks in the roof or pests that have settled into your attic

• If there are stains on the ceiling, this could mean there was a leak at one point, before you paint that over, be sure you fix the problem, not just hide it with paint!

• If you have wallpaper, is it peeling? This is a good indication of mildew or improper bathroom venting

• If you have stairs with railings, be sure these are steady

Appliances & Big Ticket Things – These can be costly and best to know the condition of them before putting the house on the market and running the risk of replacing any of it last minute. Inspect, and maybe service:

• Water heater

• Air Conditioner

• Vents

• Wiring

• Plumbing – sinks, toilets, tubs/shower

• Disposal

• Garage door

• Any large items staying behind:

• Refrigerator

• Washer

• Dryer

• Dishwasher

All in all, a home inspection will be done while in the offer and negotiation phase of buying or selling a house, but it helps to know ahead of time what to expect and give yourself the time to get things done at your pace versus within the hustle of selling your house. Take the time to inspect your house, or hire a home inspector to go through your home with a fine tooth comb so you can be ahead of the game and start working on things that need to be repaired prior to putting your home on the market.

Feel free to contact A-Action Home Inspection Group for your home inspection needs if you are located in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas as we would be happy to help with any of your home inspection needs. We do provide a free termite inspection with part of our inspection and also offer various other home inspection services such as radon testing, inspection of pools, hot tubs and spas as well as thermography inspections to help detect issues that may not be seen by the human eye. Should you be building your home, we also offer new construction phase inspections. Contact us today with any questions or schedule your appt online.