Blog, Home Inspection Education

How to Prepare for a Home Inspection

I am going to discuss the items below that you as a seller can easily improve prior to your home inspection. These are common items I find on a home inspection, and in many cases you can improve them yourself.  These are items I will always call out as they can lead to larger issues or hold up the appraisal process.

1. CO Detectors

Since 2013 Washington state has required CO detectors be installed outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. Since this has not always been a safety requirement many older homes have not been equipped with CO detectors. Now that you are selling the home and it is being inspected and appraised the state requires that CO detectors are installed.

This is an easy repair for you to do. You can buy a 2-pack of battery operated detectors at Home depot for $30 and hang them on a wall outside the sleeping areas on every level. This will save you one less negotiation item from your inspection and from having the appraiser back out to confirm they were installed.

https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=51-51-0315

2. Water Heater Seismic Restraints

Washington state requires that all water heaters need to be strapped to prevent tipping over in case of an earthquake (507.2 Seismic Provisions). This is another item that for under $20 you can purchase and repair yourself to save you time and money throughout the sell of your home. I can also save you the return trip of your appraiser.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=51-56-0500

3. Plumbing Leaks

I will always call out any leak I find as a significant observation. Water is not your homes friend! You may be thinking “I live in the home, wouldn’t I know if I had a plumbing leak?”. Plumbing leaks can be small and unless you are looking for them you may not see them from day to day until they are a larger issue. How often do you open up the cabinet under the sink or look in your basement/crawlspaces at the exposed plumbing? There may also be a sink that doesn’t get run often in a spare bath. You may be surprised at how many leaks I find in occupied homes.

Take a few minutes to plug the the drains and run all your fixtures in each wet room at once. Let them fill up and then drain them together. This put more pressure on the drain connections and can show a small leaks easier. Then look! Open up the cabinets, run down to your basement, if you are brave enough stick your head in the crawlspace!

4. Loose Toilets

Loose toilets can lead to larger plumbing issues. The wax ring that surrounds the connection from the toilet and the drain pipe can wear down with a loose toilet and provide a weak point for the water to leak out. This is another item that I will always call a significant observation because it can lead to a significant plumbing leak you may not know about until it is too late.

How to you check for a loose toilet? Straddle the toilet with your knees on either side and see if you can move it. If you can, your toilet is loose! Like all the tips this onee is a very simple fix that you or a family member can tackle. A new wax ring is about $5 and for less than an hour of your time you can reset and secure a loose toilet.

5. Basic Electrical

Two of the most basic electrical items I find on home inspections are missing cover plates and improper outlets installed. Take a walk around your home, specifically more utility areas like basements, and look for receptacles and junction boxes that don’t have covers. You might be surprised at how many you find and these will all be considered safety hazards. You can buy covers for $0.50-$1.00 and install them with a screwdriver in minutes.

We have many older homes in town and over the years our electrical standards have changed and been upgraded. However, your home may still have it’s original older wiring. This is okay until we start modifying it to our modern needs. For example, I often find 3 prong outlets installed on ungrounded receptacles, which can be unsafe. Modern standards also require Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) on all wet areas (bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, exterior, garages, etc). The age of your home will determine what is required and what is a recommended upgrade.

I suggest purchasing a $5 outlet tester and plugging it into all of your outlets. You should also go around to every GFCI you currently have in your home and push the test button. Did it reset? These outlets eventually stop working and I often find them in need of replacement.

6. Bathroom Exhaust Vent Terminations

Do you currently have a bathroom exhaust fan? If you do it is important to ensure that it is exhausting to the exterior. This can lead to a larger issue of excess moisture in your attic space which can create condensation at the underside of your roof sheathing during the cold winter months. Condensation/moisture can lead to microbial growth and damage to your wood sheathing. (Note: I have simplified this issue for these tips and it may need more than just a bathroom vent repair to fix condensation in your attic)

Go outside and look at your roof or the side of your house near where the bathroom is and look for a vent. If you can’t find one it is likely exhausting to your attic space. Turn the fan on so you can hear it and stick your head into your attic space. Do you see the metal venting material extending through the roof or side of the house? Do you see black staining on your roof sheathing?

7. Accessibility to Major Appliances, Access Hatches, Electrical Panels, etc.

PLEASE MOVE YOUR STUFF!!! Many of the items in your home that I need access to are in utility spaces. If I cannot get to them I cannot inspect them!

There have been many electrical panels in garages that have been behind storage shelves or in basements behind your boxes and boxes of holiday decorations. I WILL move your stuff as long as I am not in danger of damaging anything but if the shelf is over the cover, I will not be able to remove it.

Just last week I had a hidden crawlspace access. It was behind a built out basement room. I initially saw it towards the beginning of the inspection but it looked just like a boarded up old window (which is common in old home basements). Keep in mind this was after removing the build out access panel to see the basement walls behind and find the window. Then later when inspecting the heating system and ducts things were just not adding up. There had to be another space. There was! Behind the boarded up window behind the build out access was a crawlspace. And I had met the seller at the beginning of the inspection and asked if there was anything I should know!

Please move your personal belonging from in front of the electrical panels, furnaces, water heaters, basement, crawlspaces, and attic accesses. It can really help us save the amount of time we are in your home and keep us from a return trip. We greatly appreciate it!