3 Must-Do Home Inspections Before Putting Your Home on the Market

Oh, my house is in perfect condition! I have annual maintenance done on everything ‘mechanical’ in my home and take care of any issues right away. I don’t NEED an inspection – it’s a waste of money!”

Agents hear this from homeowners to whom we have suggested a pre-inspection often! Of course, everyone who has taken the leap to homeownership has heard the stories about what a home inspection can reveal but, many are not aware of the primary issues that can kill a deal if the buyer discovers an issue (or several) that you weren’t aware of? Here are the most common things that can create havoc when it comes to the buyers’ inspection.

OH NO! The Roof!

One of the most important parts of a home is the roof, which keeps everything contained within safe and DRY. Aside from the minor details that are obvious from the ground, there can be issues that can have a huge impact on your buyers moving forward following their home inspection. Unless your roof is less than 5 years old, it is definitely worth having a licensed roof inspector. Determining any problems beforehand and having them remedied before you list your home, saves this ‘big ticket item’ from adversely affecting the sale of your home.

Moisture in The Crawl Space

Oh, the joys of being completely blindsided by learning that there is moisture in your crawl space and the buyers are taking a hike as a result! The dreaded fungus word (mold) often creeps into the conversation when a seller is stunned to find that the buyers’ inspector found moisture and damage as a result of that moisture in the crawl space. Buyers often fear that the moisture remediation is just too costly for them to move forward.

What happens when that scenario arises? The sellers have to remediate the moisture and all resulting issues caused by the moisture. Having to find a new buyer after being told that there is moisture in the crawl space is also difficult – “One buyer has already walked from this sale – there must be something terribly wrong with the home.”

This ‘pre-inspection’ can be easily performed by –

Crawling your crawl space yourself – Does it smell of moisture/fungus? Are there visible water puddles? Is your moisture barrier intact and covering 95% of the crawl space? Is the wood foundation dry or is there staining or effervescence visible on the wood or concrete?
Ask your trusted handyman or contractor to check your crawl space for you.
Have your pest company share your most recent moisture levels in the crawl space and remedy any levels (readings) above 19%.

HVAC Issues

"Yeah, this inspection report is killing our deal!" — “Yeah, this inspection report is killing our deal!”

The HVAC system in your home is important for heating, cooling and general ventilation and is a big item that buyers view as top deal-killers if their inspector finds major issues. As there may be notes in the home inspection report that absolve the general home inspector of any responsibility, you can bet that the inspector will perform a superficial inspection and if he/she finds items of concern, he’ll recommend his buyers have an HVAC specialist to take apart the system and perform a full inspection. This is typically a red flag for a buyer and can easily be prevented by having your HVAC specialist check out the systems prior to listing your home. Providing any service records to the buyers PRIOR to the inspection can be most helpful – and save those HVAC deal-killers!

If you’re planning on putting your home on the market soon and are looking for an experienced agent, you may want to contact us for more information. We’re happy to provide a list of Charlotte home inspectors who can perform a pre-inspection to allay any deal-killers for you!