To help make the selling process easier for you, it makes sense to have your home inspected before listing it. It may sound like a hassle but it could save you a lot of money and stress early on. The inspection will pinpoint red flags and areas that have potential problems. It also gives you the opportunity to address those issues before listing your home. Having your home already inspected ultimately also gives the prospective buyers the comfort and confidence that the seller actually cared about their home in the first place. Be sure to share this information with prospective buyers by supplying a copy of the home inspection. It is perfectly okay to choose not to have your home inspected before listing. If you take this route, just be sure to do your own pre-listing home inspection to keep things significantly less nerve-racking and not terribly costly before the buyer’s home inspector comes through.
Here are 10 areas to look at/fix up before listing your home.
1. Fix any deteriorated paint jobs. Touch up any dings on the walls or woodwork, scrape and paint any flaking areas.
2. For furnaces over 10 years old; pay to have it serviced and cleaned. Then display the inspection papers (store them in a Ziploc bag) by taping to furnace.
3. Make sure all toilets are flushed. Nothing worse than having a seldom used toilet not functioning properly.
4. Run water down sinks and bathtub drains. All drains need to flow steadily. No slow drains!
5. Check for leaks under sinks and in vanities. Tighten up joints if necessary.
6. Check out the condition of the roof. You want things to look normal: no missing shingles.
7. Clean out the gutters. They need to be free of debris for good drainage.
8. Open and close all windows. Check for springs working properly so windows don’t slam down. Make sure all the locks work and windows close tightly.
9. Test any appliances like the dishwasher that you are leaving behind. You want them working properly. Make sure all burners/oven are working on your stove.
10. Test the auto reverse on the garage door. Make sure the safety mechanism works.
For more information about Home Inspectors or how to prepare to list your home, call or email me anytime. Bill’s Email | Phone 978.273.3227