How to Prepare for a Home Inspection

a person inspecting a property marking on a clipboard

Whether you’re selling your home or getting a home inspection for any other reason, having a home inspection can be a cumbersome task. It can be difficult to figure out where to begin in preparing your home for an inspection.

From the curb appeal to the paperwork, there’s a lot to consider when you’re preparing for a home inspection. Each home and family is unique, which means each house will have particular needs concerning an inspection.

Keep reading to learn how to prepare for a home inspection and what you need to do.

1. Clean & Declutter

When you’re expecting a home inspector to come by, one of the best things you can do to make the process easier is to declutter and clean up. This includes things like:

Sweeping any debris in the front and back yard
Removing outdoor clutter or waste
Decluttering closets and storage space (like basements and attics)

While you don’t need to go all out with cleaning, keeping things neat and enabling clear access to everything can make the entire process easier for the inspector. Plus, an added bonus is you’ll have a neater home to live in afterward!

2. Fix What’s Broken

Another way you can ensure your home inspection goes as smoothly as possible is to fix things that are broken or malfunctioning before the inspection process. This involves doing things like:

Checking the lights work
Changing lightbulbs
Putting new batteries into garage door remotes and smoke alarms
Patching up minor bumps and plaster cracks
Fixing dripping taps

Ensuring everything is fully functioning makes the inspection easier and provides even more reassurance to buyers. After all, the less that’s broken, the more desirable your property becomes.

3. Provide Full Access

a man inspecting the underside of a crawlspace

This one is relatively easy, but it’s also highly important. To inspect your home, the inspector needs to have full access to the entire property. This includes access to:

Locked rooms
Garages
External structures, like sheds, barns, and outhouses
Crawlspaces
Storage cupboards
Attics

Go through and make sure your doors are unlocked and everything can be easily accessed. It can be beneficial to double-check this immediately before the inspection, too.

4. Get Your Paperwork in Order

This is one step that often requires a bit of early preparation. An inspection goes through every system in your home, from the HVAC to the foundation itself.

Therefore, any updates on general maintenance, repairs, or other things to note about your home will be important to discuss and disclose, especially if an issue has already been addressed.

Summary

While a home inspection might seem like a big, daunting event to prepare for, you can get through it in a breeze with some forethought and tidying up. When you have all your paperwork and provide full access to a clean, functional home, your abode will be a model of success.

Are you thinking about selling your house? We buy houses fast for cash at Brotherly Love Real Estate. If you need to sell your house fast in Philadelphia or San Diego, we can take your property off your hands in as little as 21 days, with no mortgage closing fees.

Author: Rose Morrison is a real estate and home improvement writer, as well as the managing editor of Renovated.com. Check out her site to see more of her work.