- Do an inspection yourself. Check for leaking pipes, rotting window sills, missing shingles, possible electrical work, running toilets, pest problems, broken doorbells, dirty/clogged gutters, tree branches in contact with the roof, damages lightswitch covers, the appropriate amount of smoke detectors for your home, et cetera. Fix what you can now: A fresh coat of paint, some WD40 on a squeaky hinge, and a clean dry area under your kitchen sink are all tips to help your home look nicer to prospective buyers, and shows inspectors you’ve kept it up well.
- Remove clutter. It’s important that you don’t have ladders blocking the electrical panels, that there aren’t rakes and brooms leaning against the water heater, that the area around appliances, sinks, and toilets is clean and clear so the inspector can get the best look. Don’t block access!
- Label the fuse box. You should do this for yourself as a homeowner, but this makes things much easier for an inspector if they need to test anything.
- Empty your appliances. They’ll run your dishwasher, your washer/dryer, your oven, et cetera. Make sure that these are clean and empty before the inspection to make it easy to test. Also, it looks much more polite and organized for the homeowner.
- Provide full access. If you have an attic, crawlspace, basement, or other area in your home that’s difficult to get to, make sure that you give them the access they need. A ladder set up to the attic, the crawlspace door unlocked, the stairs to the basement clean and safe, all the handrails are sturdy, et cetera. It will make you a home inspector’s best friend.
- Clean the vents and replace the filters in your home. This includes vents and filters like your clothes dryer, air conditioners, and the filter on your furnace, if you have one. Is any water running through a filter? Replace that too.
- Make yourself scarce. Take family pets out of the equation for sure, but you should remove yourself as well. Inspectors move faster, are more honest, and feel trusted when you let them work without you there. Make sure that you ask questions and get the full details before they leave, though! Make sure you are fully educated on the results after staying away from the area during the inspection. You don’t have to leave your property entirely, but if you can be in the back yard, a family room, or someplace out of the way it will benefit everyone.
- Find/Keep all maintenance documents and prior inspections. If you’ve had something repaired, show the home inspector. It should show what was repaired, and how it was repaired. Keep insurance claims from damage, and any repairs from there as well.
- Make sure the light bulbs work. Sounds simple, but a dark bulb in a fixture might mean electrical problems. Make the inspector’s job easier and replace any bulbs you need to before the inspection, so they know if it is a dead bulb or a wiring issue.
- Be honest. This is the last because it is the most important. Don’t be afraid to disclose flaws, and let the inspector as well as prospective buyers know if there is an issue. While it might feel risky to tell them problems at the outset, it’s actually much riskier to “hope no one notices”. Finding out flaws were hidden in the process will make inspectors as well as prospective buyers much less forgiving and much more negative. What else are you hiding? In that vein, consider hiring an inspector yourself before prospective home buyers come in. It gives you the chance to fix issues before a potential buyer sees it, and it shows your commitment to your home and the sale to others.