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HOW TO
PREPARE
A House for a Home Inspection
Here’s a Fundamental Primer That Gives an Explanation to Your
Clients
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Many
Realtors have had clients
ask them how to prepare
for a home inspection. There
are routine steps sellers
can take to ensure that the
inspection goes off without
a hitch. Most of them are
regular maintenance chores
and quite easy and
inexpensive to do. Above
all, sellers should not
try to do quick, cheap repairs,
as this could cause questions
and concern to home
inspectors and prospective
buyers. First, the home
seller should concentrate
on the exterior of the
house. He or she should provide
at least six inches of clearance
between grade/mulch and siding. Dirty gutters
and debris should be cleaned
from the roof. Basement
entry drains should be
cleaned out as well.
The grade of the land should slope away from
the home so that water is diverted away
from the house. Downspouts, sump pumps,
condensation drains, and the like should
all drain away from the home.
Trees, roots, and bushes should be trimmed
away from the home’s foundation, roof,
siding, and chimney. All weathered exterior
wood should be painted.
Caulking should be placed around the chimney,
windows, and doors. Rotting wood
and/or firewood should not be in contact
with the house. Decks should be properly
graded.
Some of these remedies are obvious but might be
overlooked by anxious sellers.
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If the asphalt driveway is
cracking, it should be
sealed. Masonry chimney
caps should be sealed or
pointed up. Metal flue
caps should also be installed
on chimneys. The home’s
HVAC filter should be
cleaned or replaced, if
needed. Dirty air returns
and plenum need cleaned as
well. Any faulty mortar
joints in a home’s brick
or block should be pointed
up. All doors and windows
must be in proper working condition.
If windowpanes are
cracked, sellers need to have them replaced, or repaired if
possible. Turning to the
interior of the home, the
seller should make sure that any burned
out light bulbs are replaced before
a home inspection. Sellers need to
ensure that all smoke detectors work. If
a home’s attic is not ventilated, it needs to
be. Also, a professional should clean the
chimney, fireplace, or wood stove. The
buyer must be provided with a copy
of this cleaning record. Plumbing
fixtures, including toilet, tub, shower,
and sinks, should be in proper working
order. Any leaks must be fixed, and
caulking should be done around plumbing
fixtures if necessary. The sump pump
should be operating properly.
Continue
on next page...
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From the desk of . . .
Arthur S. Lazerow
New
Inspectors Join Alban
RUSS NARKIE joins Alban as home inspector and as an FHA approved
inspector/ program
manager under FHA 203K. During his
six years
with the City of Hagerstown, he developed
an outstanding reputation for professionalism
is all aspects of housing, from
acquisition and rehabilitation
to final inspection.
Besides his FHA
accreditation, Russ is a licensed
Maryland Home Improvement Contractor,
accredited MDE lead paint supervisor
and visual inspector, and graduate
of the ITA home inspection school. To
avoid conflicts of interest on his part-time job with the City of
Hagerstown, he will not be
inspecting within the City limits. He
will concentrate in Washington and Frederick
Counties, and nearby areas of West
Virginia and Pennsylvania.
LEE EYLER is starting his home inspection career
part-time, offering late afternoon inspections
and some weekends, but his long-term
goal is to become a full-time home inspector.
Lee’s experience is truly hands on.
He attended the Frederick County Vocational
Training School and Building Spec’s
home inspection training school. He has
done roofing, septic system installation, landscaping
and for the last ten years has worked
performing home improvements. Talk
about from the ground up! He is also a skilled
heavy construction equipment mechanic
and operator. With Lee on board, we
can perform your home inspection and repair your bulldozer.
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