Est. Reading Time: 3-4 minutes
Written by Jake Miller, Licensed Home Inspector
Within the first few minutes of walking through a home, most inspectors can tell whether the inspection will be straightforward or full of surprises. I’d like to share a few things that can help make an inspector’s day go more smoothly—along with some helpful tips to consider when preparing your home (or your client’s) for inspection.
Access to Attic
One area of the home that tends to be the hardest to access in any home is the attic. Often this is in a closet or in a small hallway with very little room to work with. If you are able to, making an abundance of room for us to access that area makes our job much easier. If your attic has never been accessed or opened, you will most likely receive a message from us requesting permission to access the attic. General home inspections are a “non-invasive, visual only inspection” and cutting open a sealed attic is considered invasive.
Mechanicals and Utilities
During a general home inspection, we inspect all available mechanical systems in the home (HVAC, water heater, laundry) and the utilities (water supply, natural gas supply, electrical panel). We open the covers of the furnace, inspect the water heater, inspect the sump pump (if installed) and the interior of the electrical panel. When these are hindered by personal belongings, we are not able to fully inspect these items and our client (the buyer) will most likely request more information from you.
Laundry Room
At Marigold Home Inspections, we will run all available washers and dryers to make sure they are in working order. If the washing machine has clothes in it, we won’t run it to make sure nothing gets damaged. If you have laundry to do, go ahead and start the wash and not only will we be able to see that it has run and check for any issues, but you will have clean clothes when you get home.
Notes
If there are any quirks about your home that might be helpful for an inspector to know about your home, leaving a note on the kitchen counter or table is greatly appreciated. Sometimes an attic location is not where we would expect it to be or maybe there is a door that is broken and is in process of being repaired. One area that can be tricky for us inspectors is the location of GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlet reset locations. In particular for the exterior of the home. If you know where they are, a quick note goes a long way for us.
Understanding
Lastly, we want you to know that we do our best to leave your home exactly as we found it. When accessing areas like the attic, we take care to clean up after ourselves. Our goal as inspectors isn’t to cause disruption, but to thoroughly assess the home’s current condition.
