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Preparing for a Home Inspection

July 5, 2024 - DMC Residential Inspection Services Inc.

If you are thinking of selling your home, chances are a home inspector might be inspecting it and you will want it to go smoothly. Preparing for a home inspection can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. There are some steps you can take that can make the process much easier for you as a homeowner ensuring a much more stress-free experience. Looking at your home through a safety, system maintenance and operational lens will help better prepare. 

Aside from cleaning your  home, which goes without saying, when preparing for a home inspection, the best thing to do is get rid of the clutter. De-cluttering not only set a good first impression, but it also allows the inspector to see areas that may not have been accessible with your belongings blocking access. A report that says "area not accessible due to owner's belongings" is not a good finding to have in a report. 

Accessibility to important areas plays a big role in home inspection. Not being able to access the attic or portions of a crawl-space leave areas unseen and puts into question what might be lurking there. Imaginations can run wild, so it is always good to ensure accessibility to all areas is provided. If you have nothing to hide, ensure nothing is hidden. 

When cleaning your home, clean all the appliances, including yoru furnace, air conditioning unit, venitlation system if one is installed, and even your hot water tank. These often get overlooked. To ensure a good impression and operation of appliances, clean and provide maintenance check on them. Gather any documentation you may have and make available. As an example, if you haven't had a maintenance check done on your furnace in over a year by an HVAC technician, now would be a good time to do that and keep the record to share. 

Addressing any minor repair will reduce the number of items that need to be listed in the report, A burned out bulb, leaky faucet, doors that may not open and close easily, or a fireplace remote that has a dead battery are all things that can be easily fixed. Those little repair items do add up and they can quickly fill a report. 

Some other key areas the inspector will focus on are roof, gutter as well as foundation and drainage. You may not be in a position to install a new rood, but some things you can do such as cleaning your gutters to ensure they are free of debris will make a difference. And if you have had any work done recently to the home it is a good idea to have the paper work handy to be able to share with others what has been done. 

Water intrusion and leaks is one of the most damaging elements to a home. This is why the inspector will be looking at the drainage around the home and at any leaks that may be occurring in the home. Ensure your downspouts and landscaping allows for drainage of water away from the homeand that all taps and drains have no leaks. Have a look in the basement or crawl-space for signs of water. This will be an area of focus so fix it if you can.  

Last but not least, ensure your home is safe. Railings and steps are all areas where trips and falls can occur and they need to be safely installed to code. Place pets in a safety place away from the home to ensure they are not in the way of the inspection or the inspector. Also, make sure you have the required smoke detectors and Carbon Monoxide detectors in the home and that they are in good operation. For more information on Smoke and CO2 detection requirements visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/fire-safety-home and https://www.ontario.ca/page/carbon-monoxide-safety.

These are just some of the things you can do as a homeowner to better prepare for a home inspection. With a little guidance, preparing for a home inspection can be a stress free experience. By starting with cleaning and decluttering the rest will fall into place as you begin to look at your home through a safety, systems maintenance and operational lens. So, if you are thinking of selling and preparing your home for an inspection, addressing some of these areas discussed above can help you be better prepared and receive a more favourable report.