Congratulations, you have a buyer! The next step is the process is usually the home inspection. The buyer, at their expense, will hire his/her own home inspector. And although this is not generally an issue, to pay for any damage caused during the home inspection.

In preparation for the home inspection, you should:

1. Organize clutter in the garage and basement and throughout the house to make sure it’s clean.
2. Check for any lingering odors.
3. Clear the access point to the attic - the inspector will need to see inside the attic space to check against such things as leaks, mold or critter droppings.
4. Check for leaks around faucets and under sinks and repair if needed.
5. Make sure all light fixtures are working and replace any burned out bulbs.
6. Check smoke detectors to make sure they are working correctly.
7. Check the garage door opener to make sure if an obstacle is encountered when the door closes, the auto reverse works properly.
8. Clean out the gutters and make sure downspouts are diverted away from the house.
9. Remove any stored items away from house and garage.

The buyer and his/her Realtor usually attend the home inspection. The buyer is seeing “their” new home again and you will want to be sure they continue to be happy with the decision made to buy your home. The seller should not be home during the home inspection. The inspector will often climb up on the roof to check the integrity of the shingles, and he will be in and out of every nook and cranny of your home, so it can be uncomfortable and awkward for the seller to be home. It is also the buyers private time to learn about the care of his/her new home, and feel comfortable asking questions to the inspector. Sometimes a seller feels that he/she needs to remain home during the inspection to explain certain features of the home, but a better way to handle that may be to write a list of those items to give to the inspector when he arrives.

On the day of inspection:

1. Plan on being away from your home during the time of inspection.
2. Secure all animals, either place in the day care for the day or take them with you.
3. Make sure all utilities are on and there is clear access to electrical panel, furnace, and hot water heater.

A home inspection typically lasts 1-4 hours depending on the size of the home and property. By the following day, the buyers will have received a written report to review from their inspector. They may need that day or possibly into the next day to read the report and decide if they will ask the seller to repair any items. Once any requests are made in writing from the buyers’ Realtor, you and your listing agent will discuss and decide your response.

The Inspection Report is paid for by the buyer so you may not be able to get a copy of it, but asking for it, or at least the section describing the repairs requested, is a good idea. If you will be making some repairs, receipts for completed work will be required and the buyers may want to walkthrough the home again once all repairs are finished. Your buyers may ask for a Seller Concession rather than repairs so they can take care of repairs on their own after closing. If agreed on, the Seller Concession amount will be subtracted from your proceeds at closing and used to offset the buyer’s closing costs.

The third possible outcome of an inspection is that the buyers decide they want a Mutual Release from their Purchase Agreement. Unfortunately, you may then need to put the home back on the market.

Assuming the inspection results are satisfactory or that some repair agreement has been made, the next step in the home sale, is if the buyer requires a mortgage, is the appraisal. Check back on next week’s blog for a discussion on appraisals.

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