The next step in the home sale process is the buyer will hire an inspector to evaluate the home and verify it doesn’t have any health, safety or issues they may have to deal with going forward. Did you know that buyers pick their own inspectors and in the state of Florida, there is NO requirement for the inspector to be licensed or certified to judge your house! If you have not already had a pre-inspection done on your home. This video gives you an idea of what to expect

Very Soon a team member will be reaching out to you to let you know the buyer will be coming over to do a home inspection. Don’t worry your house does not have to look show ready. Here is a short list of tips that you can do to make it go well.

1. Most home inspections take about 3 hours. Typically buyers and their agents would prefer that you did not attend the Inspection however it is Your choice. or We will be happy to attend for you to answer any questions. Because there is no licensing requirement, it may not be a surprise that sometimes inspectors come up with issues that may not be accurate or valid.

Here are they things they typically review.

Any potential structural, contamination, water penetration or pest issues. They will check out and usually run all plumbing, electrical, roof, furnace and AC, and all included appliances. So that means you need to have those systems accessible to them.

The most common items that get identified as “maintenance” are:

• Clean and Service the Furnace – you can do this ahead of the inspection
• Clean and Service the Fireplace – you can do this again as well
• Double tapping – 2 wires into 1 circuit. You can look at your electrical panel and see if that is an issue in advance
• Missing outlet covers.
• Light switches that don’t work. Sometimes they may pop circuits and not reset them, so watch out for those things after the inspection
• Gutters & Gutter extension
• Exterior Peeling paint
• Exterior broken fence posts.
• Old smoke Detectors
• Carbon monoxide detectors.
• Very large window wells that are un-covered
• Any trip hazards

They may also check the following things:

• Septic or Sewer, if you do not have a Sewer clean out, (most older homes would not) I’ve seen inspectors remove toilets to scope the sewer line but to me this needs to be done with permission. You can ask plumbing/sewer companies to do this for your in advance if you like.
• They may test for Radon. Radon gas is the natural radiation that emanates from Granite decomposing. It’s up for debate as to whether it’s a health hazard. The cost for the repair is about $1200. This is something you can test for in advance.
• Roof conditions, since we have lots of hail storms here are one of the most common and biggest ticket items. We can provide some great trusted vendor contacts to check those things out for Free ahead of your inspection to give you peace of mind.
• Gfci Those are ground fault circuit interrupter outlets. those are electrical outlets that pop when you put in to high part of a blow dryer outlets.

Some inspectors will try to impose today’s building code on older homes. Don’t worry we will fight for you on these items. Keep in mind the buyer is just trying to make sure the house they are buying is ok. This is not their time to ask for upgrades like new windows or new counter tops.

Once the inspection is complete, we wait to hear from the buyer about the things they may request to be repaired. It is NOT a to-do list. It’s a negotiation. And that’s where we come in!

We will notify you as soon as the Inspection Request comes in.

Most agents send the Inspection Report – which is all the things the inspector identified as well as an Inspection Objection – which is the things they are asking for. When we send it, please focus on the Inspection Objection – what they are asking for. The report is just a reference that may have photos to help identify the issue they have requested.

Once we receive their objection, we will review it together, perhaps get estimates if needed and prepare a written response to move the contract forward.

As always, If you have any questions, please call us at (904) 544-5252