How to Prepare for a Home Inspection
Once you’ve determined that you need a home inspection and you’ve scheduled your appointment with CHC Home Inspection, you might wonder how to best prepare for your home inspection. While your home will be thoroughly inspected by a qualified professional, there are a few steps that you can take to ensure that the inspection goes smoothly. With these preparation tips from CHC Home Inspection, your professional will be able to complete the necessary checks without limitations.
Accessible Windows, Doors, and Panels
Your first step in preparing for a home inspection is to make sure that all access points are not blocked and are free from obstructions. During a full home inspection, our professionals will not just look at the exterior and interior of your home. We will be checking your home’s structure, the electrical wiring, and the HVAC systems. As a result, we will need to be able to access certain areas, features, and panels. Make sure that access panels and doors for your attic and crawlspace are easily accessible with nothing blocking the area. Since these areas aren’t accessed as often, it is not uncommon for obstructions to be present.
Keep Your Appliances Free of Obstructions
During a home inspection, we may also check different appliances and fixtures. When someone is living in the space, these are the items that are frequently used, so going through and checking that each piece is accessible and empty will help your inspection go smoothly. For example, some people keep cookware in the oven or on the stovetop. This might be for convenience or a lack of storage. Make sure to take any items out of the oven that you might forget about such as a pizza stone. You’ll also want to put away any dishes that are in the dishwasher. Similarly, if you’ve done laundry recently, you might want to make sure there aren’t any items left in the washer or dryer.
Change Those Dead Bulbs
Once you’ve ensured that there isn’t anything blocking or obstructing access to areas of your home or foundation and your appliances and fixtures, there are a few other preparations you can make. Making sure all of your utilities are on and replacing any dead light bulbs will help us when we check for electrical issues and other systems. If your electricity is off or you have dead light bulbs, it is harder to identify actual issues with the system. If you have any pets, making sure they leave the home with you or are properly contained will help your inspection run smoothly and will protect both your pets and our staff.
Make Keys, Remotes, and Documentation Available
Finally, to make our inspection as quick and easy as possible, leaving keys, remotes, and paperwork in plain sight will streamline the process. This includes remotes for garage doors, fans, fireplaces, or other key fixtures as well as keys for any gates, doors, or outbuildings. Documentation that you might have on hand can be placed in a noticeable area to aid our inspectors, such as any floor plans, sketches of locations or systems, maintenance and repair paperwork, or any important notes that the inspector should know.
Keep all combustible material away from the fire. This includes blankets, carpet, paper and magazines.
Use the proper tools to clean your fireplace. Never use any flammable liquids to remove soot or other buildup.
Always ensure your fire is completely extinguished and any dials, gauges, or switches are turned completely off before going to bed for the night or before leaving your home.
