Help for Sellers at Inspection Time

Recently several homeowners have said to me “I didn’t know how long the inspection was going to take.” or “I didn’t know you needed in there.” Often these same homeowners have spent hours “preparing” for the inspection by making their home super neat, super clean and super aromatic. These actions are appreciated and useful during showings, but don’t improve the inspectability of the house.

A typical home inspection will take from two and a half to three and a half hours. The range covers the fact that older homes tend to take longer and newer one often less. The course of an American Society of Home Inspectors (www.ashi.org) or National Association of Home Inspectors (www.nahi.org) Standards of Practice, www.homeinspector.org/standards/default.aspx , inspection involves inspecting 1400-1600 items regardless of age. It simply takes time to do properly.

Home Inspectors are not supposed to disturb the homeowners personal effects and this often presents a problem when we find loose or boxed items blocking access to an attic hatch, furnace, water heater or electrical distribution panel. These items may be fragile, and guess whose fault it is if they show up broken later, and in a few cases I have seen items that were much more personal than I wished to become involved with.

A really great guide for all of your sellers is found at the NAR site. http://www.realtor.org/toolkits/close19

As a final note your sellers may want to consider the benefits of a pre-sale inspection. Once again the NAR site has valuable information to help your seller make the best decision. http://www.realtor.org/archives/preinspectkenarchive2000jan

For all your residential and light commercial inspection needs contact

Marshall Brown, BSEE, CRI, CHI

Alexandria: (320) 846-0004, Detroit Lakes: (218) 841-4514, Fargo/Moorhead: (218) 287-0877 Fergus Falls, Wadena, Perham and the Lakes Region, Toll Free: (866) 475-2253

Marshall.Brown@pillartopost.com

www.pillartopost.com/moorhead