Well, there goes the neighbourhood...
We love our house. It's an old house, so that drives us crazy sometimes, but still.
We live on a corner, so there's no neighbour on one side, and the house beside us is our "twin." More on that at the end.
Anyway, our twin came up for sale two weeks ago. Oh, oh, new neighbours.
Our current neighbours have been there for nearly 20 years. A little on the dull side but predictable, and that's how we like it. We get along fine, although I didn't get the listing. WTH eh? I guess I should have been friendlier, maybe offered to clean his eavestroughs.
Either way, the sign went up; it's a fait accompli.
Lots of things go through your head when you're getting new neighbours, don't they?
What now—barking dogs in the yard, teenagers with noisy cars, guy watering his petunias in a Speedo? I'm sure it will be fine, we tell ourselves. I'll report back on that after the new guys move in, haha.
Anyway, I didn't set out to write a newsletter about Speedos, I set out to write a newsletter about home inspections.
You Need To Prepare For Your Home Inspection
The day after my neighbour's home inspection, he was on an extension ladder pulling beaver-dam-sized wads of sticks, leaves, and guck out of his eaves.
I thought, by-god man. The inspector was always going to make sure your eavestroughs and downspouts were working properly. Should'a been on top of that.
A simple thing like that could kill your deal.
When buyers get the impression you're not maintaining your home, they start reading everything else in the home inspection report with a sharper eye.
Before you know it, they've added up a half dozen reasons not to buy the house. Maybe they were nervous buyers to start with. And then they split, the deal falls through. I've seen it more than once.
Now your home is back on the market, and it has a stain on it. Every subsequent showing asks the same question "their first deal fell through— what's wrong with it?"
So if you're selling, don't let this happen to you.
Here are some things you can do to prepare for your home inspection. These are also things that you should just do anyway lol.
Clean your eavestroughs and downspouts. Ensure they flow correctly and the downspouts extend at least three feet from the foundation. If you have a broken or missing piece, get to Home Depot. One of the biggest deal killers is the potential of water in the basement or a bad foundation.
Improve your grade(ing). Walk around your entire foundation. If you see any low spots or the ground is sloping towards the house, build it up. Don't give your buyers a reason to think the rainwater is draining down the foundation wall.
Change the filter and clean your furnace. The home inspector will take the cover off your furnace and check to see if it's been serviced. A furnace is expensive, and buyers don't want to buy a new one.
Service your water heater. If you have an owned water heater, make sure the anode rod has been changed, and there are no leaks. If you rent your water heater, call the rental company and have them out.
Check your plugs. The inspector finds plugs with reversed polarity in about half of my home inspections. DIYers often change the plugs out and hook them up with the hot and neutral reversed. It's an easy fix and you can get a polarity tester cheap at the hardware store. Also, test your GFCI plugs. They're the ones near a sink with a little button on them so they trip if they get wet.
Clean your house! This is the big one. Get your home in show shape for the inspection. Lots of sellers don't because it's a pain. Your buyers will be making a final buying decision at the home inspection. They'll be doing their final walk-through, bringing family members and giving it the once over.
The home inspection is your finish line. Make sure you're ready to go!
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