Ellen Crawford is an experienced listing agents and offer Fairfax home seller tips for those in
Washington DC metro area that are selling a home.
This page of home selling tips deals with home inspections, and how they can
affect the sale of your home..
A home inspection is a key component when selling a home. When selling a home
there are always issues that turn up at the home inspection that have to be
dealt with or negotiated through. Sometimes they are maintenance issues
that deal with changing a filter in the furnace, or some are more serious and
may be a violation of acceptable building codes, or CABO codes. To avoid major
issues before a home inspection, a little preparation can go a long way to
ensure a tranquil and peaceful sale of your home.
So this home sellers advice
offers an insight into: Home inspections, prepping your home to sell,
and what are homes going for in my neighborhood.
In this site you'll find home seller tips for Fairfax Virginia:
homes for sale, selling a home, selling your house,
seller negations, strategies
when selling a home, dealing with a home inspection: Alexandria, Baileys
Crossing, Burke, Chantilly, Reston, Annandale, Warrenton, Fairfax City,
Oakton, Reston, , Dunn Loring, McLean, Vienna, Tyson's Corner, Great Falls,
Herndon, Fair Oaks, Falls Church, Springfield, Clifton, Centreville, Falls
Church, Mt. Vernon, Fairfax Station, Newington, Mt. Vernon, Merrifield,
Greenway, and Virginia. I also cover northern Virginia counties in my real
estate business, and offer exceptional real estate service for northern
Virginia homes for sale in: Prince William County, Loudoun County, Arlington
counties, and suburban Washington D.C.
As an experienced listing agent with
RE/MAX Distinctive, I am a brokers associates,
and full time real estate agent I can handle all your northern Virginia
and DC real estate needs: relocating, homes for sale,
purchase a home, selling, residential real estate
and properties in Fairfax and northern Virginia.
View Fairfax, northern Virginia and DC area homes for sale: mansions, golf
homes, gated communities, swim tennis homes, homes with swimming pools, ranch homes, traditional homes,
and so much more. Search for Fairfax homes for sale,
tours, home tours, see homes for sale, make appointments to
see homes, Free CMAS for Fairfax , and suburban Washington DC Home sellers,
and advice to prepare a home a property to sell. We
also offer Washington DC area relocating, and relocation services.
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Home
inspectors
are hired by the home buyer, or in increasing numbers by the home
seller to be a impartial third party, and another set of trained eyes
in the real estate transaction. Home inspectors are trained
professionals, that can identify deficiencies in the home, its'
structure or mechanics, and electrical systems. A home inspector
should never offer to make the needed repairs to a home nor should
they provide you with specific referrals for home repairs or
renovations. It would be unprofessional to do so, and would probably
be against the code of ethics for their affiliations with their
respective inspection organizations of which they are a member. For
any necessary repairs, consumers should hire professionals with no
connection to the inspector or the other party in the transaction.
Home
inspectors need to know the home’s many systems and components and how
they work, both independently
and
together. They should have a working and fluid
knowledge in the systems they inspect. In addition, they need to
understand why and how the system's) fail. Consumer should expect a
written report to describe the actual condition of the home at the
time of the inspection and to provide an indication of the need for
major repairs.
What Should We
NOT Expect From a Home Inspection?
Home inspectors do not do destructive testing, nor can
they see behind walls or through concrete. They do not provide
detailed blueprints of the home, nor should you expect their reports
to include details of every item in the home. The home inspector is
primarily concerned with pointing out adverse conditions and/or
safety-related concerns, rather than small or cosmetic items, which
are considered readily apparent to the buyers. They focus on issues
that are related to health, safety, environmental, and that are
structurally deficient in nature.
Also,
the home buyer or seller should not expect the inspector’s report is a
guarantee that the home’s components will never fail or need repair at
some point in the future. Nothing is perfect—
all
homes
need
regular maintenance and repair.
HOW TO
FIND A
QUALIFIED
HOME INSPECTOR
Look in
the yellow pages and you will see page after page of home inspectors
in some areas. So how do you find a qualified home inspector?
Ask Ellen Crawford. As a full time real estate
agent with market knowledge, and experience, he can provided with the
names of several accredited home inspectors.
Click Below for a Map to Our
Office
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Prepare A Home
for An Inspection
The better your home inspection when selling a
home... the easier the sale. It is easier to identify objections before
they arise by the potential home buyers. So what will a home inspector
will be looking at when they inspect my home, and how can we prepare for
it? The list below will be very helpful when preparing for a home
inspection. Most of these items can be accomplished with little or no cost
and they are just regular maintenance items for a home.
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1.
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Grading
or mulch from contact with siding should be six inches.
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.2.
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Clean dirty
gutters, leaves or debris from the roof.
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3.
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Divert all
water away from the house; i.e. downspouts, condensation drains, and
diverters.
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4.
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Trim trees,
roots and bushes back from the foundation, roof, siding and chimney.
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5.
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Paint all
weathered exterior wood and caulk around the trim, chimney, windows
and doors.
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6.
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Seal
asphalt driveways, and concrete repair if cracking.
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7.
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Seal or
point up masonry chimney caps. Install metal flue cap.
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8.
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Clean or
replace HVAC filter. Clean dirty air returns and plenum.
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9.
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Point up
any failing mortar joints in brick or block..
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10.
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All smoke
detectors to ensure they are in safe working order.
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11.
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Clean
chimney, fireplace or wood stove and provide buyer with a copy of the
cleaning record.
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12.
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Seal
masonry walls in the basement.
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13.
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Don’t do
quick cheap repairs. You may raise questions that will unfairly cause
great concern to buyers and inspectors.
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14.
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All doors
and windows are in operational, including repairing or replacing any
cracked windowpanes, an caulking..
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15.
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Ensure that
all plumbing fixtures (toilet, tub, shower, and sinks) are in proper
working conditions. Check for and fix any leaks. Caulk around fixtures
if necessary.
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16.
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Install
GFCI receptacles near all water sources. Test all present GFCI
receptacles for proper operation.
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17.
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Make sure all
house lights , and switches are operational.
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18.
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Replace any
burned out light bulbs.
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19.
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Remove
rotted wood and/or firewood from contact with the house.
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20.
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Ensure that
proper grading is followed under a deck.
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21.
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Install
proper vapor barrier in crawl spaces.
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22.
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Caulk all
exterior wall penetrations, and openings.
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23.
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Check to
ensure that the crawl space is dry and install a proper vapor barrier
if necessary
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24.
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Check that
bath vents are properly vented and in working condition.
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25.
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Remove
paints, solvents, gas, and similar materials from crawl space,
basement, attic, porch, and so forth.
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26.
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If windows
are at or below grade, install window wells and covers.
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27.
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Make
accessible: attic, crawl space, heating system, garage and other areas
that will need to be inspected.
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28.
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If the
house is vacant, make sure that all utilities are turned on, including
water, electric, water heater, furnace, and A/C
so that an
inspection can be conducted.
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