In my recent post “What to Expect from a Home Inspector” I spoke to buyers about how important it is to have a Home Inspection.
This is often a nervous part of the contract time line for sellers, because although you disclosed everything that you knew about there could be things you didn’t know about…
Find What You Can
To protect yourself, and reduce the number of surprises that show up once you have a contract many sellers do a home inspection before putting their homes on the market. This could be as simple as walking around the home with a critical eye and making notes. If you know construction and can notice potential problems this works well.
Last Minute Surprises are not Good in Real Estate. photo by "Brian U"
I usually do a walk-through like this with my customers. (Since I have seen a lot of different problems pop up during inspections I can point some of them out ahead of time.)
Other home owners have a handyman they use regularly and trust, which probably means there isn’t a lot to be found in the home. They will call and ask him to take a look at the house.
Another option is to hire a professional Home Inspector. If you aren’t familiar with how a home if put together, and you want an un-involved 3rd party to tell you what needs work this is a good option.
Do It Yourself Checklist
The people at This Old House have put together a through Home Inspection Checklist that you can use. There are several different systems covered, but you have to click on the topics in the box to get to them.