Preparing For Your Home Inspection
Current Homeowner (Seller) – Before an inspection, please attend to the following:
The property owner (seller) does not need to be present during the inspection. My inspections typically take six to seven hours so it may not be convenient for the property owner (seller) to be there the entire time.
*All arrangements for various parties’ presence or lack of presence should be made between the seller’s realtors and the buyer’s realtors well in advance of the inspection.
Full access to the home’s interior and exterior must be granted – including access to keys or lock-box codes (Realtors can typically facilitate this).
If possible, remove all dogs from the home during the day of the inspection. If this is unpractical, and if your dogs are friendly, then it is OK for them being present during my inspection.
If the property is unoccupied, be sure all utilities such as electricity, gas, oil, and water are connected and filled enough for appliances to run. Heating and cooling systems, plumbing, appliances, faucets, electrical systems and more will be tested. Without live utilities, required and pertinent testing cannot be performed.
For liability reasons, Oregon Certified Home Inspectors will not light pilot lights on gas stoves, furnaces and/or water heaters. When pilot lights are not lit, inspections are rendered incomplete. Please make sure all gas pilot lights are lit if those components are to be tested. If a gas appliance has an auto-ignition system instead of a pilot light, then I will attempt to operate the gas appliance without the homeowner having to light any pilot lights.
Please replace any burned-out light bulbs throughout the house. If I turn on a light switch and the light does not come on, it is then unsure whether the bulb is bad (inexpensive repair) or if the switch is bad (more expensive repair)
I will need adequate room to access appliances, electrical panels and heating and cooling units. Please remove boxes, stored items, and debris from these areas; at least four feet of a fully accessible workspace is required.
Built-in appliances are subject to the home inspection and will be tested for operation. If any appliances are known by the homeowner to be faulty, please inform me before the inspection in order to help avoid a plumbing flood. * Dishwashers especially are prone to leaking if they have gone unused for long periods of time. If the seller suspects the dishwasher may have any issues, or has not been operated recently, please inform me to Not run the unit during the inspection.
Attics, garages, basements, crawlspaces and breaker panels need to be freely accessible to me. Please clear away any blockages and make sure doors can be opened (unlock if necessary). This includes accessing inspection hatches for bathtubs, water meters, and shutoff valves.