When getting ready to put your house up for sale, does a word 'home inspection' make you
cringe?
Hi, my name is Elena Kovrigin, and today I am with Jim Rauland with Quality Home Consultants.
We are at undisclosed location to protect seller's and buyer's privacy, and we're just
going to go over some of the things that the inspector is looking for at the pre-listing
home inspection.
This is a complicated venture, okay?
It takes profession.
Jim Rauland: During a typical home inspection, pre-listing or when we do it for a buyer,
we're going to be going over the exterior including the roofing, the gutters, yard drainage,
porches, patios, driveways.
We'll be going through the interior checking windows, doors, outlets, all the interior
components.
We'll be checking the plumbing, all the main plumbing components and each individual fixture.
We go through the electric system, we take the cover off the main panel and make sure
that everything is wired correctly.
Jim Rauland: We'll check out the heating and air conditioning systems to make sure that
they're operating properly and safe to use.
We'll check the structure of the home and the cross bases in basements to make sure
that there's no moisture or insect damage.
And we'll be checking for any cracked foundation walls and things of that nature.
We'll also be checking water heaters and any electrical components that come with a heating
system.
Jim Rauland: When we're doing our interior inspection, things like stains on the ceiling
and walls indicate that there may have been a previous roof leak.
And we'll be getting into the attic to make sure that there's no ongoing leaks, and also
to get onto the roof to double check to make sure that these aren't active leaks.
Jim Rauland: We take the covers off the main panel and any sub panels and we make sure
that the circuits are wired properly, they're the right size wire, and make sure that there's
no heat or any electrical shorts in the panel.
This is something that a typical homeowner wouldn't know to be able to do.
And once this panel's off it's dangerous, somebody that doesn't know what they're looking
at wouldn't want to take this cover off anyway because it becomes a safety issue.
Jim Rauland: We're going to check the heating and cooling system, and we'll start with the
AC since it's already on.
And we're going to drop the temperature, and then we're going to go downstairs and take
some temperature at the air handler to make sure that it's cooling properly.
We want to get a difference between the return air and the supply air, and that's going to
give us an indication of how well the air conditioning is working.
Elena Kovrigin: And then you're going to do the same for heating?
Jim Rauland: And the same for heating.
And since this is a gas furnace we're going to be also checking the burners to make sure
that there's no problem with the burners inside the air handler.
So here we have 48 degrees.
We're going to check it on the return side to see the difference between the two and
see how well it's cooling.
Elena Kovrigin: Okay.
What should be the difference?
Or should be there any difference?
Jim Rauland: The difference should be a minimum of 15 degrees.
So anything under 15 degrees, we're going to be calling to get an HVAC technician to
service it.
Elena Kovrigin: Doesn't sound like another thing that a typical seller can do on their
own.
It's not like a visual inspection where you can see a crack somewhere.
You really need to know what you're doing before you start poking in your vents.
Jim Rauland: When we get to the furnace we're going to take off the covers to make sure
that the unit is venting properly, and that there's no corrosion on the burners, and to
make sure that there's no leaks, or gas leaks, or exhaust leaks.
If we look at, while we're in the basement is to check the foundation walls to make sure
that there's no cracks or bulges, and to look for moisture.
I'm going to go ahead and take our radon monitor into the basement.
We're going to set this and leave it here for 48 hours, and that's enough time to get
a good indication whether or not there's an elevated level of radon here.
Elena Kovrigin: Radon is found in all parts of North Carolina, and is a second leading
cause of lung cancer after smoking.
So a lot of buyers will choose to do radon inspection.
Next on the check list is the roof.
Jim Rauland: We're going to get on most of the roofs that we inspect.
The only limitations that we have for inspecting roofs or getting on the roof would be if they
were too steep to walk, or if there was ice or snow, or a thunderstorm.
Going to be checking the gutters to make sure that they're clean and draining properly.
Elena Kovrigin: And why is that important?
Jim Rauland: Because if the gutters aren't cleaned and draining properly then they're
going to overflow, and then they can cause damage to the exterior of the building as
well as be an entry to water in the crawl space or basement.
We're going to walk around the outside of the house and we're going to be looking for
wood rot or insect damage and siding and [inaudible] fascia.
We're going to look at the yard drainage to make sure that the water is flowing away from
the house.
We're going to be looking at even the vegetation around the house to make sure that it's not
up against the home, or there's any root systems that could damage the foundation.
Jim Rauland: We're also going to be identifying where the main electrical water and gas shutoffs
are, and we'll be taking photos to let the potential buyer know where to shut these utilities
off.
We'll be looking for any kind of settlement in exterior porches to make sure that the
ground hasn't shifted and caused any settlement issues for the steps or the porch.
Jim Rauland: We'll be checking all exterior outlets to make sure that they're grounded
and safe to use.
This is a case where the bushes are a little too close to the home and it's crowding out
the outside part of this heat pump.
It can also lead to damage to the screen and siding if it's not trimmed.
Jim Rauland: We're going to be looking for wood rot or insect damage around exterior
doors and trim, and checking the windows also to make sure that the insulation value is
in tacked.
Here's an example of carpenter bee, this is one of the wood destroying insects that we're
looking for.
This is the dust that they create by eating the wood.
Elena Kovrigin: A sale of a house can certainly put a lot of stress on sellers, from being
emotionally attached to the house to waiting for the right buyer to come along, to negotiating
offers.
And then, that unexpected aspect when it comes to waiting for the inspection report and having
buyers to decide what to do with some issues that might come up on that inspection report.
While some sellers decide to do pre-listing inspection, that way they can eliminate that
unknown factor and they can decide whether or not they want to tackle some of those repairs
before putting the house on the market.
Elena Kovrigin: Having an inspection report done and providing receipts for repairs if
sellers choose to do some repairs can be a great marketing tool as well, and a lot of
buyers will certainly appreciate that.
It can also expedite the closing because buyers will not have to do an inspection, and will
not have to come back to the seller and try to negotiate some repairs or asking price.
I hope you found this information useful, and if you did put thumbs up and leave a comment.
And I will see you next time.