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Real Estate Tips From a New Homeowner


Preparing Your Property For An Inspection

Potential homebuyers use property inspections to gauge property conditions. For example, a buyer can use an inspection report to negotiate the best price for a property. Sellers should prepare for the inspection process to strengthen their bargaining power and improve their chases of a successful sale. Below are crucial tips to help you prepare for the inspection.

Clean the House

Clean the house and make it presentable, just as you would for a showing. Your home's cleanliness doesn't play a direct role in the appraisal value. However, the appraiser might suspect hidden problems if your house is dirty or has debris all over.

The rationale is that if the visible areas are unkempt, then the invisible ones are worse. In addition, a certain level of untidiness shows carelessness that might signify negligence maintenance. You don't want an appraiser going through your house with that attitude.

Perform Routine Inspection and Maintenance

Inspect the house and maintain the major systems and appliances just before the inspection. Routine maintenance helps you to identify malfunctions or defects that you need to fix before the inspection. For example, you might realize that the HVAC filter is due for replacement (a clogged air filter might cause HVAC malfunction).

Ensure Full Accessibility

The appraiser needs to reach all corners of your house for a thorough and complete appraisal. The appraiser can only do this if they can fully access your house. Here are a few tips to ensure full accessibility on the appraisal date:

  • Clean the mechanical room and remove stored items that might block the appraiser's path
  • Walk around the house's perimeter to confirm there are no obstructions, such as ladders
  • Ensure all doors are unlocked
  • Unlock lockable parts of the house, such as electrical boxes
  • Trim obstructive vegetation around the house

In short, do everything possible to allow the appraiser to do their work without hindrances.   

Ensure Appliances Are Test-ready

The appraiser needs to test the major appliances and systems for the appraisal process. Ensure everything is test ready. The following tips can help:

  • Ensure your house has all the relevant utilities, such as water, electricity, and gas
  • Ensure appliances are all in working conditions
  • Light the pilot light to allow the appraiser to test the furnace
  • Ensure all the lighting fixtures have bulbs to allow for electrical testing
  • Empty the dishwasher and washing machine on the test date

The appraiser will not go out of their way to test the appliances; make it easy for them.

For more information on how to sell your home for cash, contact a professional near you.

About Me

Real Estate Tips from a New Homeowner

While some people "wing it" when purchasing their first home, I went about the process differently. I put a lot of research into home market trends before even deciding where I would like my new home to be located and learned about all of the steps of the buying process. Once I was ready to start looking at homes, I hired a real estate agent who was very impressed with all the knowledge I had accumulated about the home-buying process before I even owned my first home! I love learning, so I actually greatly enjoyed learning all about real estate, and I am still keeping on top of the latest real estate news and trends since I know they will come in handy when I decide to upgrade into a larger home in the future. I decided to help others by sharing what I have learned on a blog!

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