Prevent Bad Home Inspections

When you’re trying to sell your home the last thing you want to happen is the home inspection to fail. If you are thinking of putting your home on the market soon, there are repairs and maintenance around the house that should not be overlooked as they could be deal breakers for potential buyers.

Maintain your roof. Inspect your roof periodically for cracks or other problems with the shingles or tiles. A leaky roof can cost a lot of structural damage to a house not to mention damage to your personal belongings as well.

Make sure your house is properly ventilated. The attic, kitchen, bathroom and basement are the main areas to ensure that there’s proper air flow. Rooms such as the bathroom need extra ventilation as moisture tends to build up there. If the ventilation is poor in your house, it may be subject to mold, mildew and decay.

Besides proper ventilation, your home needs proper drainage. Make sure you maintain your gutters by cleaning the debris out of them regularly and that the downspouts extend about 5 feet away from the foundation of the home. It is also important that your landscaping slopes away from the house. The goal is to keep the foundation of your home as dry as possible to prevent water damage and to prevent water from seeping into your basement.

Old, outdated electrical wiring and fuses or breaker boxes should be replaced and brought up to the current safety code. This is important even if you are not planning on selling your home because old wiring may cause a house fire.

These are some of the major things that an inspector will look at and as the owner of the home you should be properly maintaining throughout the years anyway. Don’t overlook maintenance of your house! It will catch up with you eventually in the form of a major repair bill or a failed home inspection during a sale.