The old adage of “an ounce of prevention” really applies to inspections.  Before marketing your home, take care of the little repairs you might have been avoiding.  Fix the drippy kitchen faucet, replace the front door knob that requires you jiggle the key just right to lock it, swap out the ceiling fan that only works on low speeds.  When the inspections are done, a long list of small maintenance items could make a buyer doubt their decision and worry that major maintenance was overlooked as well.

Buyer Inspections
With an offer for purchase, buyers may decide to request inspections.  These inspections could be for single items – such as a roof or electrical inspection – or a more comprehensive whole house inspection. 

An inspection looks for major defects in a property.  Typically a whole house inspection report comes in two parts.  One part itemizes all items inspected and any issues found – from simply cosmetic items to more major concerns.  The second part of the report summarizes those items deemed truly “defective” and affecting the value of the property.  Depending on your sales contract, the defective items may either be addressed with estimates for repairs or you may be required to make those repairs. 

Inspections for specific items, such as roof or electrical, may have a less comprehensive report.

An inspection is NOT a way to know absolutely everything about everything.  It is a guide to the condition of the major components of the home.  Any home, no matter how new or old, how well maintained or how ignored, will have something show up on an inspection report.