Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Home Inspection

1. Service your heating and cooling system annually.  Make sure the service company changes any filters, cleans out the flue, supplies you with a list of replaced parts, and puts a service tag on the unit. 
2. Pump out your septic system regularly.  Ask your service company to send you reminders.  Check for needed repairs.
3. Don’t be present at the inspection.  Your presence may make the inspection tense and awkward.  Let your agent represent you.  Leave a number where you may be contacted if necessary.
4. Don’t try to hide problems.  If they’re discovered, it’s going to seem much worse than if you’d simply addressed them.  It undermines your integrity. 
5. Get the house ready.  Remove clutter, clean floors, have walkways easily accessible, and make sure it smells nice.
6. Don’t let your pets run free.  They can interrupt the inspection.  Either take them with you, or keep them in a secure crate. 
7. Keep the inspection day free of plans.  It’s difficult to predict exactly how long an inspection may take, so don’t plan to use the house for other events. 
8. Make sure the house is completely accessible.  Your agent should not only have a house key, but keys to any other doors or areas that may need to be opened. 
9. Make sure all the utilities are on.  Especially in wintertime, you want the house to be warm and the pipes unfrozen. 
10. Don’t panic.  If you’ve taken the time to prepare, an inspection is nothing to worry about.  In most cases, a small list of findings can be easily negotiated through your agent.  Just relax, and learn from the process.