What Do I Do the Day Before the Buyer's Home Inspection?

The day before the buyer's inspection, clear a path to your electrical panel, furnace, water heater, attic, and under every sink. Make sure the water, power, and gas are on, open anything that is locked, set out receipts for work you have done, and plan to be gone for about three hours with your pets.

I am Delia Bayna, a REALTOR with eXp Realty in Salt Lake City. This is the last page of the pre-inspection checklist I give my sellers, and it is the page people are most glad they had.

An inspector writes down what they cannot reach. "Could not access the water heater" on a report makes a buyer nervous, and it can mean the inspector has to come back.

Clear a path to:

• The electrical panel, and any sub-panel
• The furnace and the water heater
• The attic access, with nothing stacked in front of it
• Under every sink, so the cabinets can be opened and looked into
• Crawl spaces, if you have them

In a lot of Salt Lake City homes, the furnace and water heater sit in a basement utility room that has slowly filled up with holiday boxes and paint cans. Give the inspector room to stand in front of both.

The inspector tests the house as it runs. If something is off, they cannot test it, and it goes on the report as not tested.

• Water, power, and gas on
• Pilot lights lit
• Every light bulb working
• Appliances that stay with the house plugged in and empty, so the dishwasher and oven can be run

If the house is vacant, this is the step most likely to be missed. Utilities get shut off after a move, and nobody remembers until the inspector is standing in the driveway.

Open up sheds, gates, and crawl spaces. Leave the garage door remotes out where they can be found.

Then set out your paperwork on the kitchen counter:

• Receipts for anything you fixed or replaced
• Warranties on the roof, furnace, water heater, or appliances
• The last furnace tune-up, if you had one
• Radon test results, if you ever tested

A receipt turns a question into an answer. "When was the water heater replaced?" is a worry. A receipt with a date on it settles it.

Plan to be out of the house for about three hours, and take your pets with you.

Buyers sometimes come to the end of the inspection to hear what the inspector found. They ask better questions and feel more settled about the house when the seller is not in the room. And an inspector does better work in an empty house.

I know leaving is hard for some sellers, especially after thirty years in a house. Go get lunch. I will let you know when it is done.

After the inspection, the buyer gets the report and decides what to ask for. You will have a short window to respond, and that is where the work you did before listing pays off. I cover that next in what happens after the buyer's home inspection.

If you have not listed yet, start earlier with how to get ready for a home inspection when you sell, and see how I approach selling a home in Salt Lake City.

Should the seller be home during the home inspection?

Usually not. Plan to be gone for about three hours with your pets. The inspector works better in an empty house, and buyers who attend feel freer to ask questions.

What if my utilities are shut off?

Have them turned back on before the inspection. The inspector cannot test a furnace, water heater, or appliance without power, gas, and water, and anything untested goes on the report.

What paperwork should I leave out for the inspector?

Receipts and warranties for anything fixed or replaced, the last furnace tune-up, and any radon test results. They answer questions before the buyer has to ask them.