We sold our house last week and we have our home inspection tomorrow. Just curious, what kind of things did they check/look at during yours. We have started packing, so our house is pretty cluttered. Which things do they need access to?
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The inspector needs access to everything! All major systems/appliances (the inspector will run them all to ensure that they work), roof/attic/basement, and all rooms. I'm surprised your agent didn't tell you to basically treat the inspection like a showing. In the standard contracts for sale that I've seen the buyers can walk for any reason for a period after the inspection, so it basically is a showing, but with a contract.
I don't mean to scare you, but unless your market is crazy, I would clean up as much as possible. Buyers have the right to be at the inspection and smart ones show up.
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Agree with everything @honeybear said. Inspectors inspect EVERYTHING (or, they should!). From basement to attic and everything in between, in every room in between. As a buyer, I’ve also always gone to the inspection as well. I would clean up as much as possible to make it easy for the inspector to access whatever s/he needs to access, and not to give any "bad taste" to the prospective buyer (i.e., if they are stuck having to help schlep boxes and stuff out of the way so the inspector can do his job).
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We just inspected a house on Saturday actually! It takes about 2.5 hours and they check every nook and cranny in the house. Things they will check: frunace vents, window sills and doors for seals, all appliances that will be staying. Drains sinks and toilets, basement/foundation walls, roof/skylights.
I agree with everything said above, clean the house like it's for sale again. Any chattles that are included, make sure they are accessable and you can turn them on/check their function.
Things we're going to do before the inspection on our house (tomorrow). Vac out our furnace ducts (visible parts), wipe down all window sills, double check all drains are not clogged/slow. Make sure all appliances are clean and easy to access (ugh.... time to clean the microwave!!!) -
At the very least make sure they have access to all appliances, systems, outlets, and can get to the attic/basement (if you have them)
If it is connected to any sort of "system" (plumbing, gas, electric), they're probably going to check it.
I don't think it's bad to have more boxes packed than during a showing, just make sure they're in closets or somewhere out of the way where they won't block things like outlets and switches.
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Ours even arrived 3days early to set up radon cans so he could get several days worth of data. Our house was in excellent condition so the worst things he found included a "gap" in the bricks around the fireplace, a crack in the garage floor that had been caulked instead of repaved and pointed out that our house fan (in the attic) needed a safety cover. Main things they look for are working appliances, heat/ac, evidence of water damage and any damage to the structure like the roof or siding. As a buyer i wouldn't care if you were messy, i would just want to make sure i had access to inspect everything.
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