Prior to Inspection Check List

You never heard of a “Prior to Inspection Check List”?    That’s because home inspectors don’t want you to have it and realtors don’t want you to have it.   What is it?   It’s a list that Aggressive Inspections has been giving to its clients for years.             It states;

• Access hatch to crawlspace(s); if secured have it unsecured.  Any storage or furnishings blocking access to hatch have removed.
• Access to attic(s); if secured have it unsecured.  Any storage or furnishings blocking access to entrance have removed.  Example;  clothing blocking access in a closet.
• Interior hot tubs or Jacuzzi; request the access panel be removed and or not blocked. This is so we can verify if the tub is GFCI protected a safety issue.
• Remove any storage or furnishings blocking access to the furnace, water heater or electric panels.  
• Ask to have any storage placed in the dish washer, micro wave or oven removed so that they can be inspected.
• Any locked doors have unlocked example; garage doors, any entry door to the house or interior rooms.
• If house is not occupied it is very important to assure all utilities are on (electric, water, gas) and the furnace(s) and water heater(s) are lit.  Also there are batteries in the thermostat (s).  Utilities are supplied to all appliances.   A home inspector cannot turn any utility on or lit any appliance.  Simple reason we do not own the house and do not know why they may have been turned off.  The last thing that we want to do is put in your report “We were unable to inspect”. 
• Radon testing; if you’re having a radon test done there are a few important rules that have to be adhered too.  Where the radon canister is placed it cannot be moved.  If it is, the test will be “Invalid”.   Must have a closed house condition for as long as the canister is in place (no open windows), if not, test is “Invalid”.   If the US postal Service or UPS delay the delivery of the canister to the lab, and the lab state’s the “test could not be analyzed, received late” the result is “Invalid”.   If the test is “Invalid” that is the result of the test.  And any re-testing will be an additional fee.
• Fireplace or wood stove; they should be free of all debris and storage and it is helpful if there is not an ongoing fire.

We give this check list to all our clients before the inspection happens because we hate to put in our reports “We Could Not Inspect”.   Why have a home inspection if you can’t inspect the whole house. We do our best so our clients are not left wondering about what was not inspected.

Why don’t other home inspectors do this?  It’s less work and less responsibility.  It’s the same with realtors.  The less problems found in the home the less work has to be done and it betters the odds of the deal not falling through from additional problems.