Home inspections are part of real estate transactions almost always these days. To help understand the home inspection process better I asked Lance Marquardt with Pillar to Post Home Inspections some basic home inspection questions. Here are the questions I asked and his response to them:
What kind of things do you see most often needing a seller’s attention?
We generally see the majority of items that need the seller’s attention are on the exterior of the home which include some of the following:
- Trees and vegetation up against the siding and roof which causes premature wearing of those materials.
- Incomplete gutter systems, no gutters, gutters that are full of debris and do not drain as intended.
- Landscaping/grading that slopes towards the house is a potential for water penetration into the basement or crawlspace.
- Lack of servicing on heating systems. Your furnace or heating system should be serviced by a technician once per year to prolong the life
Do you recommend that sellers obtain home inspections for the properties they are selling? And, if so, why?
A preinspection gives information to the seller of problems that a buyer may eventually want repaired anyway. This will allow the seller to get those issues fixed before the home is listed for sale.
What is the best advice you can give a buyer besides getting a home inspection?
“Don’t sweat the small stuff” Every home bought and sold is going to have general maintenance work that needs to get done unless you are buying a brand new home. Look at the big ticket items like roof, furnace, electrical, plumbing, etc. and ask your home inspector about those.
What is the best advice you can give a seller besides getting a home inspection?
Be transparent with the buyers about what you know is wrong with the home if you are not planning on fixing them prior to listing the home for sale. The buyer’s home inspector will likely uncover these items anyway.
Are there any other advice you can give either sellers or buyers?
Enjoy the entire process and don’t stress out. Your real estate agent will be working hard to make the entire process goes smoothly and make sure you are informed! 
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