We’ve all seen the old house shows. A charming couple buys a rundown property for the price of a used sedan, spends three weeks painting walls “agreeable gray,” installs matte black faucets, and suddenly the house looks like a million bucks. 

It’s intoxicating. You walk into an open house, see those shimmering quartz countertops and brand-new luxury vinyl plank floors, and your brain instantly starts picking out where your couch will go.

But as home inspectors, our job is to look past the beautiful packaging. 

Sometimes, that fresh coat of paint isn’t a design choice. It’s a concealment strategy. In the business, we call this putting lipstick on a pig. And trust us, a pig with lipstick can really drain your bank account if you marry it!

If you’re house hunting, you don’t need an engineering degree to spot a rushed, unpermitted flip. You just need to know where the amateurs usually cut corners.

Here are some dead giveaways that a flipped house might be hiding a structural or mechanical nightmare.

The Big 3 Shortcuts

When flippers try to maximize profit while minimizing time, they almost always skimp on the things hidden behind the drywall.

Why? 

Because working plumbing doesn’t look pretty on Instagram, but a waterfall showerhead does.

The Electrical Illusion: This is a classic. You plug your phone charger into a brand-new, modern three-prong outlet and assume the wiring is updated. In a bad flip, it’s highly common to find those modern outlets wired directly into an ancient, ungrounded two-wire system. It looks compliant, but it’s an active fire hazard wearing a fancy plastic faceplate.

The Quick-Fix Roof Cover-Up: A new roof is incredibly expensive, so cutting corners here is a favorite pastime for corner-cutting flippers. Instead of doing a proper tear-off, they will often simply slap a brand-new layer of architectural shingles right over a rotting, curling layer of old ones. It looks fantastic from the driveway, but underneath, you’re looking at trapped moisture, overloaded weight structural limits, and a roof that will fail years ahead of schedule. If they didn’t bother to fix the roof, they basically built a beautiful house under a ticking time bomb.

The Open-Concept “Oops”: Everyone loves an open floor plan, but walls are usually there for a good reason, such as keeping the second floor from becoming the first floor. If a wall was knocked down to create that trendy wide-open space, an inspector will immediately look to see if a properly sized structural header beam was installed, or if the roof is now resting entirely on thoughts and prayers.

First Walk-Through Red Flags

You don’t have to wait for the official home inspection to start playing detective. 

On your very first walk-through, look closely at the details. Rushed flippers lack the patience for craftsmanship:

• The Wave Test: Squint and look down the length of a freshly painted wall. Do you see waves, bumps, or ridges? That’s a sign of a rushed drywall patch-job, often thrown up to hide previous water damage or severe settling without fixing the root cause.
  
• The Saggy Flooring: Walk across the new luxury vinyl plank (LVP) floors. Do they bend, squeak, or feel bouncy under your feet? It means the installer didn’t bother to level the subfloor before laying down the trendy new planks.
  
• The Rebel Doors: Walk around the house and open every interior door halfway, then let go. Do they stay put, or do they immediately swing shut or drift wide open on their own? Doors that refuse to stay where you leave them aren’t haunted. They’re poorly hung. It means the installer didn’t bother to plumb the door frames correctly, or worse, the house has structural settling issues that the flipper tried to ignore. If they can’t get a bedroom door to stay straight, don’t trust them with a load-bearing wall.

Marry the Bones!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a flipped home. 

Many are renovated beautifully by licensed professionals who take pride in their work, pulling permits and upgrading the core infrastructure of the property before making it look pretty. 

A beautifully staged kitchen and a modern, open layout are fantastic perks—just don’t let them blind you to what’s happening behind the scenes.

Think of it this way: a pretty face should never replace a thorough check-up. You wouldn’t buy a used car just because it has a brand-new stereo and a fresh coat of wax; you’d want to know if the engine runs and the brakes work. Your home purchase deserves that same level of scrutiny. 

Before you sign on the dotted line and commit to a thirty-year mortgage, make sure you get a professional home inspector on your side. Let us look underneath the lipstick, crawl into the dark spaces, and test the hidden systems to ensure those bones are rock solid. 

We aren’t here to kill your dream of owning a beautiful, updated home. We’re here to make sure that dream doesn’t turn into a financial nightmare the moment you unpack your boxes.

Buying or selling a home in WNC?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment.

The post Lipstick on a Pig: How to Spot a “Bad Flip” Before You Buy appeared first on Peter Young Home Inspections.

Greetings, Home Seller!

You’ve put the sign in the yard. You’ve scrubbed baseboards until your thumbs are numb. You’ve hidden the dog bowls, baked the obligatory “open house cookies” so the place smells like a bakery (instead of a wet poodle), and successfully survived the showing phase.

Then comes the text from your realtor: “The buyer’s home inspection is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:00 AM.”

Suddenly, you break out in a cold sweat.

For most sellers, the home inspection feels less like a standard real estate milestone and more like being sent to the principal’s office. You start worrying that the inspector is going to walk in with a magnifying glass, pull back a corner of the drywall, and reveal that your house is actually held together by ancient wallpaper and good intentions.

Take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.

A home inspection isn’t a pass/fail exam, and the inspector isn’t your enemy. We are just a neutral party trying to paint an accurate picture of the house. However, as a seller, you have a massive amount of power over how smoothly that day goes. By doing a little prep work, you can help the inspector do their job efficiently, protect your sale, and keep minor annoyances from looking like major disasters.

Here is a handy, dandy, sanity-saving pre-inspection checklist to help your home pass with flying colors.

1) Clear the Runway

Imagine playing an intense game of hide-and-seek, except you’re wearing heavy boots, carrying a ladder, and trying to find a tiny hatch hidden behind a mountain of holiday decorations in a dark closet. 

That is a day in the life of a home inspector.

If an inspector can’t get to something, they can’t inspect it. And when they can’t inspect it, they have to write a scary-sounding note in the report: 

“Attic hatch inaccessible due to owner storage.” To a nervous buyer, that translates to: “The seller is hiding a family of raccoons or a massive roof leak up there.”

Before the inspector arrives, make sure there is a clear path to:

• The Attic Hatch: If it’s in a bedroom closet, move the clothes out of the way.
• The Crawlspace or Basement Door: Clear out the lawnmowers, spiders, and storage bins blocking the entryway.
• The Electrical Panel: Move the shelving or the workbench that’s blocking the door.
• HVAC Systems and Water Heaters: Where possible, give these units at least three feet of breathing room.

2) The Great Lightbulb Audit

Here is a classic inspector dilemma: 

The inspector flips a wall switch in the hallway. Nothing happens.

Is the fixture completely broken? Is the wiring faulty? Or is the bulb just dead?

Because the inspector can’t rewrite physics on the spot, they have to document the worst-case scenario for liability reasons: “Light fixture inoperative at time of inspection.”

When the buyer reads that, they picture thousands of dollars in electrical repairs, when all it really needed was a $3 bulb from the hardware store.

Go through your house with a box of fresh bulbs. Test every lamp, overhead light, closet fixture, and exterior floodlight. If it’s burned out, replace it. It takes ten minutes, but it eliminates a dozen tiny “defects” from muddying up your final report.

3) Unstick the Tricky Stuff

Every house has its little quirks. You know exactly how to jiggle the handle on the guest bathroom toilet to keep it from running. You know that door requires a specific karate-chop motion to open smoothly.

The inspector does not know your house’s secret handshakes.

If they encounter a window that is painted shut, a door that catches on the frame, or a lock that requires brute force, it goes on the list. 

Take an afternoon to walk through your house like a stranger:

• Open and close every single window and door.
• Tighten loose doorknobs and cabinet hinges.
• Put a little WD-40 on sticky tracks and door hinges.
• Fix that running toilet. It’s probably an inexpensive rubber flapper that needs replacing.

By smoothing out these minor friction points, you give the impression of a house that has been meticulously maintained, rather than one that’s fraying at the edges.

Show Receipts

If you’ve done major work on the house recently, don’t keep it a secret! 

Home inspectors love paperwork.

If you had the roof replaced in 2024, the HVAC serviced last month, or a structural pier installed three years ago, leave the receipts, warranties, and permits neatly organized on the kitchen counter.

Seeing documentation proves that when something went wrong, you handled it promptly. It immediately lowers the inspector’s guard and builds immense trust with the buyer.

5) The Golden Rule: Be Somewhere Else

The absolute best thing you can do on inspection day? Hit the road, Jack!

Take the dog to the groomer, take the kids to the playground, go see a movie. Just get out of there. 

When sellers hover over an inspector, asking, “What did you find? Is that bad? Why are you taking a picture of that?” it slows down the process and creates unnecessary tension.

Trust your prep work, leave the house clean, make sure your pilot lights are on, and let the inspector do what they do best. By taking care of the small details ahead of time, you ensure the report focuses on the true health of your home, leaving everyone happy at the closing table.

Buying or selling a home in WNC?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment.

The post Don’t Let Sticky Doors Kill Your Sale: A Handy Pre-Inspection Checklist appeared first on Peter Young Home Inspections.

Congratulations, Home Buyer! You’ve survived the house hunting phase. You’ve poked around closets, pretended to understand how HVAC systems work, and finally found The One. You’ve even made it through the home inspection—a three-hour marathon where a professional like Peter Young poked, prodded, and peered into the dark corners of your future home’s soul.

But then (ominous music), the PDF arrives in your inbox.

Suddenly, that charming 1940s Victorian looks less like a “vintage gem” and more like a collection of hazards held together by hope and multiple layers of lead-based paint. Your heart sinks. You start wondering if you should just move into a tent in the woods.

Take a deep breath. This is where the “Post-Inspection Huddle” begins.

The window between receiving your inspection report and your due diligence deadline is the most critical phase of the home-buying process. It’s the time to stop being a dreamer and start being a strategist. 

Here is how to huddle up with your Realtor and turn that scary report into a winning negotiation.

The Cooling Off Period

Before you call your Realtor in a panic to declare the house a “total teardown” because of a loose doorknob and a leaky shower head, take a night to sleep on it.

Home inspection reports are designed to be exhaustive. If we didn’t tell you about the cracked switch plate or the drippy faucet, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs.

But an extensive report doesn’t mean the house is falling down; it means your inspector was paying attention.

Big Rocks Vs Pebbles

When you sit down (virtually or physically) with your Realtor, your first task is to sort the findings into three buckets.

Think of this as Home Inspection Neapolitan Ice Cream, but instead of strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate, it’s Safety, Structure, and Stuff You Can Buy at Home Depot for $20.

Bucket A: The Deal-Breakers (the Big Rocks). These are the structural, mechanical, or safety issues that make the home uninhabitable or financially draining. We’re talking about “the roof is actually a giant piece of Swiss cheese” or “the electrical panel is a three-alarm fire waiting to ignite,” or “the house is ready to slide into the creek.”

Bucket B: The Negotiables. These are mid-range issues. The water heater is 18 years old (on its retirement tour), or the deck needs some serious joist work.

Bucket C: The Homeowner “To-Do” List (The Pebbles). This is the stuff that makes the report look long but doesn’t actually matter in a negotiation. A loose toilet seat? A cracked tile on the kitchen floor? Asking a seller to fix these is a great way to make them (and your Realtor) roll their eyes.

Please note: If you ask the seller to replace a $4 burnt-out light bulb in a $500,000 transaction, don’t be surprised if they respond by suggesting a very specific place you can go to find some “enlightenment.”

Let Your Realtor Be the Good Cop

Your Realtor is your MVP in the huddle. They know the local market, the seller’s motivation, and, most importantly, they have the emotional distance you currently lack.

While you might be crying over some minor moisture in the crawlspace, your Realtor is looking at the report and thinking, “Okay, we can ask for a $2,500 credit for a vapor barrier and still stay on schedule.”

The Playbook

• Share the full report with your Realtor: Don’t just send snippets. Give them the whole thing.
• Be honest about your “Hard No”: If you absolutely cannot handle a mold remediation project, tell them.
• Listen to their market advice: In a hot seller’s market, asking for every minor repair might result in the seller telling you to kick rocks. In a buyer’s market, you have more leverage. Trust your Realtor to know which way the wind is blowing.

Credit vs Repairs: The Great Debate

One of the biggest decisions in your huddle will be whether to ask the seller to fix the items or give you money (closing cost credits) to fix them yourself.

Why you might want the Seller to fix it: You’re tapped out on cash and want the house move-in ready.

The Risk: Sellers have a funny way of choosing the cheapest possible contractor (or their tipsy Uncle Billy) to get the job done. “Fixed” is a subjective term when someone is moving out.

Why you might want a Credit: You get to choose the contractor, oversee the quality of the work, and ensure it’s done to your standards.

The Risk: You have to deal with the headache of repairs while you’re trying to unpack your collection of decorative garden gnomes.

Pro Tip: For major items (like that Swiss cheese roof), your Realtor will often suggest getting a quote from a licensed specialist during the huddle. Peter Young Home Inspections identifies the problem; then a roofing specialist can give you the price tag to fix it.

The Release Your Ego Rule

Negotiation is about compromise. If the inspection reveals $10,000 worth of necessary repairs, and the seller agrees to cover $8,000, you have to decide: is this house worth $2,000?

Usually, the answer is yes. Don’t let a “win” in negotiations cost you the home you love. Your Realtor will help you find the “sweet spot” where the seller feels they aren’t being robbed, and you feel you aren’t being cheated.

The Final Huddle Checklist

Before you send that repair request to the seller, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is it a safety issue? (If yes, ask for it.)
2. Is it a structural or mechanical failure? (If yes, negotiate it.)
3. Will I still care about this three months after I move in? (If no, let it go.)

A home inspection report isn’t a weapon to beat the seller over the head with; it’s a tool to ensure you’re making a smart investment. When you and your Realtor work together, using your inspection report as a negotiating blueprint, you aren’t just buying a house. You’re buying peace of mind.

And if you ever get overwhelmed, just remember: at least the inspector didn’t find a ghost in the attic. (We don’t charge extra for paranormal detection… yet.)

Ready to get your own negotiating blueprint for your future home? Call Peter Young Home Inspections today to schedule your thorough, honest, and slightly-less-scary-than-you-think inspection.

Buying or Selling a Home in WNC?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment.

The post The “Post-Inspection Huddle”: Crafting Your Negotiation Strategy Without Losing Your Mind (or the House) appeared first on Peter Young Home Inspections.

Selling a house is a lot like dating. You clean up, put on your best face, and strategically hide all your baggage. And as a home inspector, I’m like your first-date chaperone who shows up with a flashlight and a moisture meter, trained to spot the subtle, nervous twitches that reveal everything.

The sheer volume of DIY projects I see is a testament to the collective optimism of homeowners everywhere. Most are innocent – a new light fixture, a freshly caulked tub. But occasionally, I run into a project that screams, “I SAW THIS ON YOUTUBE AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND NOW I NEED IT GONE BEFORE CLOSING!”

My job isn’t to judge your shoddily installed dimmer switch; it’s to uncover the secrets the house has been whispering (or sometimes screaming) behind that suspiciously fresh coat of paint. 

Here are the most common ways sellers try to sweep problems under the rug, and the subtle clues we look for.

Tell-Tale Signs of a Paint-Based Conspiracy

Forget expensive forensic tools. The most common cover-up kit is a gallon of paint, a brush, and a prayer.

1. The Single, Suspiciously Perfect Ceiling

A freshly painted ceiling is a beautiful thing… unless it’s the only freshly painted ceiling in a 40-year-old house. If the rest of the home has the patina of time (the original flat, dusty ceiling paint), and one 10×12 section above the kitchen is blindingly bright white, I put on my detective hat.

• The Problem: Sellers often paint an isolated ceiling to hide a past or active water leak. They fix the plumbing/roof, wait for it to dry, and slap on a coat of Kilz primer and flat white paint.
• The Clue: The paint is often too heavy or too thick in the corners or near the light fixture. Sometimes, if you look closely with a flashlight held at a sharp angle (called “raking light”), you can still see the subtle, ghost-like outline of the original water stain texture beneath the new paint. My trusty moisture meter comes to the rescue here. It’s a non-invasive way to check if the area is dry or if the H2O party is still happening behind the scenes.

2. Fresh Caulk, The Desperate Deodorizer

A bathroom that smells overwhelmingly of new silicone caulk should be treated like a new celebrity marriage: beautiful on the surface, but likely covering some deep-seated issues.

• The Problem: The seller is trying to seal off ongoing moisture problems around the bathtub or shower base. They might have a persistent leak, or they might be trying to stop the flow of a nasty black growth that the caulk will only briefly hold back.
• The Clue: A bead of caulk that is too wide, too uneven, or applied over old, dirty caulk. The most damning evidence? A caulk line that’s perfectly fresh everywhere except for a tiny spot near the floor that has already started to fail. That little failure point gives us a sneak peek into the mold and water damage soiree underneath. It’s the one truth-telling crumb on a meticulously clean countertop.

Exterior Illusions: Where Pride Meets Peril

The inside of a home can hide secrets, but some of the most dramatic cover-ups are right outside the back door.

3. The Deck Built on Books and a Dream

Everyone loves a new deck. It promises summer cookouts, lemonade, and happy memories. But the inspector sees a load-bearing structure, and often, that structure is resting on nothing but good intentions. And we ALL know what was paved with good intentions!

• The Problem: The “skilled craftsman” (read the seller’s cousin’s buddy) skipped the proper footings. Instead of digging down below the frost line and pouring concrete piers, they just put the posts on top of stacked cinder blocks, a pile of rocks, or maybe a few paving stones – a strategy I affectionately call the “Jenga Foundation.”
• The Clue: I check the connection points. Is the deck attached to the house with the correct flashing and bolts? More importantly, I look at the posts. Are they secured to the ground? If I see posts resting directly on the ground, or stacked blocks that are visibly tilted, shifted, or sinking into the soil, that brand-new deck is just a future liability. The best cover-up for a faulty foundation is a lush garden bed planted right around the perimeter of the deck. If the area looks suspiciously overgrown, I’m going to take a peek behind the bushes.

When the Floorboards Speak Volumes

If a house has new flooring, that’s usually a plus, right? Not always. Sometimes, new flooring is the equivalent of putting a strip of duct tape on a sinking ship.

4. The Crooked Carpet or the Sloping Laminate

I love new flooring, but the inspector in me is trained to spot a new cosmetic change masking an old structural issue.

• The Problem: The seller has installed new, trendy flooring to distract from a subfloor that is sloping, sagging, or uneven due to foundation movement or water damage. They figure you’ll be too busy admiring the gray wood-grain laminate to notice how you feel seasick when you walk across the living room.
• The Clue: This requires walking the house, not just admiring it. I’ll look for large gaps between the baseboard and the floor (especially in the corners) which indicate a dramatic slope. If the floor is tile or laminate, I’m watching for loose pieces, cracks that follow a straight line across multiple boards, or a visible “hump” or “dip” in the middle of a room. An uneven floor can’t lie; your eyeballs (and my tightly calibrated digital level) will always find the truth.

5. The Magical Disappearing Attic Access

I’ve seen sellers seal up access hatches with everything from drywall mud to framed pictures to heavy furniture. It’s always a delight to move a giant armoire only to find a perfectly square, freshly painted sheet of drywall where the attic door should be.

• The Problem: They don’t want the inspector to see the unvented plumbing, missing insulation, evidence of rodents, or, worst of all, the DIY structural “improve-ments” erected by Uncle Jerry and a box of nails.
• The Clue: Any room where the attic access is obscured or appears freshly patched is an immediate red flag. We are mandated to check the attic, so if I have to move a 300-pound curio cabinet, I promise I’m bringing my best skepticism (and my back brace) with me. Or, more likely, I won’t try to move it at all, and write in my report that attic access was blocked by the seller.

Final Wisdom: The Inspector’s Mantra

Remember this: We home inspectors are trained to look beyond the lipstick and rouge. We are looking for the consistency of the house’s story. If one part of an old house looks suspiciously flawless, it’s a sign that someone was trying to edit the story.

In the end, it’s a fool’s errand to try to fool an inspector. We’re not trying to kill the deal; we just want to ensure that the buyer’s first night in a new home doesn’t involve an emergency call to a plumber, a roofer, or a structural engineer.

Trust your eyes, trust your gut, and hire an inspector with a high-end flashlight.

Buying or selling a home in WNC?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment.

The post The House History Detective: Decoding the Do It Yourself Cover-Up appeared first on Peter Young Home Inspections.

So, you’ve put an offer on a home, it’s been accepted, and you’re practically measuring for curtains. Then comes the home inspection – the moment that taps you on the shoulder and whispers, “Hey, buddy, your dream house has secrets!”

Don’t get the wrong idea. Home inspectors are Superheroes 🦸🏻 in sensible shoes, armed with flashlights and moisture meters. But sometimes, their findings can make your heart do a little tap dance. 

Here are six common culprits inspectors might unearth, along with a dose of what-to-do, and a sprinkle of “try not to picture the worst-case scenario.”

1) The Roof’s Having a Bad Hair Day (Missing or Damaged Shingles)

The “Uh Oh” Factor: Finding bald spots or cracked shingles can feel like your future home is sporting a bad comb-over. What’s hiding beneath? It may foreshadow potential leaks, and nobody wants a surprise indoor waterfall.

What to Do: Don’t immediately envision Noah’s Ark pulling up to your curb. Did your home inspector see any signs of water damage inside the house? A few missing shingles might be a simple fix. Get a roofer to assess the damage and provide a quote. You can then negotiate with the seller for repairs or a price reduction. Think of it as asking for a discount on a slightly balding, but still structurally sound, head. But if the whole roof is shot, full replacement will be costly!

2) The Foundation’s Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be

The “Uh Oh” Factor: Seeing cracks in the foundation can send shivers down your spine. Does your future abode have a “split personality?” Are you about to live in a mini geological fault line?

What to Do: Take a few deep breaths! Hairline cracks are usually just a sign of normal settling. However, wider or horizontal cracks need attention. A structural engineer can evaluate the severity. Again, this is negotiation territory. Maybe the seller can contribute to the repair, or you factor it into your offer. Run if the floor is slanted or uneven. You don’t need your furniture sliding downhill every night.

3) The Electrical System is Stuck in the Disco Era (Outdated Wiring)

The “Uh Oh” Factor: Discovering knob-and-tube wiring or improperly installed wiring isn’t ideal for powering your collection of smart appliances. It can be a fire hazard, and it could make your insurance company give you the stink eye!

What to Do: Modernizing the electrical system is a significant but necessary upgrade. Get quotes from licensed electricians. This is a serious safety concern, so don’t skimp. You’ll likely need to negotiate with the seller, as this isn’t a “slap some tape on it” situation. It’s essential for modern living. And while “Burning Down the House,” may be one of your favorite retro songs, you never want that to happen IRL!

4) The Plumbing Doubles As a Sprinkler System

The “Uh Oh” Factor: Finding drips, damp spots, or evidence of past leaks can make you wonder if your water bill will rival the national debt. Hidden leaks can also lead to mold – the unwelcome house guest that refuses to leave.

What to Do: Small leaks might be easy fixes, but persistent or hidden ones need professional attention. A plumber can diagnose and repair the issue. Negotiate with the seller for these repairs, especially if there’s evidence of water damage. Nobody wants to purchase a home that’s slowly turning into an indoor swamp.

5) Surprise Roommates (Pest Infestations)

The “Uh Oh” Factor:Discovering evidence of termites, rodents, or other unwanted critters can make you feel like you’re starring in your own personal horror movie. 

Nobody wants to share their living space with things that chew on wood or leave little “presents.” 💩

What to Do: A professional pest control company is your new best friend! Get an inspection and treatment plan. This is not something to negotiate lightly.

Wood destroying organisms can affect the home’s structural integrity, and mortgage lenders may insist on proof that the problem was resolved. And try not to have nightmares about tiny landlords demanding rent in the walls.

6) The HVAC System Is Younger Than the Mountains, but Older Than the Trees

The “Uh Oh” Factor: That ancient furnace or AC unit might still be chugging along, but it’s likely costing a fortune in energy bills and could break down any minute. It’s the great grandpa of appliances, and while you respect its longevity, you’re pretty sure it won’t handle another summer.

What to Do: Get the system inspected by an HVAC professional. They can assess its lifespan and efficiency. You can negotiate for a price reduction to account for the eventual (and likely sooner rather than later) replacement. Think of it as getting a heads-up that you will need to budget for a new set of “lungs” for your house.

The Bottom Line and a Gentle Nudge to Not Panic

Finding issues during a home inspection is common. It’s what the process is for! It gives you valuable information and the opportunity to negotiate. Don’t let every “uh oh” moment send you into a tailspin. Gather information, get professional opinions, and work with your real estate agent to find a solution that works for you. 

Remember, even the most charming houses have their quirks – it’s just about figuring out if those quirks are manageable or deal-breakers. Good luck, and may your future home be everything you dream!

Buying or selling a home in Western North Carolina?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment.

The post Six Shades of “Uh Oh”: Common Home Inspection Issues (Don’t Panic!) appeared first on Peter Young Home Inspections.

You’ve taken the plunge and put your house on the market. Once a buyer puts down a bid, an inspection is sure to follow. It’s about as sure as aging and taxes, as “they” say. Don’t panic! Knowing how to prepare means you can eliminate some avoidable black marks on your report, and it might even win you some points with the inspector. Because after all, inspectors are only human!

While it’s true that an inspection may uncover an unpleasant surprise, it’s also true that taking some proactive steps before the inspection can stop the small things from adding up. It all begins with understanding what inspectors are looking for.

Know what matters

Don’t try to second guess what you need to do in your home to prepare for an inspection. You don’t need to change the color of the walls or switch out the beige refrigerator for a white one. The inspector won’t care about those things. What the inspector does is perform a visual inspection for mechanical issues and health and safety concerns.

For example, if your electrical panel does not have a dead front cover, or if electrical switches make a crackling sound and emit a burning smell; these are what an inspector is checking out. This visual inspection doesn’t include what’s behind the walls or beneath the tiles on the floor. Again, it’s a visual inspection. 

A few examples of what the inspector will do is start the dishwasher, flush toilets, turn on the oven and burners, and run faucets. That’s just the beginning. Inspectors have a long list of items to check, and it’s your job to make sure they can do it without unnecessary obstacles.

Clearing a path

One way to stay in the inspector’s good graces is to make the job easier. Make sure there’s a clear path to everything they need to inspect, such as the garage, basement, attic, crawlspace, utility room ­­– basically all of the house – so the inspector doesn’t need to move objects or twist up into exotic yoga postures to get in there.

One of the biggest pet peeves for inspectors is finding shelves, washers and dryers, or piles of junk blocking the electrical panel. The inspector needs access to every room, closet, and cabinet. Speaking of the attic, you’ll need to take down stored items that are blocking the inspector’s access. Also, be sure that furniture will not prevent the inspector from opening and closing windows.Get to know your house well before the inspection. If the inspector asks the location of the water cutoff, the water heater, HVAC return, or the electrical panel, it’s best to know the answer.

DO sweat the small stuff

You may think minor issues are not important, but you’d be wrong. Minor repairs, such as replacing that cracked wall switch cover or patching small holes in your drywall will give the impression that your home is well-maintained. Fix that leaky faucet, and be sure your windows open and close smoothly.

If you’re not the handyman type, call in a professional to make the repairs. Have your HVAC system serviced before the inspection, especially if it hasn’t been checked out in the last year. You don’t want any sudden surprises. If you know that a major appliance or your roof needs repair, at least get an estimate of repair costs before the inspector arrives. That gives the buyers a notion of what to expect.

Prepare like a pro!

Here’s a quick checklist to get you ready for the home inspector’s visit. 

Inside

• Replace burned-out light bulbs
• Replace cracked outlet covers
• Change HVAC air filters
• Patch holes in drywall
• Adjust sticky doors
• Test your stove, and if burners don’t work, replace them
• Test the dishwasher and garbage disposal; repair if needed
• Make sure all toilets flush properly

Outside

• Repair loose shingles on the roof
• Be sure bricks or wood are secure on steps
• Clean gutters and downspouts
• Assess hose bibs for leaks
• Check wood trim for signs of decay; repair if necessary

Garage

• Test garage door opener and remote; ensure that the reverse function works properly
• Clear items away from walls for the inspector to see the foundation

 In parting, here’s a good rule of thumb: If you know it’s broken, fix it! Taking these proactive steps prior to a home inspection goes a long way toward creating a positive outcome.

Buying or selling a home?

Avoid unpleasant surprises! Contact Asheville Home Inspector Peter Young before signing any contracts. Call (828) 808-4980, or click here to make an appointment online.

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