Our Great City

Submitted by: Mike Rossetti, Professional Home Inspector

 www.MetroplexHomeInspector.com

817-789-9726  

Once in a while I see a house in such good shape that it's difficult to find anything wrong with it. So instead of always writing about problems and bad things I find, i'd like to focus this time on the positive, the things that will make your house stand out among the crowd as a gem, as the most desirable choice among many for a prospective buyer. Your realtor might say that you need an updated kitchen, bathrooms, nickel plated fixtures, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, but even with all those things, if you haven't paid attention to maintenance, wear and tear, then your house will not show as well.

I start my inspection in the kitchen. You'd be amazed at how many very expensive homes are in need of many small repairs and fixups in the kitchen alone. Make sure that all of your drawers and cabinet doors are in good working order, and cleanliness is also very helpful here. It's so refreshing to see a nice clean kitchen with everything in good working order. Even if your countertops are formica and your appliances are lime green, your house will make a much better impression when everything is in good working order. If you have an instant hot water dispenser, or a filtered water dispenser, make sure it's working properly, or else remove it. It's surprising how many houses have these devices disconnected or inoperative, and the homeowners just get accustomed to them being there and not working, but a prospective buyer, or an inspector, will notice these right away.

Look at all your ceilings carefully, most people never look at them. I rarely find a house without at least one water stain on the ceiling somewhere. It may be from a plumbing leak five years ago, or a wild child taking a bath. In most cases the homeowner will be surprised at first, and then they usually say, "Oh yeah! That's from when little Johnny overflowed the bathtub!" (Little Johnny is now married and has three kids of his own . . .) but they haven't noticed the water stain on the ceiling in the downstairs closet for the last 20 years. Water stains are alarming to prospective buyers because they might indicate a huge hidden problem. Painting your ceilings might seem like a big expensive project, but I would highly recommend it if you're about to sell your house. Not only does it brighten things up, but it gives the entire house a fresh new feeling.

You would also do well to spend a little bit of money on a service call for your heating / air conditioning system. Service professionals will always leave the units clean and in good order, and they'll let you know if there are any problems lurking. To an inspector, it's immediately obvious when a unit has been recently serviced. Aside from the cleanliness, the serviceman will usually leave a card or sticker on or in the unit. This not only gives me more confidence as an inspector that the unit is in good order, but it also gives me someone to call if i have any questions about the installation or the history of the system.

Last, but certainly not least, take a good look at the exterior of the house. The outside of our houses take a beating from all kinds of heat, cold, wind and weather. We don't notice the slow deterioration over the years, but take it from me, it's quite noticeable to someone else. Take the time or spend the money to repair worn places on siding. Take a good look around your foundation for erosion. It always makes a great impression on me as an inspector when the windows and siding are clan and in good condition all around. If you have a brick chimney it would be worth having it inspected by a chimney specialist. The top of your chimney takes a severe beating from wind, weather and temperature changes, almost every one I see has some missing mortar or cracking, the higher up the more severe it is, so when I see a chimney that's in great condition it makes me feel that the homeowner is someone knowledgeable who takes very good care of their home. And that's exactly how you want your buyer's inspector to feel when he/she comes to look at your house.