Home inspection anxiety?

Question

We are selling our house to a buyer who requested a home inspection for this week. We agreed to a lower price, and even included appliances. I have anxiety about the plumbing. There are no leaks, however, when you flush the toilets, you hear a rumbling 10 seconds after wards. (ranch house). People told us, we might have a clogged vent that goes to the roof. Is that going to be an issue?

Our roof does not leak, but our gutters are probably clogged, and the roof doesn't look great on a portion of the house. Any concerns?

How thorough are these guys (Western PA)? Or am I paranoid? No leaks or mold or dampness anywhere. Thanks.

Answer 1

The aptitude of home inspectors varies considerably. A good inspector will certainly check for a clogged vent stack, clogged gutters, and the condition of the roof. These items are on the checklists supplied by all of the home inspection franchises and associations.

Frankly, you should have taken care of the gutters and the vent stack before you put up a for sale sign. Both are reasonably easy fixes.

Clean the gutters. Messy, you will need a ladder, but not terrible.

Clear the vent stack. 3 or 4" pipe that sticks up through your roof. If something is blocking the top, clean it off. Otherwise, run a garden hose down the pipe with the water on. Vent stack blockages generally clear fairly easily.

If you have to pay someone, you are looking at a relatively small amount of money compared to what the condition of these items will cost you on the sale of your home.

Both of these items are general maintenance issues. If these are issues, it will tell a good inspector that you have not taken care of your house and there are likely more issues to find.

Repairing or replacing the roof may be a different story. If it just shows some wear, you probably will not recover the cost. If it is leaking or in very poor condition, different story.

Remember that the inspector is working for the buyer. It is their job to give the buyer an honest assessment of the repairs that will need to be made to the house, and you can expect the buyer to use this information to leverage the price.

Answer 2

Lisa, I have been a general contractor for nine years now, and home inspections can be nerve wracking. A home inspector will find something wrong with the home. Any home. They will spot things in a brand new home. This is so his client can feel justified in paying his bill. The majority of the things he finds will really not matter much. You want to watch out for anything structural. In other words if there are any beams, joists, columns, or trusses that have problems. Look for anything to do with bearing walls. Outside of that, the rest will be pretty common sense. Don't let the word "code" scare you. He will tell you that things are not to "Code". in most cases this is not much to worry about. Just watch for structural items. These are the deal breakers. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Your not paranoid.
This is all normal.
Most inspectors are thorough. Though I do not see them actually flushing the toilet.
Mainly they are looking for electrical, roofing, rotten wood, structure of the home.
Get your gutters cleaned out if you can this week.
If the house is old, buyers should understand that the house will need updates.
We bought our house, requesting an inspection, and our agent tried to get us not to. Very strange on her part. We bought the house with an open mind and said, yes, things will need to be replaced and updated.
Just let the inspectors do their thing. You might just get an excellent report!
If not, then you need to repair.
Good Luck!!

Answer 4

Although pretty thorough most of these inspectors are also understanding but, have the interests in everyone. You wouldn't want to cheat or misinform anyone, would you? I'm sure.
You can, with the understanding of the Realtors involved, ask for a Escrow account if one does want to purchase the house and is sure about it and you, want to sell the house for sure quickly.

An account is set up with part of the monies going into a special account, for a number of years to pay for certain damages especially specified, after the years are up, the monies are then sent back to you if they're not used. This way it protects both you and the buyer.

IE: X amount for roof repairs for say, five years, if after five years the roof does not leak, the money goes to you.

Answer 5

Professional home inspectors check thoroughly. But your problem seems normal to me. Better fix it if possible. Good luck.

Answer 6

Inspectors are fairly thorough, but what you`ve described is normal & minor. Don`t worry.