Last Sunday the Morning Call & Philadelphia Inquirer had the article below which essentially stated that buyers were hammering the sellers with the home inspection and that it would be EXTREMELY WISE for the Seller to get his/her own home inspection prior to putting the home on the market to prevent surprises. All home inspectors agree with that but I would take it a little further in that before having the inspection done that the Seller do the following:
ELECTRICAL - Replace broken &/or missing electrical outlet & switch covers, replace missing or burned out light bulbs, purchase ($6 - $9) & use a GFCI tester to make sure the GFCI's work, clear the area in front of the electrical panels,
HEATING - Make sure baseboards &/or radiators heat up, Make sure there is a recent service report under a year old especially with oil fired systems
PLUMBING - Slow drains
STRUCTURE - Replace cracked &/or broken window panes, make sure windows stay up when opened, clear the area around the attic entrance, with pre-1978 homes properly prep & paint flaking & chipping paint
EXTERIOR - trim bushes & trees so they are at least 6 inches from the structure, make sure the house numbers are clearly visible, clear the snow from walkways, driveways, porches, decks &/or patios
GENERAL - Get rid of the clutter (home inspector thinks What is being hidden?).
There are probably other quick & easy checks & fixes but these will reduce the amount of maintenance items & make it look like you really care about your property.
http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/CTW_realestate_20100126_Suitable_for_sale.html
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