Preparing for inspection day: Be ready for your home inspection

Alright! You have an accepted offer to buy a home, and you’ve just booked your home inspection! Wherever your home inspection is taking place, the process is going to be more or less the same. Do some research and schedule an inspection by a trusted, reputable company, then follow these steps to make sure you’re prepared for inspection day.

Refresh on the basics

Know what the most common home inspection findings are so you’re not surprised when your home has clogged-up gutters or is missing smoke alarms.

A home inspection is a visual, non-comprehensive evaluation of the home. It won’t catch everything and you may need to hire specialists for further evaluation of major systems like HVAC, plumbing or electrical.

Remember that home inspections are not pass/fail or code inspections, meaning the home won’t receive a “rating” or a “score”, and we will not be citing local or municipal codes. It is a performance-based inspection.

Review the contract and scope of work

Our contract is straightforward and our scope of inspection is standard and based on the CAHPI Standards of Practice. You can feel confident that we are regulated by CPBC, but it’s still a great idea to review the scope ahead of the inspection to give yourself a solid idea of the systems we’ll be inspecting during our appointment.

Who will be at the inspection?

Technically, the only person who needs to be at the inspection is the licensed home inspector, but there are often more people in attendance. Hopefully you, the client(s), will be able to attend the last part of the inspection, and sometimes your real estate agent (aka the buyer’s agent) will also attend. Sometimes the listing agent will also be there for a portion of time, and rarely there may be a reason for the homeowner (aka the seller), a contractor, or another individual to also be in attendance, although we request that they are not home at the time of inspection.

Refrain from bringing extended family or friends to the inspection. Sometimes this takes the inspector’s focus away from doing their best job if they’re getting questions from all angles.

NOTE: Due to COVID-19, we ask that there are as few people as possible in attendance, and we follow these updated COVID-19 protocols.

Don’t miss the key part of the inspection!

The most important part of the inspection is the summary walkthrough that takes place immediately after the inspector has inspected the home. This personalized review is how the inspector will communicate the summary conditions to you.

Although the written report is the key product of the inspection—an important document containing text, photos, and notations that you may use as a valuable reference for months or years after the inspection—the most important part of the inspection itself (on inspection day) is the final walkthrough and summary.

Your inspector will let you know an approximate time for this review. This is near the end of the inspection, when the inspector has completed the majority of their inspection and will walk you through the most notable findings. The home inspector will tour you through (and around) the home. If there were findings in hard-to-access places like the roof or crawlspace, the inspector will show you photos of the findings instead, and of course the you’ll receive all the photos in the report.

If you can’t make it for the summary walkthrough, your inspector will call you when they’re done to go over the most important findings over the phone.

Inspection etiquette

Please make sure you (and your partner, if they will also be attending) are on time for the summary walkthrough. After the final walkthrough with your inspector, you’ll have some time to think about their findings and the home’s “story”, and talk about any concerns with your real estate agent or anyone else you trust. The full written report will be sent to you shortly thereafter.

If you’ll be attending the entire inspection, use that time to walk around the home, review and take measurements or think about design—things like furniture placement, lighting and paint colours. Some people like to bring a notepad if they think they will have several questions to remember. Most inspectors prefer that you write your questions down and wait until the end so they can concentrate on the task at hand.

Remember that you still don’t technically own the home. We are all guests and this means we should not be touching personal belongings, moving furniture or otherwise doing things you wouldn’t want a stranger doing in your home.

What to bring

Just bring yourself. Whether your inspection is taking place in Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, or anywhere in BC, your inspector will have all the tools they need. Some people like to bring a notepad to jot down a few notes, others take a few photos. Bring a tape-measure if you want to take measurements to see how your furniture will fit. You’ll receive a complete report (full of photos and descriptions), shortly after the inspection so you definitely don’t need to bring anything. Dress comfortably. You won’t get dirty and you won’t need to follow us into the attic or awkward spaces.

Remember—if you have any questions about your upcoming inspection, get in touch with us!