By: Chris Heywood

Pre-Listing Home Inspection

Today we preformed a pre-listing inspection on a home that is set to hit the market in a few weeks. The listing agent and seller have taken a proactive approach to find potential problems and have them fixed before the home goes on the market. We were able to identify several items during the inspection that will need to be repaired or replaced. Having these items fixed will save the seller time and potentially keep a perspective buyer from walking away from the deal. In the following article, I’m going to review some of the defective items we found and steps the seller can take to have them repaired.

Defective Exterior Flashing

The flashing over the garage door was not properly secured to the siding. This has allowed water to leak behind the siding and damage the wood trim around the garage door. The wood trim and flashing will need to be replaced and properly secured.

This area of the wood trim was soft and rotted from water damage. 

No Deck Ledger Board

The deck’s ledger (Support Board) board was not installed across the entire deck. The ledger board is the deck’s critical attachment point to the house. The ledger board will need to be installed and properly flashed to the house. Another option would be to add a support beam for the deck joist that runs parallel to the house. This would eliminate the need for a ledger board or flashing (Free Standing Deck)

No Deck Flashing 

The deck ledger board was not flashed were it attaches to the house. If a deck is attached to a house it must be flashed to prevent water intrusion. The boards will need to be removed and flashing installed over the ledger board at the house.

There was condensation leaking down the exhaust flue for the furnace. This is typically due to improper drafting/pressure within the flue. Condensation will form inside the galvanized vent allowing the gases to cool before they reach the top of the vent and exit the house.

This is also know as the “Stack Effect” or “Chimney Effect”. Essentially, the hot gases in the flue vent are cooled before they reach the top of the vent. The gases condensate and leak back down the vent, over time this will result in rusting and damage to the flue vent. The furnace will need to be further evaluated by a HVAC contractor to determine why the flue is not properly venting anymore. 

Furnace Burners: Flame Roll Out

During the operation of the furnace we found evidence of the burner flame rolling out when the furnace started. (See Attached Video) In the video, the HVAC contractor performs a flame roll out demonstration by blocking the draft hood. There are several reason why a flame will roll out during the initial start up and operation of the furnace. Two of the must common are a cracked heat exchange and/or improper drafting/pressures inside the flue. This can be a serious and dangerous situation and should be further evaluated by a HVAC contractor for repairs or replacement.

The issues we found during this inspection are not uncommon and can be repaired. However, we have seen buyers become so overwhelmed with these types of items they walk away from the  deal without asking for repairs. Now, with a pre-listing inspection, the seller can have the items repaired and not worry about contractors rushing to meet any deadlines or a buyer walking away from the deal. If the listed items are properly repaired, a pre-listing inspection can save the seller, buyer and agent time and money.

If you have any questions about what we found during this inspection or having a pre-listing inspection on your home please feel free to call Chris  513-515-9799.