An inspector can only report on what they can reach. Every locked door, blocked panel and inaccessible crawlspace becomes a line in the report saying "not inspected — access restricted", and every one of those lines makes a buyer nervous. Preparation is not about hiding problems. It is about making sure the report describes your house rather than describing what the inspector could not get to.
Access — the biggest single factor
- Clear the electrical panel. A metre of clear space in front. This is the most commonly blocked item in the house.
- Clear the attic hatch and everything under it. If it is in a closet, empty the closet shelf below it.
- Clear the furnace, water heater and any mechanical room. Stored boxes against a furnace are also a fire hazard, so this is worth doing permanently.
- Unlock everything — sheds, garages, crawlspace hatches, gates, the electrical room in a condo, and any exterior door with a deadbolt the lockbox key does not open.
- Move vehicles out of the garage and driveway. The inspector needs the garage floor and the driveway grading.
- Clear the perimeter. Trim vegetation back from the foundation and siding, and move stored material away from the walls.
- Remove the crawlspace obstacle course. If there is a crawlspace, make sure a person can physically enter it.
Utilities and systems
- Everything on. Electricity, gas, water. An inspector cannot test a system that is shut off, and in a vacant home this is the single most common failure.
- Pilot lights lit on any gas appliance, including fireplaces.
- Replace furnace filters and turn the water heater out of vacation mode.
- Make sure every light works. A burnt-out bulb gets reported as an inoperative fixture, which reads to a buyer as a possible wiring problem. Twenty dollars of bulbs removes a dozen findings.
- Check every smoke and CO alarm. Ontario requires working smoke alarms on every storey and outside sleeping areas, and CO alarms adjacent to sleeping areas in homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage. Missing alarms are always reported.
The half-day of small fixes worth doing
These are the findings that pad a report without meaning anything, and they cost almost nothing to eliminate:
- Re-caulk the tub and shower where it has failed.
- Fix dripping taps and running toilets.
- Extend downspouts so they discharge at least 1.8 m from the foundation.
- Clean the gutters.
- Replace missing outlet and switch cover plates.
- Fix or replace damaged window screens.
- Ensure exterior doors latch and lock, and interior doors do not stick.
- Clear the dryer vent and confirm it discharges outdoors.
- Confirm the garage door auto-reverse works — put a roll of paper towel under it and see if it comes back up.
- Label the main water shut-off and the electrical panel circuits.
None of this conceals anything. All of it shortens the report and, more importantly, signals a maintained house — which changes how a buyer reads everything else in it.
Documents to leave on the counter
This is the highest-leverage ten minutes of preparation. Leave a folder with:
- Roof replacement date and invoice.
- Furnace, AC and water heater installation dates and service records.
- Permits and final inspections for any renovation.
- Septic pump-out records and well water test results, on a rural property.
- WETT certificate for any wood-burning appliance.
- Any radon test results and mitigation documentation.
- Warranty documents on recent work.
An inspector who can write "furnace installed 2019 per invoice" instead of "furnace age undetermined, estimated 15–20 years" has just removed a five-figure question from the buyer's mind.
On the day
Leave. Take the pets. Plan on three to four hours plus buffer. The buyer will very likely be there, and the conversation is more honest and more productive without the seller present — for everyone, including you.
And do not try to hide anything. Fresh paint on one basement wall is the most conspicuous thing an inspector can encounter, and a concealed defect discovered later is a legal problem, not just an awkward one.
Frequently asked
Should the seller be present during a home inspection?
No. Leave the house for the duration and take pets with you. The buyer will usually attend, and the conversation between buyer and inspector is more useful to everybody when the seller is not in the room.
How long does a home inspection take for the seller to plan around?
Three to four hours for a typical detached home, plus setup and the buyer walkthrough afterwards. Plan on being out of the house for five hours.
Will fixing small things before the inspection help?
Yes, materially. Burnt-out bulbs, missing cover plates, failed caulking and running toilets all become findings. Removing a dozen trivial items makes the report shorter and signals a maintained home, which changes how a buyer reads the items that remain.