7 Project Home Inspectors Want Sellers To Stop DIYing

Home inspections are becoming more normalized again as the market has cooled off and started to settle back down, which is a great thing for buyers. For many sellers, an inspection is nothing but a slight annoyance of leaving your home while they poke around, but for others, a home inspection opens up a can of worms that they had no idea was sitting in wait.

With Youtube tutorials and detailed blog posts so readily available, many homeowners feel empowered to DIY home projects and upgrades. Unfortunately, this has led to overconfidence in what they can accomplish without the help of a professional. While DIYing can save you money on some projects, other projects become a home inspector’s nightmare when a seller has decided to DIY them.

To save yourself headaches with home inspections, check out these seven home projects that inspectors want sellers to stop DIYing.

New Shingles

When looking at buying, many people skim the property description, looking to see what the roof was last replaced. Why? If it’s been too long and a new roof will be needed within a couple of years, then potential buyers start calculating that cost on top of your asking to see if your home still feels “worth it”. If you have an older roof it might be tempting to just DIY the roofing to save yourself some money and to make your house details more appealing to buyers.

Unfortunately, when DIY roofing can lead to leaks in your home. When an inspector climbs up to check out the attic, they’ll be checking for signs of water damage and leaks.

Installing New Light Fixtures Or Dimmer Switches

We’ve all heard to leave electrical work to the professionals, but then when it comes to something simple like upgrading your light fixtures or installing a modern WiFi-enabled light switch, sellers think that they can easily just do it themselves after a couple of tutorial videos and are good to go. Unfortunately even something as simple as adding a dimmer switch can make problematic changes to the electrical box.

Inspectors will be scrutinizing electrical work, looking for overloaded circuit boxes, exposed wires, and more. Rather than risking electrocution and fire, leave ALL of the electrical work to the professionals.

Add-Ons And Modifications

You wanted a home office but didn’t have room so you converted your attached garage into an office. Cool. But did you get the proper permits? Do all of the changes meet safety and building requirements? Or did you just figure your father-in-law is a handy guy and so it should all be okay?

Inspectors will be checking things out to make sure that all of your modifications and additions to the house were properly constructed to building codes.

Upgrading Faucets And Fixtures

Upgrading your faucet and bathroom fixtures can be a great way to make your home look more modern and visually appealing to potential buyers. And while you might think that installing a faucet is a simple task, too many homeowners install it incorrectly which can cause leaks. Leaks lead mould and damage.

Water damage and leaks is one of the most important things that home inspectors will look for as the repairs for damage can be extensive and costly and it poses a health risk.

Replacing Appliances

Upgrading your appliances to energy-efficient ones may be a great upgrade for selling your home, but if you’ve installed them yourself incorrectly, you can cause damage to the home. An improperly installed dishwasher can lead to flooding in the kitchen. An improperly installed gas unit can cause in carbon monoxide poisoning.

Home inspectors will be looking closely at appliances to make sure everything is working and was properly installed.

Installing A Deck

A deck can’t be that hard to build yourself, right? Well, there are actually a lot of small things that can be done incorrectly when someone builds a deck themselves, which makes the deck a safety concern. Has the deck been properly attached to the house? Does the entire deck have a proper handrail system? There are building codes that specify the need for a continuous handrail to accompany stairs.

Inspectors will look for decks to be installed correctly, including the fasteners and hangers, how the beams are bolted, support posts, and the correct riser height for steps. Incorrectly built decks are a safety risk!

Major Landscaping

With major landscaping, such as adding in a pond, modifying slopes to give yourself more level areas for a pool or firepit, or adding in a stone patio, there are more than just functionality and aesthetics to think about. Major changes to your landscaping can cause grading issues and change the way the water flows around your house or changes the way water drains.

Home inspectors will be looking for evidence of water pooling or gathering around the foundation.