What Plumbing Steps Should You Take Before Selling a Home?
Posted on: 21 December 2020
If you're selling your house, then plumbing probably isn't the first thing on your mind. Unfortunately, ignoring plumbing problems with your home can cost you. Savvy buyers will always conduct an inspection before closing and may even insist on contingency clauses to provide time for more in-depth checks.
When these inspections turn up trouble, it can cost you more money than you might expect. Buyers may insist that you fix the problems or even use the issues they uncover to negotiate a better price. Fortunately, it's easy enough to make sure this doesn't happen to you. These three steps will help you avoid plumbing problems that can hurt your house sale.
1. Conduct Your Own Inspection
Knowledge is power, and you'll be in a better selling position if you know more about your home. Consider hiring an experienced plumber to conduct a complete inspection of your home's plumbing. This inspection aims not only to find problems but also to uncover efficiency issues or plumbing code violations.
You will want to choose a plumber that can provide thorough descriptions of anything they find. Some code violations, such as improper drain pipe slopes, can be challenging to detect and explain. A plumber with home inspection experience will be best suited to find these subtle issues and help you understand your options to remedy them.
2. Prioritize Repairs
You don't need to fix every small issue that you find before selling your home. Work with your plumber to understand the issues that buyers might find the most concerning. If your plumber were conducting a pre-purchase inspection for a buyer, which problems (if any) would send up red flags for them? You can use this information to help decide which items you should fix before listing.
Make sure that you don't ignore any plumbing issues that would be apparent even at a glance. Leaky faucets and slow drains will stand out to even inattentive buyers. Although these items are cheap to repair, they can make it much more challenging to sell your home.
3. Consider Upgrades
High impact upgrades can sometimes be a good idea even if you won't get to enjoy them. If your water heater is on its last legs, for example, then replacing it before a sale can be beneficial. Although upgrades of this type aren't cheap, buyers are likely to discover aging appliances during their inspections and may offer less as a result.
Small plumbing upgrades can help your home seem less dated and reassure buyers that they won't need to put money into their new home immediately. To learn more about your plumbing options, visit a plumber near you.
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