I do a lot of inspections. Most of them go fine. The ones that don't usually fail in the same handful of ways, and they're almost all preventable. If you're a real estate agent, a buyer, or a seller in Central Arkansas, here's what makes inspection day actually work.
The single biggest thing you can do is leave. Inspection day isn't the time to be home. The buyer often comes for part of it, the agent comes for part of it, and your kitchen will have a stranger running every faucet for two hours. Make plans to be elsewhere.
Beyond that, the prep is short:
That's it. You don't need to clean. You don't need to fix anything before I get there. The inspection report is going to say what it says regardless.
Come for the last hour. Not the first hour. By the end, I've looked at everything and I can show you what I found in a logical order, with the photos and notes already taken.
When you get there, walk with me. I'll explain what I'm seeing in plain language, and you'll have the chance to ask questions. Take notes if you want, but don't try to write everything down. The report has it all.
Bring a list of questions about the house. The disclosures, the seller's claims, anything that's been bugging you since you toured. I'd rather answer them at the property than on a phone call later.
The agents I work with most often are the ones who:
The agents who make inspection day hard are the ones who fight every finding, try to renegotiate the report itself, or push back on items that are clearly noted in the photos. That doesn't help anyone, and it doesn't change what the house is.
The most common problem on inspection day is utilities being off. The next is access being blocked. The third is the seller still being home and either watching me work or following me around to explain things. None of those make the inspection better. All of them slow it down or limit what I can document.
After that, the issues are usually small, fixable things that turned into big problems because nobody dealt with them earlier. A clogged drain that's now backing up. A water heater that's been leaking for months. A breaker that's been tripping every week. Those are the items that derail negotiations not because they're catastrophic, but because they suggest deferred maintenance the buyer didn't know about.
Whatever happens on inspection day, the deliverable is the report, and it goes out within 24 hours. It has photos, descriptions, and clear language about what's a safety issue, what's a maintenance item, and what's a defect. Use it. Don't argue with it. The next house will have its own report, and the one after that.
If you're an agent in Central Arkansas and we haven't worked together yet, I'd like to. The smoother the inspection, the smoother the deal. See our agent partnership page for how we work with realtors.
Should the seller be home during the inspection? Generally, no. The buyer and inspector need space to work. Plan to be elsewhere for the inspection window.
Should the buyer attend the home inspection? Yes, ideally for the last hour. That's when the inspector can walk you through findings in person.
How long does a home inspection take in Central Arkansas? Two to four hours for most residential properties. Larger or older homes can take longer.
What if utilities are off during the inspection? Any system that depends on the missing utility can't be tested and is documented as inaccessible. That delays negotiations and sometimes triggers a re-inspection. Get utilities turned on before the appointment.
For a list of every service we offer, see Addison Rose inspection services.
Call or text: 501-505-6805 Email: inspectorbjmoody@gmail.com
Move forward with confidence.
Residential • Commercial • Pool & Spa Inspections • Serving all of Arkansas
