Preparing for your commercial inspection is similar to preparing your home for a residential inspection. In addition to checking off anything on the list below that applies to your commercial property, you should also be prepared to give your tenants a minimum of 24 hours’ notice before your scheduled inspection to ensure that they prepare their space or unit.
Depending on what you’re hoping to learn from your inspection report, you may need to prepare in advance:
When ordering a commercial draw inspection, it’s important to communicate clearly with builders and project managers. Check in the day before the inspection to be sure that any appliances being looked at have arrived and that other aspects of the building process are being completed on schedule. If any aspect of the building is unprepared at the time of the inspection, results will be inconclusive and your inspector will have to disclaim it in their report. You would then need to schedule an additional inspection to receive an accurate report for the lender.
To receive the most accurate inspection report, follow these simple preparation steps.
1. Plan for any pets to be off the property. The majority of inspections last approximately three hours. It’s best for pets to be away from the premise for the duration. This helps keep your pets safe and it will also help the inspector get a full, unencumbered look at your property. If pets must stay behind, it’s best to crate them rather than sequester them in a room or yard so that those areas may still be thoroughly inspected.
2. Leave a work area around your furnace, electrical panels, and water heater. Your inspector will need room to stand and kneel around the entire circumference of your furnace, electrical panels, and water heater. You’ll want to clear the floor around these areas, leaving an area of three to four feet for the inspector to work.
3. Leave your utilities connected. Your inspector will be checking your water, electric, gas and any appliances hooked up to them, so leave all utilities on. If utilities are not turned on, the inspector will need to reschedule.
4. Ignite all pilot lights. Inspectors are not permitted to ignite pilot lights for liability reasons. In order to test your water heater, furnace or gas stove, they will need for you to leave all pilot lights ignited.
5. Leave important keys with clear directions. Your inspector will be taking a look at all garages, sheds and your exterior electric box. Leave all keys and garage door openers out in an easy-to-find location with clear directions. You’ll also want to leave any special instructions.
6. Provide access to the basement, crawl space and attic. Clear a path to access points for basements, crawl spaces and garages and unbolt any doors. If these spaces are being used for storage, move all items out from the wall by at least two feet. It’s also a good idea to vacuum cobwebs and look for any rodent activity.
7. Catch up on yard work. It’s important to clear the area around the foundation of your home so your inspector can examine it for damage. Clear away leaves, brush or snow along the perimeter of your home and be sure there are no other obstacles in the way, like garbage cans. You may also need to trim any tree branches touching the house.
8. Provide important receipts and documents for remodeling projects and repairs. If you’ve made substantial repairs to your home, like replacing the roof or windows, you’ll want to provide all invoices, manuals and warranties. It’s also a good idea to produce a receipt for any new appliances. While your inspector won’t need copies of these items, they’ll make a note of them in their report, giving the buyer peace of mind.
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