Code violations can extend the home-selling process or halt it altogether. It is good business to hire a home inspector before placing your home on the market.

Home inspectors approved by the American Society of Home Inspectors are well-versed in all local codes dealing with electrical, plumbing, building/structural and more.  They can help sellers understand any code violations and the steps and costs necessary to meet codes.  Your local Realtor will be able to give you a list of local home inspectors.

Code violations have a way of popping up in paperwork. When the city records a code violation, a fee is assigned to the property, but because the violations don’t appear as a lien on a title search, it can be difficult to ascertain whether a sanction has been assessed that will delay closing.

According to Code Violation Services Inc., Windsor, Colo., violations can include the presence of garbage in a yard, maintenance issues, overgrown lawns, non-sanctioned improvements, safety issues or other dangerous items needing repair in a property.

Here are some of the most common inspection problems:

Bedrooms: All rooms listed as bedrooms must have an operating window with 30 square inches of clearance for fire escape. Bedrooms also must have heat. If a home is listed with three bedrooms, and one does not meet both these requirements, it cannot be legally called a bedroom.

Furnaces and Compressors: Rust in the heat exchange is a common problem that shows up on inspections, as is missing insulation where required by code at the time the house was built or improved.

Electrical: Common electrical code violations include junctions not enclosed in a junction box, a lack of GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens or reverse-polarity on outlets. These are inexpensive fixes that can hold up a sale.

Life-saving Equipment: Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are required by regulation in many local municipalities. By not having them, or the proper kind,  it will be considered a code violation.

Plumbing: Violations can include everything from dripping faucets to loose toilets to improper drainage.

Structural: While these can be more expensive to fix, if they aren’t taken care of properly, they can prolong or even cancel a sale. Common code violations include rotting wood trim around windows and doors, rotten or delaminating siding, and missing flashing on roofs or above windows and doors.

Extra Rooms: For the safety of everyone involved, be sure your improvements and additions, including finishing of basements, are backed by the proper permits and resulting inspections.

Don’t hurt your sale with code violations that can be easily fixed. Get a home inspector, make the changes, and enjoy the success of a hassle-free home sale.

* Beth Alois and Jim DeFrank can be reached at 610-388-3700.  Prudential Fox and Roach, REALTORS is an independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates LLC. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity.