The short answer
If you’re listing a house in Northern Virginia this fall or winter, have the heating, cooling and plumbing looked at before the buyer’s inspector does. Homes are sitting longer: active listings were up 30.7 percent and pending sales down 16.2 percent in September, per NVAR. With more houses to choose from, a buyer who finds a surprise in the inspection asks for a credit or walks. A $67 heating check and a $99 water heater flush with a plumbing walk-through cost less than one line on a repair request.
What buyers’ inspectors flag most
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Swipe to see all columns →
| System | What gets written up | What to do before listing |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace or heat pump | Age from the data plate, dirty filter, rust at the burners or flue, no service record | A heating check and a receipt you can hand the buyer |
| Air conditioning | Age, a dirty coil, a unit that can’t be tested under about 60 degrees outside | Service record; let the buyer know the inspector can’t test cooling in the cold |
| Water heater | Age, rust at the base, no expansion tank, a missing or short relief valve pipe | Flush, relief valve test, expansion tank if it needs one |
| Plumbing | Slow drains, a dripping shutoff, old supply lines on toilets and sinks | Clear the drains, swap the cheap stuff, make sure the main shutoff works |
| Safety | Missing CO alarms near fuel-burning equipment | Put them in. It’s a small fix that reads well on a report. |
Inspectors read the age off the label, and so can you. Our equipment age decoder and how old is my water heater turn a serial number into a year in a minute.
The $67 Heating Check
We check your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Through December 31. See the offer
Old isn’t the same as broken
A 17-year-old furnace that’s clean, safe and heating the house is a working furnace. What scares a buyer is not knowing. A recent service with notes and photos turns “the furnace is old” into “the furnace is old, was serviced in November, and runs fine,” and that’s a smaller credit or none. If it does need work, you’d rather hear it from us now than read it in a repair addendum with a deadline.
If the buyer’s inspector already wrote “recommend replacement,” that’s a common line and it isn’t a diagnosis. Our post on what to do when the inspection says replace the furnace walks through it, and our free second opinion means a technician looks at the system and tells you what it actually needs. You don’t owe us anything for looking.
A four-week plan before the photos
- Four weeks out: book the heating check and the water heater flush. Change the filter. Find the main shutoff and try it.
- Three weeks out: do the small fixes we find, the drains, the supply lines, the relief valve pipe, the CO alarms.
- Two weeks out: put the service paperwork in a folder for the listing agent. A buyer’s agent will ask.
- Listing week: set the heat where the house feels comfortable for showings, and leave the utility room door unlocked and clear.
Buying instead of selling? Our new homeowner checklist covers the first month in the house.
Call us
Book online at goswiftpro.com or call (703) 997-9757, 24 hours, 7 days. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
Questions people ask
Should I service my HVAC before selling my house?
Yes. A recent service record turns an old system into a known one, which usually means a smaller credit request or none. It costs less than one line on a repair addendum.
What do home inspectors check on a furnace?
The age from the data plate, the filter, rust at the burners or flue, how it starts and runs, and whether there’s a service record. CO alarms near fuel-burning equipment get written up too.
Do I have to replace an old water heater before selling?
No. Buyers and inspectors flag age, rust at the base, a missing expansion tank, and the relief valve pipe. A flush, a relief valve test and fixing those small items usually answers the question.
What if the buyer’s inspector says to replace the furnace?
That’s a common recommendation, not a diagnosis. Get a second opinion from a technician who checks the furnace itself. SwiftPro’s second opinion is free.
