You got an offer on your house and after numerous counter offers, everyone is finally happy with the terms (including your real estate agent!). Besides the appraisal report, the next dreaded step that buyers and sellers fear is the home inspection. Sellers worry that the inspector will nit-pick miscellaneous items that may deter buyers, and buyers worry that their future dream home could be riddled with problems.

Home inspectors are not evil. They were not put on this planet to destroy the hopes and dreams of home buyers and home sellers. They are trained professionals whose duty it is to ensure that a house in question is sound, livable and up to code, and to point out items that need to be repaired immediately or in the future.

Sellers, you can avoid nit-picking fears by tending to repairs that are obvious. Do a home inspection of your own and try to view things objectively.

Buyers, just because the home inspector has a long list of items in the report doesn’t mean that the house is in shambles. Go over the list of items, talk to the inspector, get estimates of repairs or replacements. You’ll feel much better if you get a better understanding of the seriousness of the findings.