Once the buyer orders a home inspection, your home is in the hot seat. Even if you’ve gone through the house with a fine-tooth comb and listed anything and everything on the seller’s disclosure, the home inspection might reveal issues that you weren’t aware of or are worse than you thought. It can be a stressful process for both sides as buyers and sellers await the results and then negotiate repairs or other issues that were revealed during the inspection.

To help ease your mind, we’ll walk you through what a home inspection is, what to expect, and how to be prepared when your house is under the microscope. News flash: no home is perfect. But you can take steps to ready yourself (and your home) for the home inspection to minimize unwanted surprises.