The buyer's home inspection typically happens within five business days of an accepted offer in Illinois and takes two to three hours. Inspectors evaluate the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, and most buyers in northern Illinois also test for radon. Every inspection produces findings, so sellers should expect a request list and plan their response strategy, not perfection.
Let's walk through what's coming, because the sellers who know what to expect handle this week far better than the ones caught off guard.
Key Takeaways
- Every inspection finds something, even in well-maintained homes. A list of findings is normal, not a crisis.
- Illinois home inspectors are state-licensed, and most buyers also order a radon test, since northern Illinois has elevated radon levels.
- In our 1950s–1970s housing stock, expect attention on electrical panels, sewer lines, basement moisture, and aging roofs.
- Leave for the inspection, take pets with you, and make sure the inspector can reach the panel, furnace, water heater, and attic.
- You have three responses to any request: repair it, credit it, or decline it. Credits are often the cleanest path.
What Actually Happens During the Buyer's Inspection?
Within the first few days after your contract is signed, the buyer hires a licensed inspector, schedules a two-to-three-hour visit, and usually attends along with their agent.
The inspector works through the home's major systems: roof and gutters, foundation and structure, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, windows, attic insulation and ventilation, and appliances. In Illinois, home inspectors are licensed through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, so they follow defined standards of practice.
Most buyers in our area also add a radon test, and many add a sewer scope on older homes. The radon test usually means a small monitor sits in your basement for 48 hours, so don't be surprised when the inspector asks to leave equipment behind.
Within a day or two, the buyer receives a detailed report, often 40 to 70 pages with photos. Then any requests come to you through the attorneys, which is where this stage connects to how attorney review works for sellers.
How Should You Prepare Your Home for Inspection Day?
You can't change what your home is, but you can change how the inspection goes. A surprising number of report "findings" are really just access problems and dead batteries.
Here's your prep list:
- Clear access to everything mechanical. The electrical panel, furnace, water heater, sump pump, crawl space hatch, and attic pull-down all need a clear path. Blocked access gets written up as "unable to inspect," which spooks buyers more than most actual findings.
- Leave utilities on and pilot lights lit. An inspector can't test what isn't running.
- Replace furnace filters and smoke detector batteries. Two-dollar fixes that set the tone of the whole report.
- Fix the tiny stuff now. Dripping faucets, loose handrails, torn screens. Small items add report pages, and long reports make buyers nervous regardless of what's on them.
- Gather your paper trail. Receipts for the new roof, the sewer rodding, the furnace service. Leave copies on the kitchen counter. Documentation calms buyers down.
- Leave, and take the pets. Plan to be gone three hours. Buyers speak more freely without you there, and inspectors work faster.
If you handled the deeper prep before listing, the kind in how to prepare your home for sale, inspection day mostly confirms what your listing already promised.
What Do Inspectors Find in Northwest Suburbs Homes?
Here's where local knowledge matters. So much of our housing stock in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Des Plaines, and Rolling Meadows went up between the 1950s and 1970s, and homes of that era share a predictable set of findings:
Electrical panels. Certain older panel brands are flagged by inspectors as a matter of routine, and original 60- or 100-amp service draws comments in homes that have added modern loads. Panel findings are among the most common credit requests I see.
Sewer lines. Many homes of this era have clay tile sewer lines, and tree roots love them. This is exactly why buyers add sewer scopes, and why a seller's rodding receipts are worth gold.
Basement moisture. Inspectors look for efflorescence on foundation walls, sump pump condition, and grading. Water history is also a disclosure item in Illinois, so this finding category connects directly to your disclosure report. For homes with older drainage setups, my guide on overhead sewers and sump pumps in older homes explains what buyers are looking at.
Radon. Northern Illinois sits in the EPA's highest-risk radon zone, and elevated tests are common in our towns. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency's radon program covers the details, but here's the practical part: a mitigation system typically runs $1,200 to $1,800 installed, and radon requests are among the most routine asks in our market. Sellers often simply credit or install the system.
Roofs, furnaces, and water heaters at end of life. Age findings, even when the component still works. Expect the report to note remaining useful life.
If you want to see the full picture of what buyers' inspectors review, my home inspection checklist for the northwest suburbs covers it from the buyer's side, which is a useful mirror for sellers.
How Should You Respond to Inspection Requests?
The report lands, the buyer's attorney sends a request list, and now it's your move. Here's the framework I walk through with my sellers.
First, sort the list into three buckets:
- Safety and function. Gas leaks, active leaks, electrical hazards, a dead furnace. These deserve a genuine response. Declining them risks the deal, and remember, you may need to disclose them to the next buyer anyway.
- End-of-life and big-ticket items. Aging roof, original panel, radon. These are negotiable, and credits usually beat repairs here.
- Cosmetic and nitpick. Sticking doors, hairline driveway cracks, "monitor this." Politely declining most of this bucket is normal and expected.
Then choose your response for each item: repair, credit, or decline.
I'll be honest about my general lean: credits are usually cleaner than repairs. A credit costs you a known number, requires no contractor scheduling before closing, and removes the risk of the buyer disliking your contractor's work at the walkthrough. Repairs make sense mostly when you have a trusted pro and the fix is straightforward.
And if your strategy from day one is to make no repairs at all, that's a legitimate path too. It just works best when it's planned and priced in from the start, which is the territory of my article on repairs before selling or selling as-is.
What If the Inspection Kills the Deal?
It's rare, but it happens, so let's talk about it plainly.
If the buyer walks during the inspection window, here's what you should know:
You'll likely be back on market within days. Early-stage fallouts cost little market time, and a returned listing with a clear story ("buyer's financing plans changed" or "we've since addressed the sewer line") sells fine.
You may have a new disclosure obligation. If the inspection revealed a material defect you didn't previously know about, like an elevated radon result or a cracked heat exchanger, you now know about it. Illinois disclosure rules are based on your knowledge, so talk to your attorney about updating your disclosure report before relisting.
You've gained intelligence. You now hold a professional report on your own home. Fix or price for the real issues it surfaced, and the next contract tends to stick.
One more option worth knowing: some sellers get ahead of all this with a pre-listing inspection. You pay for your own inspection before going on market, fix or disclose what it finds, and remove the surprise factor entirely. It's not right for every home, but for older properties where you suspect issues are lurking, knowing beats guessing.
FAQs
How long does a buyer's home inspection take?
Most buyer inspections take two to three hours for a typical single-family home, plus extra time for add-ons like radon monitor placement or a sewer scope. Larger or older homes can run longer. Radon tests require equipment to remain in the home for about 48 hours.
Should the seller be home during the inspection?
No. Sellers should leave for the inspection and take pets along. Buyers and inspectors communicate more openly without the owner present, and the inspection proceeds faster. Plan to be away for roughly three hours.
Do sellers have to fix everything on the inspection report?
No. Inspection requests are negotiable, and sellers can agree to repairs, offer a closing credit, or decline items. Safety and function issues deserve genuine responses, while cosmetic findings are commonly declined. Most negotiations settle on a subset of the original list.
Is radon testing required when selling a home in Illinois?
Radon testing isn't required, but it's very common since northern Illinois has elevated radon levels. Illinois sellers must provide buyers with a radon disclosure and informational pamphlet. If a test comes back elevated, mitigation systems typically cost $1,200 to $1,800.
Can a buyer back out after the inspection in Illinois?
Yes. Under the inspection provisions in standard Chicagoland contracts, buyers can typically exit the contract based on inspection findings within the inspection period. Once the inspection and attorney review windows close, the buyer's remaining outs narrow considerably.
Should I get a pre-listing inspection before selling?
A pre-listing inspection can help sellers of older homes price accurately and eliminate surprises, since you learn what buyers will discover before they discover it. Keep in mind that newly discovered material defects may need to be disclosed under Illinois law.
Want to Know What an Inspector Would Find in Your Home?
Here's something I do with many of my sellers before we ever list: walk the home the way an inspector would, flag the likely findings, and decide together what's worth addressing. By the time the real inspection happens, there are no surprises left.
If you're thinking about selling in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Des Plaines, or anywhere in the northwest suburbs, I'd be glad to do that walkthrough with you. You can schedule a time here or visit MyRealtorMari.com.
You'll also find me on YouTube at Life in the NW Burbs, or email me anytime at [email protected].
