-I am selling an airplane and you are doing the pre-buy. What can I expect?

I'm looking forward to working with you! I try to make this event as painless and smooth as possible for you. I understand deals can hinge on the outcome of a pre-buy and I know you and the buyer are eager to proceed. 

While I typically spend around 20 hours on my pre-buys, the physical inspection of the aircraft generally lasts anywhere from 5 to 7 hours. You don't need to be there! Of course, it's your aircraft and usually your hangar so you are obviously more than welcome to be there and follow me around during this process, however it's not very exciting to watch. 

What I will need is someone to let me into the hangar and if I am coming from out of town typically I will need access to the airport.

Once there the rest is pretty boring. I will start up the plane and do a simple run-up, compression check, and that's about the most complicated part. After that I basically just go around with a mirror and a flashlight poking around your plane. 

I do not perform any "maintenance" tasks. My goal is to be as least invasive as possible while still getting a good look a the plane. 

I will take hundreds of pictures. This helps me recreate the inspection when I complete my report and pictures are excellent notes. Just because I'm taking a picture of something doesn't mean it's a discrepancy I've found! I just take lots of pictures so I don't miss anything.

I will bring a full compliment of tools required (though it's not that many because I'm basically just opening up panels and pulling the plugs). If I'm traveling out of state access to a compressor and air hose would be very helpful!
 
Once my inspection is complete I'm happy to chat with you regarding any discrepancies I've found. There's no secrets here. I make every possible effort to avoid subjective determinations and everything I include in my report is always backed up with either documentation or photographs. I don't do things like "Paint is a 6 out of 10" or similar notes. I concern myself with objective items like status of AD compliance or physical condition discrepancies like cracks or holes.
 
It's impossible to rule out subjectivity entirely but I do my best to avoid it wherever I can.
 
I will typically complete the report the following day, depending on travel time, and submit it to the potential purchaser within 24 hours.
 
If you have any specific questions feel free to contact me and I am happy to chat!