Pre Listing Home Inspection
Yes, that’s right we offer a Home Inspection for Sellers before they put their home on the market. This is called a pre-listing home inspection for a Seller before they list the home. The question for you the Seller, is it worth it? There can be some huge advantages to having one of these done and in fact, more Sellers should be doing them. In some parts of the country, it is common practice. Let’s go over what a pre-listing home inspection is and then we will go over the pros and cons.
So what is it… Am I confused? I thought the Buyers get their own inspection?
Yes, if a Buyer does their due diligence they will be getting a home inspection. A pre-listing home inspection is an inspection done by the Seller to get a jump-start on what will be found during the buyer’s home inspection. The one we offer is just as thorough as a typical inspection for a buyer but I do think some companies offer it as more of a walkthrough and not as exhaustive as a buyer inspection. Some buyers will accept the inspection done by the Seller and not do their own, this in return will speed up the process and get the parties closer to the sale of the home. So let’s go over some of the pros and cons.
Pros
1. Disclosure
You now will be going over and above and providing the buyer with full disclosure of the condition of your home. It is also a way to say look I am not hiding anything from you, here is a home inspection that I paid for to show you the condition of my home. Let’s face it most people are skeptical when buying a home and it is a huge purchase and if you can put the buyer at ease the whole transaction might go over smoother.
People sue people all the time for all kinds of reasons and if you provide an outside party home inspector to go over the home then the buyer would have a hard time getting to you if something was to go wrong.
2. List of Defects
After an inspection, we provide a report with photos and descriptions of the defects and location. Now you have a list of things you can fix and you choose the way you want to fix them before it gets all open to interpretation on the best way to handle the defect if the buyer’s home inspector found it. Trust me when I say we find the defects, we are trained professionals that look at homes every day, and sometimes as an owner, you are not aware of some issues you might have.
Let’s give an example… you have an inspection and the inspector suggests that the roof is on its last legs so you get a roofer and have the roof done. Now you hired a professional that was licensed and insured and put a nice roof on for a good price let say 12k. The buyer has an inspection and the inspector does not even list it as a defect and the sale moves forward!
Now say you didn’t have the roof done and the buyers are demanding a roof from a guy that only does Certain-teed roof systems that costs much more than a typical roof and his quote is 20k when you could have had it done for 12k. Now you are in a negotiating situation and if you had just spent $400 you would have saved yourself 8k.
So if you get your list of defects and fix them the way you see fit you protect yourself from a bunch of grief!
3. Peace of Mind
Do you know how nice it will be to go into the inspection contingencies that you signed on your P&S agreement when you already have the knowledge of what will be found or better yet that you have already fixed the defect? Home Inspections can be a very stressful situation for all parties involved and know what to expect will make you calm and cool during this time! If you are wondering what we look for you can find a general idea at “what does a home inspector do?”
4. Save you Money
Yes, I said it and it is very true for a lot of reasons. Take the example I showed earlier about the roof. In that situation, the Seller would have saved $6,000.00 and it would have only cost him $400.00 for a home inspection. Another big benefit of fixing the defects before the buyer gets involved is when the buyer has a home inspection the property will be looked at in a different light because there won’t be a huge laundry list of items that will scare the buyer.
Say you only have a lot of little problems found and you fix them, that will make your property even look better after the inspection and you can move on without trying to negotiate. The Pre-listing home inspection will make you confident that you have a home that is very marketable and hopefully will get you top dollar!
5. Faster Closing
If the property is already in tip-top shape you won’t have to re-negotiate and in some instances have to fix things before closing you will be ready to go. One example would be the buyer is financing with a VA loan and the VA has certain requirements for the new owner. If any defects are found and fixed you might save another VA visit and a delayed closing that could end up costing you money.
Cons
Tell you the truth I can’t really think of too many cons to having a pre-listing inspection. One might be the cost but I really feel it will be minimal seeing that you will give the Buyer nothing to negotiate because the problems have been fixed. You might find something that you did not know was going on but I feel that if you know beforehand you will not be betrayed as a Seller that was trying to hide something and have the buyer look at you in a different light!
Inspection Request
Call us or fill out the form. After you fill out the form we will be in touch almost immediately to give you an accurate quote and go over scheduling and availability.
