Performing pre-sale inspections on your home before you list it for sale can streamline the sales process and help you avoid any unexpected surprises. What most sellers don’t realize is the inspections of the home is the place where more sales fall apart than any other. The pre-sale or pre-listing home inspections will allow you to get a clear picture about the state of your house – including any problems that may derail a sale. You will have a chance to address major issues, and the information you gain from the inspection will be useful in pricing your home. Getting pre-sale inspections can be an important part of negotiating any offers and address any concerns a buyer may have after you are in contract to sell. for. By understanding the condition of your home, discovering any potential issues to sell, and getting most or all of the problems taken care of you increase the chances of having a smooth transaction from contract to close..
Why You Should Get Pre-Listing Home Inspections
Home inspections are generally performed on behalf of a buyer so that the party purchasing the home knows the true condition of the house. There are typically for a home; a wood pest inspection, a roof inspection, and a home inspection. As a seller, you are not required or provide these inspections. But there are several reasons why you should consider performing these pre-listing inspections;
1. Reduce the stress of selling your home.
By getting these home inspections before listing, you can make informed decisions and responses about any buyer concerns that arise during the sale of the home. Performing these inspections gives you essentially a condition report for your home. This is truly helpful in my opinion for selling your home. You now know if there are any issues and you are basically providing the potential buyer that “here is my home, there shouldn’t be any surprises after you make an offer.” This helps eliminate a lot of stress for both seller and buyer surrounding the sale and is especially helpful in any market to help sell the home. It is normal to worry that your home may have some hidden problems that you are not aware of. With these inspections, you will know if any such problems exist and have the opportunity to address them. More importantly you will be able to obtains the costs to address any issues for selling your home and not be held to a contract timeline to address if its something the Buyer wants addressed while in contract. With buyer inspections after you are in contract for sale, you will have to meet the requirements of the sales agreement for close of escrow which is usually based upon no repairs being factored in. Should any buyer requests for repairs arise from their inspections during the contract you will be rushed to respond to. As a Seller you will have to quickly determine the cost to repair, if the repair can be done in a timely matter, then respond to the buyers request, which might mean clearing the issue during escrow or provide a credit at the close of escrow. This for the agents involved is when the contract is most likely to fall out. You can avoid surprises and uncertainty for buyers who are in contract if you have pre sale home inspections available.
2. Help with pricing your home correctly.
The price you set for your home going on market is one of the most critical pieces of the sales process. Priced too high, you will keep buyers away. Priced too low and you will make less money than you could have. But how do you price something when you do not know what it consists of, or what state it is in? With these home inspections, you will have a much better understanding of any negative aspects of the house, and can price accordingly. You may also be able to price the home slightly higher if you discover that there really is nothing wrong or the sell the house is in excellent condition with no major issues since you addressed them prior to being on market.
3. Pre-Listing Home Inspections Can Speed Up The Sales Process
A buyer that knows you have already had the home inspected is going to feel a lot more comfortable making an offer. No one wants to buy a house that has a bunch of hidden issues. With the inspections in hand, you can demonstrate that the home is in great shape and worth the price you have set. And if there are issues, you can be upfront about them and make it clear that the reasonable price of the home reflects the knowledge of those issues. Furthermore, you can negotiate the issues before accepting an offer which can mitigate any buyer requests for repairs and costs for you to address.
4. Allow you to Make Repairs to Help Sell Your Home Faster.
One of the top home selling tips that I recommend to Sellers is to make sure repairs are made to major items in the home. It makes perfect sense because what buyer wants to deal with the problems of someone else when they don’t have to? Buyers complete the purchase more often based upon the condition and care the Seller’s have invested during ownership. Nice well maintained homes sell quickly, ask any agent.
5. Avoid or Minimize the Requests For Repairs.
With a pre-listing inspection, you can avoid such a situation where the carefully considered offer from the buyer may be thrown out the window if the buyer’s inspection discovers any serious issues with your home. Because you have a comprehensive knowledge of the condition of your home you can negotiate the home sold “as-is” in its present condition because the Buyer knows what he is buying before he made the offer. Nothing can be more upsetting than to see the deal you were relying on begin to crumble, and salvaging such a deal can lead to renegotiation that ultimately leave you on the losing end with costs you didn’t plan on to sell you home.
6. Sell Your Home With Confidence.
Buyers are in a difficult position, so it is normal for them to retain a healthy amount of suspicion when considering a home purchase. For most people buying a home is the most money they will ever spend on a single item. A buyer will need to calculate what he or she can afford for the purchase price, as well as how much money will be required to live in the home and keep it in good repair in the future. If the buyer has any thoughts that the home might have hidden problems, the offer he or she makes will reflect that. A pre-listing home inspection can help eliminate much of the doubt about the home. Knowing that the home has already been examined and that there are no problems allows the buyer to make a confident offer.
7. It makes the Sale of Your Home Easier and Less Stressful for Everyone.
When you agree to pre-sale/pre-listing inspections, it allows the sale of your house to be focused on the quality and condition and you have reports and inspections which justify the sales price of your home. Much like a CarFAx for a car, When the agents knows the exact state of the house, it is easier to compare it to other homes that have sold in the area, which leads to a price not subject to things found after. The inspection also makes it easier for the agent to find buyers, because buyers are attracted to homes that have already been inspected and have very little problems. And when it comes to negotiations, there are no unknowns. The price doesn’t need to be lowered very much, if at all, when it reflects that true state of the house.
Keep in mind that even though you have done a pre-sale inspection, the buyer will more than likely want to have their own inspection as well. You should insist on your listing agent attending the home inspection to not only understand what the buyers home inspector says but to make sure the buyer does not exaggerate any of the issues. Buyers are notorious for using a home inspection as a point of renegotiation. Oftentimes buyers will try to negotiate for things that are non issues. The example I always use is the home inspector saying there is 3-5 years left of the roof and the buyer saying a new roof is needed. Having your agent there to hear exactly what is said is important. You are paying your agent a lot of money – make sure they earn it!
Are There Any Disadvantages to a Pre-sale Home Inspection?
In my opinion there are really none. California real estate home sales require sellers to disclose all known problems with their homes. Home inspections removes that concern and liability as a seller. If you are short on money to make major repairs to your home, doing a pre-sale home inspections can allow you to sell the [rop[erty as is with np financial contribution by the Seller for any requested repairs from the buyer. If your thinking of selling your home to one of the iBuyers (Opendoor, Zillow Offers, OfferPad, etc) knowing the condition of your home could help significantly to determine if you should seriously consider the offer or go on market as an “as-is” sale for more money.
Why Not Make Your Sale Easier With Pre-Listing Home Inspections?
There is no requirement that you get a pre-listing home inspections, but there are certainly a lot of advantages to doing so. Every home sale involves working through home issues, costs, and repairs, but you can limit the negative aspects of the process by gathering all the accurate information you can about your home before you list it. With seller’s inspections, you avoid surprises, control the negotiations and make your sale of your home meet your financial needs.
