Should I Get a Pre-Listing Home Inspection?
Even though it’s not needed, some sellers choose to undergo a home inspection before they list their property on the market in order to protect themselves from unpleasant surprises during the transaction. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived in the house or how old it is; there is always the possibility that there are unseen problems hiding beneath the surface that could prevent a sale.
If your property is brand new, you’ve made updates recently, or you already know there are concerns but you don’t have the money to make repairs before listing it for sale, getting a pre-inspection may not be worth the cost to you.
The cost of a pre-listing home inspection
The price of a pre-listing house inspection can range anywhere from $250 to $700, depending on the size of your home and the location in which you live. There are some vendors that believe the benefits of a pre-inspection outweigh the initial expense of the examination. It is important to remember that after you have an offer in hand, you will not be required to pay for another inspection because the buyer is responsible for paying for it.
What areas of the home are inspected before it is put up for sale
A pre-listing home inspection is comparable to a buyer’s home inspection in that it examines the primary systems, mechanicals, windows, and doors of the property and searches for evidence of water damage, mould, and cracks. You may also decide to pay an additional fee for radon testing, testing of the well water, testing of the internal mould, or testing of the lead paint.
Several reasons why a seller should get their home inspected
Although the reasons behind a seller’s decision to employ a home inspector prior to placing their property on the market can vary from transaction to transaction, the following are some of the most typical explanations.
Concern that the property’s condition would prevent it from selling
If you are worried that a poor house inspection by the buyer could cause a transaction to fall through, you should consider getting a pre-inspection of the property now so that you can fix any serious flaws before putting it up for sale. This can help you avoid a lengthy negotiation with your buyer, which may be stressful, and it may prevent them from walking away over significant repair and maintenance issues.
Problems with the roofing, plumbing, electrical systems, or foundation; termites or other types of pests; mould or water damage; issues with the windows or doors; damage to the chimney; asbestos; and lead paint are some of the most common problems that cause a red flag to be raised during a home inspection.
Concern that wrong pricing would result in fewer available options
If you don’t price your home in a way that accurately reflects the current state of the property, you can have a difficult time selling it. You also incur the danger of accepting an offer, only to have the buyer’s inspector discover hidden flaws that cause the buyer to back out of the contract entirely after making those discoveries.
Buyers and the real estate agents representing them are often suspicious of properties that have previously had offers that were accepted fall through. If a contract has been cancelled without your consent, you should be prepared to explain why since purchasers’ representatives will ask.
Concern over the stagnation of equity in the home
A pre-listing house inspection is one strategy that sellers can utilise to shorten the sale process in the hopes of achieving a quicker closure. This is especially prevalent for sellers who are in need of a down payment on a new house and must spend the cash from the sale of their current home. The completion of a pre-inspection can, in fact, shave off a few days from the time it takes to sell your home, provided that the buyers are willing to forego conducting their own inspections after viewing the pre-inspection report.
A pre-listing examination offers a number of advantages.
In addition to alleviating some of the concerns described in the previous paragraph, there are a few other advantages to conducting an inspection prior to advertising a property for sale.
Better marketing
Pre-inspections don’t just reveal problems; they also provide you with the chance to highlight the positive aspects of your property and sell it more effectively. You should highlight any positive findings that your inspector provides you with, such as the fact that your furnace still has many years of service left or that your sewage connection is in pristine condition. You can do this in your listing.
Simply making the findings of your pre-inspection available to prospective purchasers is one method to establish credibility. Because you will be working directly with the buyer, establishing trust with them is especially vital if you are selling your item as a “for sale by owner,” also known as a “FSBO.”
Valuable improvement advice
A pre-inspection can assist sellers in prioritizing which repairs and enhancements should be completed before putting the property for sale. If you take the advice of your home inspector and update the areas of your property that are in the most urgent need of repair, you will be able to avoid upgrading areas that are less critical. Keep in mind that consumers are interested in more than simply cosmetic upgrades. In addition to this, they are interested in finding out the condition of your home’s major systems. As a result, if you end up having to replace your roof, upgrade your HVAC system, or instal new windows that are more energy efficient as a result of the findings of your pre-inspection, you will want to use those improvements as selling points.
More leverage in the negotiations
You will have more leverage in negotiations if you price the property appropriately, which is something you can do if you are already aware of the problems that the buyer will discover during the inspection. For instance, if you have already factored in the need for a new roof into your listing price and you make that clear when you receive the initial offer, buyers are less likely to come back and try to get you to lower the price even further. This is because you have already factored in the cost of the new roof.
If your pre-inspection comes back clean, on the other hand, you will have greater influence when bargaining with purchasers; however, this benefit is not as significant as the previous one.
Time saved
After the buyer has had their inspection done, you won’t have to worry too much about doing a lot of renegotiating because all of the information regarding your home, both the good and the bad, has already been made public. If you choose to have the repairs done before listing the property, you won’t have the added stress of trying to squeeze in a number of repairs while you’re busy trying to pack and move. If you choose to have the repairs done before listing the property, you won’t have to.
You will entice purchasers with genuine intentions.
It is an encouraging sign that a buyer is serious about purchasing your property if they are already knowledgeable about the content of your pre-inspection and still want to move ahead with the transaction.
Possibility to supervise the work being done
If the buyer discovers a problem during the inspection, they will most likely ask you to make the necessary repairs before the sale is finalized or provide them a credit. If the buyer wants the repairs to be finished before the closing, they will almost certainly insist that a licensed expert carry out the work (rather than doing it themselves), and they may even want to select the contractor themselves.
If you are able to finish the repairs before putting your home for sale, you will have more control over the contractor you use (and the price), and you may even be able to do some of the smaller work on your own.
The pre-listing house inspection comes with a few drawbacks.
There is no guarantee that the buyer’s inspector will have found the same fault just because your inspector did. As a result, if you perform a pre-inspection on your home, there is a good chance that you may find problems that would not have been discovered otherwise. And once you become aware of them, you are typically compelled to correct them; further discussion of this topic can be found below.
Should you tell potential buyers about a pre-sale house inspection?
You are required to make known any problems with the property’s condition of which you are aware (whether you know of them because of the pre-inspection or for another reason). In principle, you are expected to inform a buyer about any severe faults in your house, but the specifics of what you are needed to disclose are determined by the state in which you reside. Even in states with less stringent disclosure regulations, you are still compelled to reveal a problem if you are directly questioned about it. This is true even in states where the laws are less strict.
Your real estate agent should be able to provide you with a list of the disclosures that are necessary in your state. In most cases, they are associated with key systems in the home, structural flaws, health concerns, or objects that would be extremely costly to repair. Here are a few instances of common disclosure questions:
• Have you checked to see whether any of the paint in your house contains lead?
• Are you familiar with any previous instances of flooding?
• Are you aware that there are problems with the home’s foundation?
Be aware that any problems that were discovered during the pre-sale home inspection will be disclosed simultaneously with any problems that you were already aware of in your home. Disclosures are normally distributed following the receipt of an offer, although they may also be made accessible to prospective purchasers prior to the submission of an offer if the seller so chooses.
Do vendors declare when things have been repaired?
In a strict sense, the vendor is no longer required to disclose any problems once those problems have been resolved. However, the laws are different in each state, therefore it is best to discuss the matter with an attorney or a real estate agent. It is important to keep in mind, however, that reporting the fact that you have fixed specific items can actually be seen as a positive by potential purchasers.
Reparations to highlight in the advertising
Buyers are aware that routine upkeep and unexpected repairs are an inevitable aspect of house ownership. Consequently, anything that you can point out as having recently been restored or enhanced can be very appealing to consumers. The following improvements are always welcomed by prospective purchasers:
• New roof: Because the cost of replacing a roof is significant, if your roof is new, make sure that this fact is highlighted prominently in the listing description for your house. For example, you could say something like, “Roof replaced in 2019!”
• New wiring: If you did work to bring your electrical system up to code, call it out. This is especially important if you are selling an older property, as potential buyers may be curious about the electrical system regardless.
• Installing a new heating and cooling system: The lifespan of every key component in your home can be estimated, and the prospect of needing to replace a heating and cooling system so soon after buying a home is a source of concern for purchasers. Potential purchasers may feel more at ease knowing that you have recently replaced either or both of these items.
