Why you should get an inspection before selling your home: Pre-Sale inspections benefit both buyers and sellers
Finding a place to call home is such an important decision. Buyers and their agents spend hours/days/weeks finding the perfect home. A home inspector’s job is to help clients move forward with confidence by providing a thorough inspection report of a home so they know what they are getting into and can plan accordingly. Inspectors want clients to have peace of mind knowing they have an accurate understanding of the condition of their home (or investment property). A problem that sometimes occurs, however, is that an inspection report can give buyers a lot of new and unexpected information to digest quickly. Good inspectors work hard to provide helpful recommendations and perspective to clients. But there is still often unavoidable pressure on buyers and their realtor to make a quick decision about a huge investment. Buyers go under contract, quickly get an inspection, then are rushed in a short window to negotiate with the seller to address needed repairs. This causes stress for the buyer, their realtor as well as the seller and their realtor. Someone is likely to have to spend money they did not plan to or compromise on something they did not want to compromise on. Pre-sale inspections can alleviate much of this stress. A pre-sale inspection (also called a “pre-listing” inspection) is when a seller has their house inspected prior to putting it on the market. Pre-sale inspections can provide both the buyer and seller an awareness of the condition of a home before going under contract (aka “crunch time”). If a house has already been properly inspected by a certified home inspector the likelihood that major unknown issues will arise and need to be negotiated is very slim.
Should buyers still get their own inspection? - Absolutely. It is in the best interest of a buyer to get their own inspection done on top of the pre-sale inspection for a few reasons: 1) The condition of the house may have changed since the pre-sale inspection (some homes sit on the market for a while). 2. Not all inspectors are equal. As a buyer it is a good idea to have someone you know and trust inspect your new home. 3) Some sellers may choose not to share their inspection report with buyers. They may want to keep the inspection information to themselves for negotiation purposes. Whatever the case, buying a home that has already been inspected is helpful to both buyers and sellers.
How do pre-sale inspections benefit sellers? Pre-sale inspections can save sellers thousands of dollars. In this history of real estate negotiation it is doubtful the price of a home has ever gone up as a result of a buyer’s inspection report. Almost always prices are reduced as a result of unknown needed repairs found during the inspection. However, the beauty of having a pre-sale inspection done before putting your house on the market is that it allows you the upper-hand. As a seller you already have the information from the inspection that would otherwise be used as leverage against you in negotiation. Instead of anticipating the buyer asking for a price reduction after having an inspection, the seller is much more likely to sell their home at the price at which it was originally listed. Simply put, the list price of a house is determined by it’s apparent condition. If you don’t have an inspection report you don’t really know the condition of your home. For a seller, waiting to find out the true condition of your home from a buyer’s inspection report could cost you thousands.
Pre-sale inspections save everyone time and money. Data from the National Association of Realtors and Zillow shows that homes inspected before going to market sell at a higher price, sell more quickly, and take less time to close. If you are selling your house it is in your best interest to have a quality home inspection completed before putting your house on the market. If you are buying a house it is in your best interest to find a house that has already been inspected.