Seller's Inspection
The sale of a home can keep you on the edge of your seat. A Seller’s Inspection (also called a Pre-Listing Inspection) can ease your stress and take all the guesswork out of it. If your home is in top condition you'll get the highest price, fewer unknowns and surprises, and fewer roadblocks to a quick closing. There are several advantages to having a Seller's Inspection; here are a few:
• It alerts you to areas of immediate concern and gives
you time to make repairs and shop competitively for
contractors
• Should repairs be made, there is the opportunity to
attach repair estimates and/or paid invoices to the
inspection report
• It removes overinflated buyer-procured estimates
from the negotiation table
• It can make the home show better
• There is more flexibility in the scheduling of the
inspection—a time that is convenient for the seller
• Should there be any misstatements in the inspection
report, there is a chance to correct them before it
is generated
• The report can help you realistically price the home if problems exist
• Should there be no issues with the house, or if they have been corrected, the report can help you
substantiate a higher asking price
• The report provides a third-party, unbiased opinion to offer to potential buyers
• The report might relieve a prospective buyer's unfounded suspicions... before they walk away
• A Seller’s Inspection lightens negotiations and 11th-hour renegotiations
• Sometimes a Seller's Inspection report encourages buyers to waive the inspection contingency
• The deal may be less likely to fall apart, the way they often do, when a buyer's inspection unexpectedly
reveals a last-minute problem
A house? Condominium? Multifamily house?
It doesn’t matter; a Seller’s Inspection is just as important regardless of the type of property. When selling a property all the unknowns, stress, and surprises can be the same. Schedule your Seller’s Inspection today and be better prepared when the purchase offers come!
At the conclusion of the inspection as you review and consider the findings, there are typically two options:
The home can be presented "as is" and you may consider repair costs to be reflected in the listing price. Knowing what the issues are that exist in the house, which are likely to be found by a buyer's inspector, potentially strengthens your position as a seller. You have the option to negotiate with a buyer to accept items in the current condition by stipulating that they are reflected in the purchase price. Without knowing what the issues are, a buyer may walk away if the conditions come as a surprise after an offer has already been made. You know the buyer's inspector will find them, at the worst possible time, causing delays, and costing you more money.
The other option is to repair or address the issues before you list the house for sale. You will have the time to shop around for the repairs and plan how you want to address them. The advantage is that you will know what has been done, when, and how. Not only can this strengthen your position as a seller, but also gives you peace of mind through the sale process.
The inspection should be done as early as possible once you have made the decision to sell your home. This way, if there are any issues discovered that need to be repaired, you can have the repairs completed on your own terms and schedule.
When issues aren’t found until the buyer's inspection is performed, you could have very little time to address them, potentially jeopardizing the contract price or the sale altogether. Buyers appreciate knowing the condition of the major elements of a home up front, and in most areas sellers are required to disclose the condition of the home.
