The Top Three (3) Reasons Sellers Should Get a Pre-listing Home Inspection

​If you are a home seller feeling a bit anxious about the possible future results of buyer's home inspection or just hate being in stressful situations, you may be the perfect candidate for a pre-listing home inspection. The top reasons for sellers to get a home inspection include:

1. Reduce stress by helping to ensure a smooth escrow process.

Concluding a house sale successfully is often about managing the expectations of both buyers and sellers. Sellers are often surprised when significant defects are found during the home inspection, as many types of issues can go unnoticed for years with few symptoms in places of the house that are rarely visited such as the roof, attic, or crawlspace. Buyers can also get spooked if several previously-unknown larger issues are discovered during escrow. For both buyer and seller, it is much better if there are few surprises.

A pre-listing inspection by the seller can help to ensure that there are no big surprises during the escrow process related to the house condition, provided that the seller acts to address those issues in some manner. The general courses of action are:

• Do nothing. The seller could disclose the major issues with the house in the listing and share the complete inspection report with the buyer as part of the seller’s disclosure. This can support an “as-is” sale by reducing the unknowns and helping the buyer to better understand the scope of issues with the house. Some buyers are happy to take on small projects, or even large projects, provided they have a good grasp of the scope of the issues and have a good feel for how they are going to solve them.
• The seller could perform some, most, or all the necessary repair items before the house is listed. Some sellers then opt to have the same home inspector come back to re-inspect (for an additional fee) and create a modified version of the home inspection report to verify that the work was completed satisfactorily. The house could then perhaps be listed as “move-in ready,” attracting more potential buyers, with more confidence on the part of the seller knowing they had already dealt with most or all of needed repairs and upgrades. And, have proof of the same should it be needed.
• The seller can proactively apply credits to the buyer, even as part of the listing. For instance, if the dishwasher is broken (and not worth repairing) the seller could offer a $400 credit to the buyer towards the purchase of a new dishwasher. The buyer might be quite happy with this arrangement as they would then purchase a new dishwasher of their choice at the conclusion of escrow.

2.  Save money on repairs.

If you, as seller, are a handy homeowner or know a great handyman, you may want the opportunity to do many of the easier non-specialized repair items yourself to save on labor costs. If only a specialist is qualified to do the work, or that is your preference (qualified professionals are always recommended), then having adequate time to do some research, ask questions, get several competitive bids, negotiate on price, and get the work done at a more-relaxed pace can certainly result in money savings on repairs.

If you choose instead to later perform repairs requested by the buyer during escrow, there is typically only a small window to perform the work, which could put you at a distinct disadvantage in regards to who is available to perform the work and realizing any cost savings.
 
3. Get the best price for your house.

As they say, knowledge is power. In the “do nothing” vein discussed previously you, as seller, could get estimates from one or more general contractors for all the needed repairs and upgrades to help justify the asking price for the house. Say, for instance, that sales comparisons the area suggest that your house in excellent, “move-in ready” shape would be worth $300K and the contractor bids averaged about $25K, then you would have solid justification to list the house for $275K and hold firm on that price.
 
Alternatively, if you were to undertake those repairs prior to the listing using the most cost-effective approaches available, it is reasonable to presume that you could complete the needed work for less money. Let’s say you were able to get all the work done for $15K out-of-pocket. Then, instead of listing the house for $275K, you could list the house as “move-in ready,” asking the full market value of $300K, and hold firm to that price. Subtracting the $15K out-of-pocket would result in a net plus of $10K for your efforts, which would more than justify the cost of the pre-listing home inspection.

Your real estate agent is the best person to talk to develop a marketing strategy for the sale of your house based upon current market conditions in your area and how a pre-listing home inspection might be leveraged to attract more buyers, get the best price for your house, and help facilitate a smooth escrow process. 

See also:
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A Home Inspection, Defined
The Top Three (3) Reasons Buyers Should Get a Home Inspection