Hiring A Home Inspector Beforehand

If you are selling a home, you'll get the highest price in the shortest time, if your home is in top condition. And you want to find out about any hidden problems before your house goes on the market. Almost all sales contracts include the condition that the contract is contingent upon completion of a satisfactory inspection.

The Pre-Listing Inspection

This is known as the "inspection contingency". Buyers will insist on a professional home inspection performed by an inspector they will hire. If the buyer's inspector finds a problem, it can cause the buyer to get cold feet and the deal can often fall through. At best, surprise problems uncovered by the buyer's inspector will cause delays in closing, and usually you will have to pay for repairs at the last minute, or take a lower price on your home.

Its better to pay for your own inspection before putting your home on the market. Having a pre-listing inspection done will make the whole sale process easier. Find out about any hidden problems and get them corrected in advance, on your own terms. Or present the items "as is" and reflected in the purchase price. Otherwise, you can count on the buyer's inspector finding them, at the worst possible time, causing delays, and costing you more money.

Pre Listing Inspection Benefits

One of the key benefits of having the inspection done early, is that if there are any problems discovered that need to be repaired, you can have the repairs done on your own terms, on your own schedule. When a problem isn't found until the buyer has an inspection performed, the deal you've worked so hard to get done may fall apart unless you act quickly to get the repairs done. Or you may have to take a lower price, in order to keep the deal moving. In either case, you'll almost certainly have more headache, and spend more money, than if you'd known about the problem and had it repaired before negotiations began.

Cincinnati pre listing home inspection

AN Inspection That Saves Money

You could save thousands by simply being able to shop around and get competitive bids from contractors, rather than being forced into paying for a "rush job" at the last minute. Another area where you can save money is in having flexibility to choose the materials used in repairs. Sales contracts usually specify repairs must be made using materials of "comparable quality". By identifying needed repairs early, you'll have the option to save money by using less expensive materials for the repairs. You can also benefit from simply offering certain items "as is". Often, you can negotiate with a buyer to accept items in the current condition by stipulating that they are reflected in the purchase price.

The Pre Listing Inspection And Home Buyers

But that same buyer may walk away from the deal if the conditions come as a surprise, after an offer has already been made. If the home is inspected before the house goes on the market you will be aware of the condition of the house before an offer is made. There won't be any surprises and the deal is far less likely to fall apart. It takes a lot of effort to get a sales agreement signed in the first place. If the inspection turns up problems, the buyer will want to negotiate a new deal and that second sales agreement is usually even harder to get done than the first one. By having a pre-listing inspection done, you can identify problems early. Then either correct them or present them "as is", assuring that the first offer you accept can move quickly and smoothly to closing without delays or costly surprises.

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Top Agents Recommend Pre-Inspection Listings

A home in my neighborhood sold recently for $640,000, in one day. The neighbors stood around on the sidewalk for days after it sold with their jaws dropped to their chests. None of us could believe the house sold for so much! Some neighbors were original owners in this plain-vanilla, nothing-special subdivision in Alexandria, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C. They paid $80,000 for their homes in 1972. I paid $440,000 in 1994 and felt robbed. Now I am pretty happy that my home has appreciated 45 percent in seven years.

What the neighbors don't know is that the price was threatened as a result of the home inspection conducted after the offer. We all think we live in chintzy little tract homes that have only appreciated due to their proximity to Washington, D.C. We're right! The home inspection revealed several conditions that were acceptable in 1972 when the homes were built, but are below code now. For example, the roof is sitting on plywood sheathing that is substandard because it is too thin. When the roof is replaced, the new owners will have to replace the sheathing too, adding about $3,000 to the cost of a new roof. To offset this condition and a few others, the sellers ended up reimbursing the buyers at settlement. The "real" price was about $15,000 lower than the sale price (but still a very good price).
- Some would say the home inspection "cost" the homeowners $15,000. But not top-producing agents. They say what cost the homeowners was the fact that the deficiencies in this home were a surprise to agents, sellers and buyers.

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House To Home Inspections LLC.

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