Prelisting Inspections; Gaining that Edge

This is a sore subject to many a home seller today. When their Realtor brings up the additional "cost" of getting a home inspection done prior to listing thoughts run through many a seller's mind of the cost to do the inspection not to mention the concerns over what hidden defects (or not so hidden to the property owner) might come out that will result in the loss of more hard earned equity from the Home Inspectors report.

In the buyer's market we find ourselves in however with 10 months of inventory for sale and so many new homes on the market, I always recommend to my seller clients to get a home inspection done prior to listing it for sale to get an edge on their competition.

What no seller wants is to have a buyer through their home inspection, after a long sought after contract is finally at hand, find defects no matter how big or small especially if the disclosure statement provided by the seller showed a clean home with no issues. This causes questions in the buyer's mind of "well what else are they not disclosing and what is the cost to repair?"

Recently I found a situation where a home closing almost went south due to a roof leak which could have been fixed for $300 but went in disrepair for no one knows how long until after the home inspector for the buyer pointed it out. Whether the transaction closes is anyone's guess, but in the buyer's mind they instantly had justifiable concerns over mold, rot, and anything associated with these issues. Are there any other issues with the home related to the leak? No one knows, but that is my point. The unknown issue is the one that will kill a home sale. The seller not fixing the issue and not having a home inspection to reveal the $300 patch job the roof needed ahead of time has created an issue. (Paint buckets in the attic kind of caused questions as well.)

Most people are not contractors and don't have enough experience to know what repairs or fixes cost. Therefore in most potential buyer's minds, a repair that in reality only costs a few hundred dollars might cost "thousands." These problems that arise could also potentially push the home's sale price down during negotiation. A seller may discover from a prelisting home inspection that support beams that that support a ceiling or the roof were improperly installed. The seller may choose to repair the support beams, rather than having the problem become a price negotiating tool. For example, paying $5,000 for the repair makes more sense than losing $10,000in the sale. The seller and their real estate professional also have the option of getting a quote for the cost of the work, putting it in the file with the more accurately completed disclosure statement to show what the real cost is to repair, and then price the house accordingly.

In the end, you don't want to leave yourself exposed as a seller and you need that extra edge. One home inspection company I spoke to locally, Homepro Home Inspections of Athens, has a page on their website devoted to "Pre-Inspected Homes for Sale." This difference maker that results in the taking away of doubt in a buyer's mind, may just get that offer over your competition!