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Should a seller pay for a professional home inspection prior to listing their home?

By Juli Vosmik

Real Estate Agent with Dominion Fine Properties SA582226000

November 16, 2010 04:19 PM

This issue has been brought up numerous times here on Activerain about the benefits of a seller getting a home inspection done BEFORE putting their home on the market. But I have a couple of questions.

Since all home inspectors must be certified, is the home inspection paid by the seller transferable to the potential buyer?

Is it an actual incentive to be able to say in MLS: home has been professionally inspected and all items of concern corrected?

What happens if the home buyer insists on his/her/their own inspector who comes up with some "major" items needing correction that the original inspector missed?

I'm wondering if home inspectors, being the human beings they are, are just like us and have more specialties in a certain area than others. Maybe they were originally a roofer? Maybe they were previously a plumber? Or an electrician? Or a cement layer?

Are there different strengths depending on background?

Should we advise a seller to hire an inspector and what are the pros and cons of doing so?

I would really appreciate the input of the certified inspectors and of the real estate agents who suggest the "pre-inspection."

Thank you, all, in advance.

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Rob Regan

EXP Realty - San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Real Estate Agent

Do you really want your Seller to find out about some major issue AFTER they've accepted an offer with a price they are (sometimes barely) happy with, only to have the Buyer ask for HUGE concessions in price or repairs - OR walk away????

Nuff said :)

Nov 18, 2010 08:07 AM

Simon Mills

Mills Realty - Toluca Lake, CA

My advise to the seller is to get a home inspection and cure the defects prior to listing the property. I would also give the inspection report to the buyer and show them that the work had been corrected. However, I would insist that the buyer get their own inspection or sign a waiver that they have passed on their inspection right. My goal is to have everything out in the open and to have the seller deal with the repairs on their own terms and not with the added pressure of being involved in a timed escrow.

Nov 18, 2010 09:31 AM

Jen Edwards

RE/MAX Unlimited - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Broker Associate

I have mixed feeling on this. If the home hasn't sold and there are questions surrounding its integrity, by all means have one done. I often find that buyers don't want to see the seller's report as they would rather rely on their own inspector of choice. If a seller really wants to do it in advance, by all means have at it!

Nov 18, 2010 10:04 AM

Pat Haddad, ABR, CRS, ePRO, GRI

Keller Williams Indianapolis Metro NE - Carmel, IN

Carmel, Fishers, Westfield IN Real Estate Expert

Juli--Not sure how much value I can add here at comment #64! Great post and wonderful comments. Just goes to show that those few who complain about the same old things being blogged about are really missing the boat. I read so many things here that support both the yays and nays.

One of my assistants is a past client. When she relocated here and bought a house, she used an inspector I recommended and either asked for things to be fixed or fixed them herself. When she sold the home, amazingly, the buyer coincidentally used the same inspector and he found lots of expensive items he missed the first time around---things that had to have been there. Needless to say, we are not recommending that inspection company anymore.

Nov 18, 2010 12:42 PM

John M. Wickline

JW Home Inspections, Inc. - Hilton Head Island, SC

Hi Juli

so many comments. Must be a topical issue or something like that. Anyway, many good reasons for having a Pre-listing inspection have been made in the long string of comments. One more reason to have one is that is allows the buyer to get repairs done early, instead of waiting for "crunch time" when time is of the essence, and the seller will likely pay higher prices from the contractors. The seller can usually take more time and get estimates on repairs they elect to make, as well as search out good reputable contractors. This aspect makes sense to me from what I have observed in my locale. To answer your concerns about Inspectors being different, why I must say they absolutely are different. So are Realtors. So are Doctors. So are so many other professions. The main idea in a home inspection is to catch the Big items. Most inspectors catch the Big items as well as other concerns. Good luck and thanks for posting such a HOT topic.

John

John M. Wickline

JW Home Inspections, Inc.

Hilton Head, SC

JWInspect.com

John M. Wickline

Nov 18, 2010 01:16 PM

Paul Armstrong

Realty Network - Laguna Hills, CA

Serving Orange County & The Long Beach Area

I think it depends on the market for that specific home. In Southern California, most decent homes - that are priced well - sell fast, and often buyers buy them "as is". It may not be necessary for the homeowner to pay $300 -$400 for a home inspection. 99% of the time, the buyer has one anyway. I took a listing last week in an OK neighborhood and received 3 offers in 5 days. In this case there was no need for a owner paid inspection.

Nov 18, 2010 01:45 PM

Jennifer Manchester

Suburban Properties of Charlotte, LLC - Mint Hill, NC

GRI, ePRO, ASP - Broker/Home Stager

Hi Juli:

I encourage all my sellers to obtain a pre-sale home inspection. It puts them in the drivers seat at negotiation time if they have addressed all repairs. In NC, all inspectors are licensed and their should not be a significant difference between 2 inspectors reports. I would however recommend my buyers do their own inspection on a pre-inspected home because things can happen depending on how long the home has been on the market and when the original inspection was performed.

Nov 18, 2010 01:51 PM

DeeDee Riley

Lyon Real Estate - El Dorado Hills CA - El Dorado Hills, CA

Realtor - El Dorado Hills & the Surrounding Areas

Hi Juli,

I think it's a good idea for the sellers to do the pest inspection ahead of time as that is the one that is going to turn up costly issues like dry rot or termites that can be fixed ahead if the sellers want, but on the home inspection, my buyers are there so they get to know what issues there are and how my inspector advises them regarding repair or further inspection.

Hope this helps,

DeeDee

Nov 18, 2010 02:27 PM

Marte Cliff

Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID

Your real estate writer

My take on this is that the seller should have an inspection - and correct anything the inspector finds that might cause a problem with the sale. But I don't think they should even suggest that the buyer use that inspection, because it could come back to bite them.

All inspectors are not created equal - just as all realtors and all copywriters are not created equal. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses.

I had a VERY irate buyer once who had relied on the inspection report that said the attic fan was in working condition. It turned out that there WAS NO ATTIC FAN. For whatever reason, that was important to her and she wanted to hang her inspector, the seller, and the seller's agent.

She was a nice lady, but she sure knew some interesting words!

Nov 18, 2010 03:10 PM

Carla Freund

Keller Williams Preferred Realty - Raleigh, NC

NC Real Estate Transition & Relocation 919-602-848

Judy, I've seen both the pros and cons of this. I had a client years ago who hired a home inspector prior to listing their home. Good think they did, they found some issues that could have been a major problem and had them corrected. I've had sellers get and inspection and although I told them the buyers inspector would still find something, they were in shock he found a short list of small items.

I once had an inspector tell me he really doesn't like doing the pre-inspections because things can happen before the home closes.

I still recommend them if I suspect there could be a problem.

Nov 18, 2010 03:39 PM

Marshall Brown

Mid America Inspection Services, LLC - Fargo, ND

BSEE, CHI

Most home inspectors will have varying strengths in different areas. We all tend to focus best on things we are familiar with and, of course, that's not limited to home inspectors.

If a Realtor was wanting to err on the safe side they would always recommend inspections from both side of the transaction. On the listing side we would be interested in minimizing the chances of a buyers inspector finding something that might hinder the sale and so the pre-sale inspection can serve to inform the seller about things they might not be aware of that could slow or stop the deal from going forward.

I find it hard to ever justify not having a buyer inspection. It can help inform, comfort and protect all parties involved. It is about the least costly part of a sale and yet can, and almost always does, provide the most informative unbiased report of the condition of the subject of the transaction, the property.

Nov 19, 2010 01:36 AM

Anonymous

John Fields

Even thought the buyer should have their own inspection the seller should do one before the house goes on the market. Why? Here is Southern California along the coast many of the single family homes are 50 years or more and many of the agents have been in the business less than 10 years. How many times has the selling agent told their clients that if the kitchens and baths are new then the plumbing and electrical are new. Having a home inspection prior to the house going on the market avoids a lot of problems later. It is also a great way for the seller find out a problem and correct it before another home inspector can blow it all out of proportion.

Many of the properties I sell were built between 1890 and 1940. Having information on the foundation and other systems before writing the offer makes life easier for all. I can't count the number of times my buyer has hesitated because they are worried about an old foundation or old wiring.

Nov 19, 2010 04:51 AM

#72

Karen Crowson

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Rancho Bernardo, CA

Your Agent for Change

So many times the sellers are making cosmetic fixes, like painting. Why paint a deck that has pest problems or wood rot? Why price the house and then get nailed for it's now perceived, lesser vale? Why pay premium prices for repairs during your tight escrow times, when you could get competitive bids and take care of the problems up front. How much more confidence might a buyer have when section one clearance is provided up front?

Nov 19, 2010 12:56 PM

Juli Vosmik

Dominion Fine Properties - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale/Cave Creek, AZ real estate 480-710-0739

WOW, so many great comments. Thank you ALL for your input. So many of you took a lot of time and put a lot of thought into your responses. I also really like the specific instances from many of you.

So, I gather the bottom line is this - for the major things, it sounds like a good idea.

To help market the home, a copy of the listing/pre-listing inspection report and copies of the receipts could be an asset when selling.

Bottom line, it depends on your market.

Again, I thank you all for some great input.

Nov 20, 2010 04:22 PM

Wayne B. Pruner

Oregon First - Tigard, OR

Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Realtor, GRI

I strongly believe that pre-inspected homes sell faster and for more money. A buyer wants a well maintained home. I share the inspection report with all buyers and not once has the buyer got their own inspection.

Nov 21, 2010 02:34 PM

Juli Vosmik

Dominion Fine Properties - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale/Cave Creek, AZ real estate 480-710-0739

Interesting, Wayne. I think the consensus of the comments was for the buyers to still get their own.

Nov 21, 2010 02:58 PM

Marilyn Boudreaux

Marilyn Boudreaux, Century 21 Bono Realty - Lake Charles, LA

Lake Charles LA Century 21 Realtor

I usually prepare my sellers that come inspection time the inspector will find all kinds of things. I think if the seller is willing it is a good idea to have an inspection ahead of time so you know what you are up against. It comes in handy when you start negotiating the contract. Buyer will probably get their own inspector but at least the seller is not caught off guard. I wish more sellers would do pre inspection

Nov 22, 2010 09:36 AM

Juli Vosmik

Dominion Fine Properties - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale/Cave Creek, AZ real estate 480-710-0739

Thanks for your input, Marilyn. It seems to be the general concensus that it's a good idea. I like how the inspectors chimed in that they offer different services - major versus entire. I think if they all did that, more sellers would be inclined - that would give them time to get the work done instead of that rush, rush, rush at the contract stage.

Nov 22, 2010 03:37 PM

Erby Crofutt

B4 U Close Home Inspections&Radon Testing (www.b4uclose.com) - Lexington, KY

The Central Kentucky Home Inspector, Lexington KY

Pre-Listing inspections are rare around here. Agents don't ususally recommend them. Consequently, the seller is usually put in the between a rock and a hard place positon of having to do quick repairs to get to closing. Quick repairs cost more.

Some people just don't get it, though it seems most of the commenters here do get it!

Nov 22, 2010 11:34 PM

Tom Waite

Thomas Waite Real Estate Broker - Cypress, CA

So Cal-Apartment Bldg Investments

I see no problem with the seller obtaining an inspection and correcting the items which CAN be corrected and disclosing those that CANNOT.

I wouldn't mention the inspection or repairs in the MLS but would disclose them in the appropriate forms and deliver a copy of the inspection for the new inspector to review prior to his/her inspection.

Disclose, disclose, disclose!

Nov 23, 2010 03:52 AM