I have been asked over and over again "Why should we have our home inspected if we are putting it on the market? Isn't that the buyer's responsibility?" We have come to expect the buyers will always conduct a building inspection so why should the seller's spend money on something the buyers will usually insist on doing themselves anyways?
The simple answer is it can save the sellers time, money and aggravation in the long run!
We are all well aware of the offering price of a home when it goes on the market. In time, an offer is placed on the home that is negotiated, which eventually leads to a contract being signed. The next phase of the process inherently tends to get looked over by a lot of sellers when it comes to the price of their home...the building inspection.
The buyers will most likely conduct a building inspection to ensure the home is of good quality and is safe. This is where there's opportunity for the buyers to come back and renegotiate the price of the home or even worse, terminate the contract.
What if something could be done to help prevent or minimize this from happening.
A pre-inspection of the home can help save the sellers money!
By performing a building inspection when listing the home, the seller(s) can identify the issues that may come up which may affect the value of the contract price. They take action to correct them before an offer is presented. If the home inspection reveals $1,000 or more worth of repairs, the homeowner can make the repairs and factor it into their bottom line. The inspection also shows the potential buyers the sellers have nothing to hide and are proactive about keeping the property well maintained.
One of t
he most common occurrences that comes up during the home inspection are issues in the electrical panel. Double tapped breakers, neutral and ground wires terminating on the same bus bar and piggyback wiring are just a few examples that are mentioned. Sometimes the panel has not been properly grounded. I was at a building inspection the other day when the inspector opened up the panel. This was the cleanest looking panel that we have ever seen! Someone took pride in making sure the panel was well organized.
None of these things are major issues, however it can remedied with a small amount of work from an electrician and become one less issu
e for a buyer. Other issues that should be noted are Corrugated stainless steel pipes that have not been properly bonded as well as the water pipes not being properly bonded. The picture to the right was taken from another recent inspection. This a good example of what you don't want to see!
The next common issue that comes up on an inspection are the windows. Often times windows have 
a fogged look, moisture appearing on the glass or have a hazed appearance to them. This means the window has lost it's seal. Although it has been compromised and does reduce the energy efficiency of the window, it may not always be structurally unsound. On almost every instance this has come up, the buyers have wanted the window replaced. Window replacement can be fairly expensive depending on the age of the house. In many cases, the window can be repaired which can help save the home owner money.
The other issue that comes up many times with condos, townhomes and rental properties are egress windows in the bedrooms and finished basements. In Chittenden County of Vermont, there are fire and safety inspections that are often part of the purchase and sale contract. Granted, some of the complexes are exempt from the regulation, however most are not and are subject to the upgrade if noted by the fire marshal. These can cost the homeowner plenty depending on how many bedrooms there areo rif the basement has been finished! Wouldn't that have been nice to know before you negotiated the price! Too many times the sellers have been caught off guard with unexpected expenses that can ultimately affect their ability to purchase their next home or move on with their future plans.
Want to read more? Stayed tuned!
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