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In Praise of Pre-Inspections for SELLERS

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette 479-253-3796

Dear Home Seller,

I know that when it is time to list your home you will have many opportunities to spend money on a property you are ready to leave behind. In fact it seems that by the time you call a real estate agent you're mentally already gone. Then why would a real estate professional add one more thing to buy, like a home inspection, to you're 'to do' list ?

Now, if you are the one in a million, disciplined, natural born handyman of a homeowner with awesome building maintenance skills you may choose not to read on. However, if you are the normal, unskilled, busy, procrastinator home owner and you haven't read (and understood) an appliance manual lately or been on a ladder, or under a house lately or ever, you may want to think about a pre-inspection of the property you are about to list for sale.

At almost every listing appointment  the Seller assures me that his home is is great shape. My response is usually, "Really, how do you know your home is in great shape? Have you been on the roof in the last few weeks? Do you know what a good roof looks like? Have you been in the attic lately? Have you cleaned the gutters in the last few months? Have you replaced the furnace filters? Do you own spare furnace filters?"

I humbly submit that the fact of the matter is that in the same way that driving a car doesn't qualify me to work on one, owning a home doesn't mean that you know what kind of shape your house is really in.

I know, OUCH! The truth stings sometimes. But if your goal is to sell, you may need to let an expert (like the expert the potential buyers will hire) look your place over. Read the Inspectors report and make a pro-active repairs in a pre-emptive move that will tell potential buyers that the expert agrees, your house is in great shape...after all.

Respectfully,

Your Listing Agent

 

 

 

Posted by

Proudly serving your real estate needs in Bentonville, Rogers and Bella Vista, AR 479-253-3796. I will provide a free market value analysis of your property. Just ask!

charles.edwards1@coldwellbanker.com 

Show All Comments Sort:
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I'm surprised to see so many agree with this. I humbly disagree.

My job is to keep as much money in my client's pocket as possible. Spending money on a pre-inspection and then making repairs may not be the best remedy.

I just closed on a listing where the buyer offered to make the repairs at no cost to my seller. If we had done a pre-inspection and then made the repairs my seller might have been out $500-600. The buyer accepted the house as is if we would do a quick closing (13 days). We did it. I'm glad my client didn't spend money upfront that he didn't need to.

Jan 31, 2012 03:49 PM
Lloyd Binen
Certified Realty Services - Saratoga, CA
Silicon Valley Realtor since 1976; 408-373-4411

Pre-listing inspections have been the norm in Silicon Valley for 10 years, or more.  Why have surprises?  I wrote of post, but it wasn't featured.

Jan 31, 2012 03:56 PM
Sandy Acevedo
951-290-8588 - Chino Hills, CA
RE/MAX Masters, Inland Empire Homes for Sale

I like this idea because when faced with a repair where you have time to bid the job and make sure it gets done properly, rather than have the surprise during escrow and have to scramble to hurry up and get it fixed and sometimes paying more than you need to. (wow what a long sentence! not fixing it).

Jan 31, 2012 05:32 PM
Charlie Dresen
The Group, Inc - Steamboat Springs, CO
Steamboat Springs, CO e-Pro

Excellent advice and by following it, you have that much more time to address any serious issues and as such might be able to save some money by getting bids on major repairs needed. It's also a great benefit to a potential buyer and could be a "swing in your favor" variable if someone has a few residences under consideration. While planning ahead isn't for everyone, it sure beats the emergency fix that costs double or triple what it could have been done for.

Jan 31, 2012 09:45 PM
Joshua Frederick
Home Inspector for ASPEC Residential Services, LLC - Defiance, OH
Home Inspector in Defiance & all of Northwest Ohio

Some can even put a sign in the yard next to yours to help sell the house: http://www.moveincertified.com/

Feb 01, 2012 12:25 AM
Scott Seaton Jr. SLS Home Insp
SLS Home Inspections-Kankakee Will Iroquois Grundy Counties - Bourbonnais, IL
The Home Inspector With a Heart!

Sounds like the same great advice, which I give all the time. Just hard to get people to believe their house isn't perfect. Thanks

Feb 01, 2012 12:39 AM
Allison Stewart
St.Cloud Homes - Saint Cloud, FL
St. Cloud Fl Realtor, Osceola County Real Estate 407-616-9904

I agree and have always recommended to sellers to get a home inspection prior to listing their home. It is preventative leverage against a lower offer being made or adjustment of offer, when the buyers home inspection turns up potential problems which could have been avoided.

Feb 01, 2012 01:19 AM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Charles, pre-inspections are a good idea. It alleviates any surprises later on.

Feb 01, 2012 01:42 AM
Erv Fleishman
Realty Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Luxury Prop Specialist Realty Associates

I agree with the concept entirely. Unfortunately, many sellers would simply hope that things would not be found or, conclude that it makes no difference. They will fix what is found only when they have to. Bad decisions, but common.

Feb 01, 2012 02:31 AM
Joshua Frederick
Home Inspector for ASPEC Residential Services, LLC - Defiance, OH
Home Inspector in Defiance & all of Northwest Ohio

I agree with Erv. Pre-listing inspections, in this area (and most from what I hear), are just not very popular.

Feb 01, 2012 02:43 AM
Rob Ernst
Certified Structure Inspector - Reno, NV
Reno, NV-775-410-4286 Inspector & Energy Auditor

I'm glad to see so many agents agree with this. Now go out and hire the best Inspector you can find to do the listing inspection. When the buyers find problems the statistics say they want 3-4K off the listing price for every 1k in repairs the Inspector finds. No one say the seller has to fix the problems, just price the house right. Put the inspection report on the kitchen counter. I've done several for an agent that rarely has the house listed more than a month. It reduces holding costs and liability. 

Feb 01, 2012 11:32 AM
Donald Reich
Madison Specs - New Rochelle, NY
Cost Segregation Specialist

A lot of sellers (and agents) are nervous that a pre-listing inspection can open a can of worms. Hmmm..........

Feb 01, 2012 02:38 PM
Charles Edwards Bentonville
Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette 479-253-3796 - Bentonville, AR
AR REALTOR, Bentonville Real Estate Agent and Broker

Thank you for reading and commenting.

Yes I know that the idea of pre-inspection can be met with a big ugly NO! from the seller...I also know that there are often potential deal breakers hiding in a house.

Which is better, having  house fall out of contract over an inspection in the middle of the deal or paying for an inspection upfront? By the way,  leave a copy of the inspection out on the litchen for buyers to see along with the repair reciepts?

Furthermore...does every agent take every listing no matter what the condition and regardless of whether or not the client LISTENS to their EXPERT advice? When I go to a listing appointment I'm armed with current information and a level of expertise that if followed by the seller will sell their home in a few months...without ugly surprises

Feb 04, 2012 01:48 AM
Karol Yeager
REALTY FIVE of Defiance - Defiance, OH
"We choose to give"

I sold my own home 4 years ago, I had a Pre Home Inspection done, my house sold in 7 weeks! I used my pre-inpection as part of my marketing plan. It allowed my husband and I to repair a few things we had not thought about & didn't realize they even needed done... The buyers did order their own inspection, it came out clean as a whistle!!!

Karol 

"We choose to give"

Feb 05, 2012 02:01 PM
Charles Edwards Bentonville
Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette 479-253-3796 - Bentonville, AR
AR REALTOR, Bentonville Real Estate Agent and Broker

Karol. I rest my case! Excelletn strategy!

Feb 07, 2012 08:05 AM
Doug Anderson
Tucker Associates Real Estate Services - Danville, CA
Bay Area Real Estate Views

Nice to see you Charles. I stopped reading at "...if you are the one in a million, disciplined, natural born handyman of a homeowner with awesome building maintenance skills you may choose not to read on." because that describes me to a tee...JK Great advice that I follow as well. No need to muck up the works when a little foresight and elbow grease may yield a smoother closing and a greater reward.

Feb 09, 2012 08:16 PM
Joni Bailey
101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX
Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®

Listing inspections... Just another way we can help sellers get the most for their home! Why wait till you have negotiated down to your lowest price to find out you have termites and need $1000 treatment. Helps sellers through a smooth closing without surprises! 

Feb 13, 2012 04:37 PM
Charles Edwards Bentonville
Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette 479-253-3796 - Bentonville, AR
AR REALTOR, Bentonville Real Estate Agent and Broker

Joni, that's such a great example of my point. Once you're under contract, re-negotiations, post inspection can be costly. I want my clients to know upfront that they can proceed with confidence.

Feb 14, 2012 05:14 AM
Jim Keilson
Maryland Home Inspection Services, Inc. - Gaithersburg, MD
Specializing in Mold and Radon Gas Testing.

To #26 an 27 If you do extensive research you will see that the people that say no and take there chances are the same ones that take much longer to sell.  Also in the end they still have to either fix the deficiencies or reduce their selling price.  If they took the time to educate themselves on the pre inspection benefits they would see it is a no brainer and will save them time and money in the end.

Apr 15, 2012 01:53 AM
Ottawa Real Estate

It definitely is great when sellers get inspections, but in my experience, usually they don't want to spend the cash to have it done.

Nov 28, 2013 12:46 AM