I just received an e-mail for a Real Estate Agent based out of the Los Angeles area about what I felt the benefits were of having a pre-listing inspection done. L.A. is about 65 miles from my home base so I think I can talk about this intelligently. As an Inspector, my approach to presenting items that may need attention or just flat out have not been done properly is very calm, with little or no emotion if possible. The bottom line to me is 99.9% of things can get fixed, it's just a math problem. On the other hand you may run across and inspector, and I sure you have, that wears the level of his testosterone on his sleeve. He or she may make a big deal out of a leaking faucet or improperly squared door frame. I have received stories of minor cracking in stucco being called a disaster causing first time buyers a cardiac arrest. Anyway what I am trying to express is, if you have a pre-listing inspection done, and fix the items that are the biggest concern then the likely hood of a deal having some surprises at the inspection limit your risk. You can openly present your prospective buyers with the inspection and the items you have fixed. This makes you look transparent to everyone, you have gone over and above. In a buyer's market you cannot afford to have another bump in the road. Yu have loan problems to deal with, foreclosures selling at 25% less, and the last thing you need is to find a major issue such as a moisture related problem that may blow the deal out of the water for many buyers. Anyway to answer the question, YES, pre-listings pay for themselves. See ya next time on Active Rain. Jack
Jack good information. I believe that this not only applies to LA, but pretty much the whole country at this time.
Jack,
I agree with "Jack" that this applies to the entire country. I always suggest to sellers to get an inspection either pre-listing or while the listing is active and before bids start coming in. Some get why they should spend this money now and some don't. It really pays for itself when you get the "testosterone" inspector that scares the heck out of a buyer. We all have our horror stories of those inspections.
Luckily, I get clients working with inspectors who talk with the client (usually the buyer) and want to know from them how big a deal they want made of the problems encountered.
It would be so much easier if every listing had a pre-listing inspection and the seller corrected or acknowledged what might still be an issue. This way the buyer's inspector should come up with no surprises.
Jack, thanks for the post. My question that I am working with right now is when I have a buyer and the inspection has already been done can I call that inspector and have them come back out? How would you handle that?
Jack, I work hard to persuade sellers to have inspections completed prior to the listing going into the CPML. I also stress the importance of offering a home warranty as a means of risk management. Buyers are tending to want perfection, even in older homes. We should all remember to focus on the MAJOR items in a home inspection. Thank you for your common-sense, practical blog.
I started promoting this last year and have had nothing but success. A couple sellers opted not to do it, but most did and were glad they did.
Seller and seller's agents in my neck of the woods hate them! Then, when the buyer has a good inspector come in = they flip out! So, it seems it would be best for the seller to have an inspection ahead of time so things can be repaired prior to the sale.
Great idea....I'll see if I can get an agreement for this on my appointment today.
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