3 Reasons for a SELLER to get a Home Inspection
If you are in the search for a new home, one of the first thing that a buyer will normally schedule once a home is under contract is a home inspection. That home inspection reveals a good deal about the home. Home inspectors are a licensed 3rd party in a real estate transaction. There job is to thoroughly inspect a home and point out items and areas of concern. They are supposed to find things wrong with the house….that’s their job!
Most folks do a great job of maintaining their home, but even the most cared for home has a few things that get uncovered in a home inspection. I frequently joke with my clients, that the reason they’ve never seen me under a home, is because I don’t go under homes….even my own. Its just not a place that I frequent, and I am sure there’s a good percentage of home owners that feel the same way.
Full Disclosure
Nothing fancy about this….You can’t hide the important stuff. If your home has major issues, they need to be disclosed. It’s the right thing to do and while it may be painful to discover the problems of your home, to hide them is wrong an unethical. If you discover a problem fix it and disclose it to the buyers.
If a deal is going to fall apart, the wheels likely started to wobble in the inspection process. There are items that are revealed in the home inspection that scare a buyer or present a problem that the seller is unable to address due the financial cost or unwilling to complete hoping the buyer will just accept it. A home inspection for buyers is very common but recently I started recommending them for my sellers. As a seller, you may be completely unaware of a problem. There could be systems that are beginning to fail, or that didn’t get discovered in your own inspection process. Here are 3 reasons why a seller may want to consider having their own inspection done prior to listing the home, and while this article is dealing specifically with a home inspection, the same exact things hold true for other inspections like a septic, pest, well, etc.
1-Save Money on Repair Cost
When you have an inspection prior to listing the home, you can save a tremendous amount of money on the repair cost. I would NEVER suggest hiding something and all work you do on your home, should always reflect and show a pride in ownership. If you have the skill set to make repairs your self and are DIY type, then it makes all the sense in the world to complete the work yourself. Once armed with the inspection you can simply use it a checklist and punch sheet for items. A great example would be a leaking shower head. For the cost of a plumber to repair, you can purchase a much nicer unit and install it yourself. While the higher end won’t add value to the home, it will surely make it more marketable. If you have several of these items that you can fix yourself, your return on investment is pretty good.
2-Give your buyers PEACE of mind….instead of them giving your a PIECE of theirs.
NO ONE likes surprises….especially if those surprises have several 0’s attached to the end of them. Home repairs can be costly, and if you are considering buying a home, the last thing you want is to know that there’s something wrong with the home you fell in love with and now you wonder what else about the home is hiding in the shadows waiting to be revealed the day after closing. There’s a peaceful easy feeling, (thanks Eagles….that’s a great line!) when a buyer agent gets to read “home inspection already done by owners, and major problems have been fixed”. If I am representing a buyer, that one line makes me feel more comfortable putting in an offer. I know there’s n0 monsters awaiting me in my own inspection report.
3-Avoid renegotiations
Once a problem is discovered by a buyer, they will either want the problem fixed or ask for an allowance to make the repairs after closing (Assuming the lender will allow it). While in the Due Diligence period (inspection period) buyers can ask for repairs or changes to the contract. If they find problems in the inspection, especially a big problem, it’s highly likely the buyers will want an adjustment to the contract in the form of a concession or price reduction. Even though we haven’t gotten the money in hand yet as a seller, any change in that price is immediately felt. This will impact your bottom line, and could potentially change what your next home purchase will be.
Wrap
When you put your home on the market with an inspection in hand, you’ve armed and equipped yourself with a tremendous amount of critical information. You now have the ability to work through a list of problems and make sure any offers you get are more solid. You’ve given yourself an opportunity to address and correct any major issues that would cause a buyer to want to run away and you’ve prevented having to change the contract. Cost of a home inspection vary by region and the size of the home, but regardless of the cost, I can almost guarantee you its going to be money well spent.
I recently did a video on home inspections you can find it here
There’s also a lot of other great video content on my YouTube channel.