- Buyer makes an offer to purchase a property.
- Buyer and seller negotiate and come to an acceptable price for both parties.
- Buyer does inspections.
- Inspection reveals potential roof issues and an electrical situation that require “further evaluation by a qualified professional”.
- Buyer panics and requests a substantial credit as well as a price reduction as they were unaware of the true condition of the house when they made their original offer.
- Seller knows the house is in good repair and believes the issues are minor, and now feel they would never have accepted the offer in the first place if they knew the buyers would be so unresonable.
Nobody is planning to be unreasonable here. The fact is all parties were blindsided by unexpected information and have little time to properly evaluate the situation. They react based on emotion and fear of the unknown. Neither the REALTOR nor the Home Inspector have the specialized expertise to determine the extent of these problems, nor the exact cost to repair them. Often time is limited by the terms of the contract and getting a “qualified professional” is not an option. So everybody reacts.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to be proactive and identify any potential issues before they become major problems?
The benefits to a Pre-Listing Home Inspection are many:
- If any major problems are found, sellers have the time to obtain several estimates and make repairs before the home is on the market.
- The cost of the repairs is a known fact, not an unknown fear.
- Sellers can address minor issues that could chip away at market value of their home in the most cost-effective way.
- Sellers have peace of mind that they are turning a sound home over to the buyers.
- Buyers appreciate the care that the sellers have taken and may be more likely to consider a home that has been inspected pre-listing.
- Can save both buyers and sellers from a second round of negotiations after agreeing on a purchase price.
- If the seller opts for an AS-IS marketing strategy, they can offer proof of needed repairs rather than leaving it up to the buyer’s imagination (typically a home sold as-is that needs $10,000 in repairs will result in a much greater reduction in the purchase price).
- It can help to greatly ease the stress of selling and buying a home.
A pre-listing inspection should be a top priority for home sellers. Just as you would take the time to clean, declutter and make your home look great before putting it on the market, you should take the time to uncover anything that might rear its ugly head and sabotage your transaction. Its a good investment if you want to get top dollar for your home.
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