Can a Pre-Inspection Help Home Sellers?
Home sellers trying to prep for a sale start to notice the many problems that their home has. The small leaks, cracks, and items that are completely broken and have been ignored for years now need to be repaired. As a result, some home sellers find it overwhelming to try and pinpoint everything that needs to be done.
To help with this process it can be a good idea for home sellers to hire an inspector before putting their home on the market.
Finding Problems
Home sellers know that any buyer that walks through the home and makes an offer will expect an inspector to come through. In their minds, spending the money to hire an inspector before listing may seem counterproductive. But it can save home sellers who have neglected maintenance in their home a lot of money and time if they fix major problems before a buyer learns about them.
Using a pre-listing inspection will help a homeowner decide what problems need to be taken care of, what problems are not a big deal, and which problems they can completely ignore. Not everything needs to be in tiptop shape for a sale to go through, but knowing where the problems are will help with negotiations.
Better Offers
A house that advertises its problems may be off-putting to some buyers. Buyers want to move into a house that does not have any problems to fix.
However, realistically there are always problems in a home. Buyers who are ready to take on the problems that every home brings will be glad a homeowner discloses problems right away.
This can help with negotiations, as well. Telling a buyer that a problem is present and giving them quotes from local contractors on how much it will take to fix will put them at ease. They are much less likely to negotiate a price down if they know the home sellers have done their research and priced accurately with problems in mind.
Another aspect to consider is the use of a pre-inspection in place of a buyer’s inspection. A market that is favorable to the seller may have many buyers vying for the same property. Buyers who are trying to compete with others will often use a home sellers’ pre-inspection instead of ordering their own.
Quick Fixes Before Closing
Homesellers who learn about problems through a buyer’s inspection will be hard-pressed to fix any major issues within a short time frame. That is because this time frame can be very quick, making it hard to find someone to repair problems in a time crunch. Because of this, they often charge home sellers more to fix problems asap.
So the homeowner has two choices: pay the premium for the repair or discount the price of the home to allow the buyers to fix the problems once they move in.
Disclosing Problems
Home sellers should not expect to get a pre-inspection and then ignore the problems that are uncovered. Any problem that the homeowner knows about will need to be disclosed to the buyer. Even if they are problems that they would not have known about previously. This can make some home sellers wary of getting an inspection so they do not need to disclose as much information.
Deciding what to fix in a house before putting on the market is difficult. A home seller who has allowed general maintenance to go undone may be drowning in projects. These projects need to be completed and using a pre-inspection can help a homeowner know there are no larger problems lurking underneath.