Q. Don’t seller inspections kill deals by forcing sellers to disclose defects they otherwise wouldn’t have known about?

That is a great question! And one often asked by home sellers. The reality is that the vast majority of re-sale homes will be inspected by a competent, experienced inspector. So the only thing a seller can really control is not “if” the defects will be known by all parties, but WHEN. And WHEN is critical. Knowledge is powerful. If the Seller is prepared with information via a pre-listing inspection, they have the luxury of time to address and/or disclose issues.
On the other hand, if you pass up that opportunity, you have allowed the negotiating leverage to pass to the Purchaser and their inspector when they approach you with a list of things they “found”. Remember, any experienced Agent will tell you, the chance of a purchaser cancelling a contract is much higher whey they “find” the issues, rather than if you disclose them before they ever sign a contract!

Q. A new(er) home in good condition doesn’t need an inspection does it? Why should the seller have one done? Can you give examples?

I wish that were true. Our experience tells us that every home, whether brand new or 100 years old, needs to be inspected. In fact often times it’s the new or newer homes that require a longer list. Examples: It is well
documented that well over 50% of the time inspectors will find open nail holes in roofing shingles and other roof defects on brand new homes. This past week a relatively new home was found to have some plumbing and roof issues during a buyers inspection. The repairs would not have been expensive; likely less than $3000. Sadly, even though the home had been on the market for 400 days, this buyer cancelled the contract. Why?
Discovering these undisclosed issues caused him to have second thoughts about a property he was previously excited about. The time to discover issues is NOT when you have a buyer standing there. HAVE YOUR HOME PRE-INSPECTED. It will avoid giving a buyer a reason to walk away.

Q. Do seller inspections reduce the need of the buyer to obtain their own inspection?

What you are trying to convey to your purchasers is that I feel good enough about my house, and care enough to ensure a pleasant experience for you, that I have paid out of my own pocket for a certified, experienced inspector to scrutinize my home, and provide a free copy of the inspection report to you. Often times a buyer will go with your report and decide not to hire their own inspector. But even if they take the redundant step of having your home re-inspected, you can rest easy knowing that, even though there are sometimes cosmetic differences in inspection findings, all of the significant issues that could make a difference in the negotiations are already on the table. Remember, you have a lot of competition for purchasers out there. Pre-inspecting is one way you can set your home slightly above all the others in the eyes of your Purchaser. There are statistics to support that Pre-Inspected homes have shorter D.O.M. (Days on Market) and sell for a higher price.

This could be the difference maker that results in the taking away of doubt in a buyer’s mind, may just get that offer over your competition! If you want to contact Mark Lotane about an inspection please email him at marklotane@homeproga.net.

In the buyer’s market we find ourselves in however with 10 months of inventory for sale and so many new homes on the market, I always recommend to my seller clients to get a home inspection done prior to listing it for sale to get an edge on their competition.

What no seller wants is to have a buyer through their home inspection, after a long sought after contract is finally at hand, find defects no matter how big or small especially if the disclosure statement provided by the seller showed a clean home with no issues. This causes questions in the buyer’s mind of “well what else are they not disclosing and what is the cost to repair?”

Recently I found a situation where a home closing almost went south due to a roof leak which could have been fixed for $300 but went in disrepair for no one knows how long until after the home inspector for the buyer pointed it out. Whether the transaction closes is anyone’s guess, but in the buyer’s mind they instantly had justifiable concerns over mold, rot, and anything associated with these issues. Are there any other issues with the home related to the leak? No one knows, but that is my point. The unknown issue is the one that will kill a home sale. The seller not fixing the issue and not having a home inspection to reveal the $300 patch job the roof needed ahead of time has created an issue. (Paint buckets in the attic kind of caused questions as well.)

Most people are not contractors and don’t have enough experience to know what repairs or fixes cost. Therefore in most potential buyer’s minds, a repair that in reality only costs a few hundred dollars might cost “thousands.” These problems that arise could also potentially push the home’s sale price down during negotiation. A seller may discover from a prelisting home inspection that support beams that that support a ceiling or the roof were improperly installed. The seller may choose to repair the support beams, rather than having the problem become a price negotiating tool. For example, paying $5,000 for the repair makes more sense than losing $10,000in the sale. The seller and their real estate professional also have the option of getting a quote for the cost of the work, putting it in the file with the more accurately completed disclosure statement to show what the real cost is to repair, and then price the house accordingly.

In the end, you don’t want to leave yourself exposed as a seller and you need that extra edge. One home inspection company I spoke to locally, Homepro Home Inspections of Athens, has a page on their website devoted to “Pre-Inspected Homes for Sale.” This difference maker that results in the taking away of doubt in a buyer’s mind, may just get that offer over your competition!