Limit Surprises - Get a Pre-sale Home Inspection

You can count on the savvy homebuyer making his or her offer to purchase your home contingent upon a satisfactory professional home inspection report. As a home seller, worrying about what that inspection may reveal can be a nerve-wracking experience. You can minimize your anxiety and the last-minute appearance of any potential deal-killing surprises by obtaining your own pre-sale home inspection.

The home inspector will visually examine your home’s physical structure and systems from top to bottom including: the heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing and electrical systems, roof, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, foundation, basement and attic, and other visible structures. The inspector won’t give your house a passing or failing grade, but will evaluate its physical condition and report on what you may need to repair or replace.

Taking this extra step has several benefits. Most importantly, it will provide you with an objective look at your home and call attention to any problems. It’s in your best interest to have a good understanding of your home’s condition and to address any small issues. The home sale/purchase transaction is a heady deal that is fraught with emotion. Relatively small problems like an air conditioning unit that needs service or a fireplace that needs minor repair potentially can turn into deal-killing issues.

A pre-sale inspection report also can be used as a marketing tool that may highlight some of the home’s positive attributes, which may help alleviate some of the homebuyer’s anxieties about the property and the thoroughness of your disclosures.

While no home seller wants to learn of major problems, you’re much better off knowing about such issues early on. Being informed will help you more accurately calculate your asking price, which can circumvent stressful defect-related price reduction negotiations later on. It also will give you an opportunity to calmly decide whether you’ll choose to remedy the problems. If you decide to sell the house “as is,” full disclosure of the problems will weed out the potential homebuyers who wouldn’t consider buying a home that needed repairs.

Copies of the pre-sale home inspection report and receipts for any subsequent repairs must be provided to the homebuyer.