Pre-Sale Home Inspection
You’ve most likely heard of the home inspection… but have you ever heard of the pre-sale home inspection? That’s right. Home Inspections are not just for home buyers, they’re for home sellers too. We regularly suggest the idea of a pre-sale home inspection to home sellers for the sake of a smoother transaction.
Know Beforehand
Knowing what repairs need to be made before putting your house for sale on the market is an advantage in two ways: it can help you determine what the asking price should be, based on its condition. Being well informed can also give you the opportunity to address the issues before they present themselves later in the game. Your potential buyer will sooner or later have a home inspection conducted and the findings of that procedure could be a deal-breaker. Rather than be on the defense when buyer’s home inspection report lists that a major flaw was uncovered, be up-front with the buyer and prepared to provide answers to possible objections.
Unravel Objections
When repairs need to be made, you may either choose to take the steps necessary to resolve them yourself, or you can choose to pass that task onto the home buyer. If want to sidestep a deal falling through when the buyer discovers the home has hidden issues, you may want to go ahead and hire a professional to make the problem go away. If you’re not sure about whether or not you should fix or pass on the work, gather quotes to determine how much it will cost and you can then decide if it is worth it to you make the repair or if it makes more sense to notify the buyer that it is an issue.
If you decide the repairs would cost too much money or are too big a project to undertake just before moving out, then acknowledge the pending repairs to the buyer and assert that the price of your home was determined with those conditions taken into consideration. Stating that the price was already set to reflect the cost of the repairs tends to unravel objections that may come into play later if the report shows negative findings late in the transaction. Most of the time, a buyer will be compelled to renegotiate for a lower sale price based on the results of the home inspection. Being transparent about defects in the home is likely to increase the buyer’s confidence in you and the sale.
Comply with Full-Disclosure Real Estate Laws
Not only will you be in the know and able to tend to situations before they arise, but having a pre-sale home inspection performed could also help you stay in compliance with the full-disclosure real estate laws. Real estate laws require full-disclosure about a number of things from deaths on the property, to lead-based paint and other hazards. Local ordinance and your real estate agent will be able to help you abide by real estate law and avoid liability.
