What is a Pre-Listing Inspection?

A Pre-Listing Inspection is also referred to as Seller’s Inspection. Eventually your buyers are going to conduct an inspection. You may as well know what they are going to find by getting there first. Having an inspection performed ahead of time helps in many ways. You can view the Pre-Inspection Reports we have available.

 

Why do I Need a Pre-Listing Inspection?

These inspections are very good for the homeowner who may not be in tune with the condition of their home. A great many sales are cancelled due to the buyer’s shock at the “functional condition” of the home. It may look great, but have serious technical, safety, or functional issues present without the owner’s knowledge. Having the home inspected prior to placing on the market is the ideal way to identify and either repair or disclose the issue found in the inspection report. Obviously, repairing the items would be the most beneficial towards completing the sale. However, there may be financial reasons where the owner can’t make the repairs. Disclosing them up front and pricing the home base upon that disclosure will often times produce a higher net sales price for the owner.

 

Benefits of a Pre-Listing Inspection:

1. The seller can choose a certified InterNACHI inspector rather than be at the mercy of the buyer’s choice of inspector.
2. The seller can schedule the inspections at the seller’s convenience.
3. It might alert the seller of any items of immediate personal concern, such as radon gas or active termite infestation.
4. The seller can assist the inspector during the inspection, something normally not done during a buyer’s inspection.
5. The seller can have the inspector correct any misstatements in the inspection report before it is generated.
6. The report can help the seller realistically price the home if problems exist.
7. The report can help the seller substantiate a higher asking price if problems don’t exist or have been corrected.
8. A seller inspection reveals problems ahead of time which:
   1. might make the home show better.
   2. gives the seller time to make repairs and shop for competitive contractors.
   3. permits the seller to attach repair estimates or paid invoices to the inspection report.
   4. removes over-inflated buyer procured estimates from the negotiation table.
9. The report might alert the seller to any immediate safety issues found, before agents and visitors tour the home.
10. The report provides a third-party, unbiased opinion to offer to potential buyers.
11. A seller inspection permits a clean home inspection report to be used as a marketing tool.
12. A seller inspection is the ultimate gesture in forthrightness on the part of the seller.
13. The report might relieve a prospective buyer’s unfounded suspicions, before they walk away.
14. A seller inspection lightens negotiations and 11th-hour renegotiations.
15. The report might encourage the buyer to waive the inspection contingency.
16. The deal is less likely to fall apart the way they often do when a buyer’s inspection unexpectedly reveals a problem, last minute.
17. The report provides full-disclosure protection from future legal claims.

Copies of the inspection report along with receipts for any repairs should be made available to potential buyers.

 

What’s Covered in a Pre-Listing Inspection?

From an inspection standpoint a Pre-Listing inspection is no different than any other inspection. During a Pre-Listing inspection the same exact guidelines and standards are performed as detailed in our Standard Home Inspection. The difference is that the Seller (not the buyer) arranges and pays for the inspection in order to discover any defects existing in the home. For further information on what’s inspected during a Pre-Listing inspection see our article “What’s covered in a Home Inspection?”

 

View our Sample Inspection Report.

 

Call today to schedule your pre-listing inspection.