Using the power of pre-inspection

Imagine finally finding a buyer for your home, negotiating the offer, opening up escrow and beginning to pack your prized spoon collection when disaster strikes. The home buyer's pest and dry rot inspection has revealed issues that have caused the buyer to panic. Your sale is now in danger of failing!

While most states require that sellers disclose all known defects to a buyer, it's the unknown issues that inspectors are hired to find. These paid consultants have the tough job of crawling into the nooks and crannies of your home, the places most of us rarely if ever visit, to identify problems that can haunt the home buyer if not addressed prior to closing.

So how can you avoid a nasty surprise? One popular way is to consider the power of pre-inspections. A pre-inspection simply means you have your home inspected before you receive an offer from a buyer. The advantage to this approach is that if your home does have some challenges you can fix them before you receive an offer. Also by having a pre-inspection you may be able to outflank your competition by advertising the fact that your home has a "clean" bill of health which will potentially help you sell faster and for more money.

So what kinds of pre-inspections might you consider? There are a wide range of inspections that can be performed on any home and choices vary by region, which is why it is always best to consult with a local agent before deciding on which pre-inspections are right for your home. All of that being said, some of the most popular inspections include:

Whole home inspections - A top to bottom review of your home from the foundation to the roof. These inspections are often very extensive and include detailed reports on all of the systems of the home including plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, and structural components.

Pest and dry rot inspections - These inspections are focused on identifying evidence of active (and inactive) wood destroying organisms like carpenter ants and termites and the damage they may have caused. In addition inspectors will identify issues that can cause rot in a home like leaking water pipes, poor ventilation, earth to wood contact, and moisture problems.

Well and septic inspections - In rural areas many homes use well and septic systems for drinking water and sanitation. Inspections of wells focus on gallons per minute production and the safety of the drinking water while septic inspections focus on making sure the tanks and lines moving the waste water away from the home are functioning properly.

Pool inspections - In areas of the country where pools are popular it is common for buyers to request a pool inspection. These inspections often review the area around the pool for safety including the pool itself, the pool deck, pool liner, lighting, heating and pump systems, and filtration systems.

Roof inspections - A roof inspection will evaluate the current state of the roof system identifying problem areas such as missing tiles, valleys and flashing which may need repair, gutter systems, downspouts, and the estimated life span of the current materials.

Foundation inspections - Often a foundation inspection may be called for if a home is built on a soil type or area that has a history of slippage, or if the foundation is showing signs of fractures. In addition many buyers order a foundation inspection if a home is older or if the home has beams which are sagging due to a lack of support.

One word of caution: anything you learn as a result of a pre-inspection will no doubt need to be disclosed to a potential buyer (even if you don't fix it) because of disclosure laws. Check with a local agent or attorney for details in your state.

So where can you find a reliable inspector? One source is the American Society of Home Inspectors, the oldest trade group in the nation specializing in overall home inspections. In addition you may be able to find a trust-worthy inspector simply by asking for a referral from your friends, neighbors, or a local agent.

Comments

By Nick Alameddin,  Wed Dec 23 2009, 17:07

Pre-inspection is a great idea, it helps you see what needs to be done to your home before it goes on the market. Should you decide to do the repairs before hand, you can get it done. This is a sure way of impressing your buyer and getting top dollar for you home.

On the othe hand, if you leave it to the buyer. Chances are, buyers will want to mark up the repair items. For example a water heater cost you $150 to service, the buyer may ask you for $1000 to get a new one instead.

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By Juliette Bouchard- REALTOR,  Tue Apr 13 2010, 11:03

A pre inspection is a great way to give the sellers a "heads up" and perform some deferred maintenance before their home goes on the market. As a Realtor, I know good and well when it comes to the "inspection period" of the transaction, that emotions are high and both buyers and sellers can become sparing partners. Do your due diligence and education your clients on what may happen during this time. It could save alot of time, $$ and unnecessary anxiety for everyone involved.

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By Anthony R. Perez,  Thu Jun 17 2010, 12:07

I agree a pre-home inspection is just as important as a termite inspection prior to putting the house on the market, on many pre-inspections we have located many severe defects that would have killed a sale later on.

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By Robert Armacost,  Sat Jun 26 2010, 18:17

InterNACHI has a great program called Move In Certified, it allows a potential buyer to access the report from the inspectors website (secured of course).
Allowing full disclosure, but should not be used to circumvent the buyers inspection.

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By Texasinspector,  Fri Nov 12 2010, 09:09

While pre-inspection may be useful for the truly honest and forthcoming property sellers, the disclosure issues will rule out most owners, I'm afraid. =-)

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By Fran Rokicki,  Tue Dec 14 2010, 16:04

The pre-inspection would be good for a home with no one available, to let you know about the home. An estate, a foreclosure, etc.

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By Elisabeth (Lis) Weinpel,  Wed Feb 16 2011, 13:27

Pre Inspections by sellers are great because you can get repairs done with the luxury of time to find the right repair person at the right cost instead of :"being under the gun" and having to pay whoever is available to do it because it has to be done within a time frame. However, I always remind my sellers that inspections are not black and white and the sellers inspector could find and point out things that your inspector did not find. So, I prepare them that there may be more items that turn up but at lease anything major will be pointed out by any inspector.

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By John Edwards,  Mon May 9 2011, 17:53

One important point unmentioned previously is the fact that the Seller will be viewed as trustworthy for the pre-inspection of a home before listing. This move is typical of a Seller with a plan of action.

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By Aram Arakelyan,  Mon Sep 12 2011, 11:30

Problems discovered and fixed beforehand will help the sales process.

Aram Arakelyan
Your LA Broker For Life!
http://www.housevaluecheck.com

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By Shawn Rosa,  Tue Dec 13 2011, 10:19

This has been a hot topic on trulia lately. Personally, nobody in my local area (NJ) does pre-inspections. Its probably 1 in a 100 right now.

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By Shawn Rosa,  Wed Dec 14 2011, 12:03

too many buyers will not trust an inspection report paid for by the seller

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By Hesbon Kerongo,  Thu Jan 19 2012, 04:27

Pre-inspection is a good idea because it helps you to avoid lots of potholes that may arise when you buy your home. it really helps.

http://www.kenyatravelholidays.com/kenya-real-estate.html

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By Karen Guzik, SRES, CNE,  Fri Apr 6 2012, 09:29

It is money well spent!

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By Beastie4u,  Thu Apr 26 2012, 11:26

You could probably use our help we help you prepare your house for sale in Austin and the surrounding areas check us out at http://savingamericaenergy.com or http://lonestarpainters.com. We can make your house more saleable!

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By Stephanie Leon, 786-664-7710,  Sun Apr 29 2012, 18:11

Pre-inspection is a great Idea and will help sell your home faster.

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