Pre-Listing Home Inspection Benefits for Sellers
It’s no secret that touring a house provides prospective buyers with a taste of every day life in that home, but what lies underneath the surface may worry them. A house could be in perfect condition, yet without a pre-listing home inspection, potential buyers will retain their skepticism. Those concerns will in turn delay the process of successfully selling a house in Volusia county.
This is especially true in this crucial time when prospective buyer confidence in the housing market is deteriorating. However, if you’re planning to sell a house or have already begun the process, don’t worry. A pre-listing home inspection, sometimes called a pre-sale home inspection, can help you overcome the challenges of selling a house and provide additional seller benefits.
Increase Prospective Buyers’ Confidence with a Pre-Listing Home Inspection
In most cases, prospective buyers are trying to find a house for their family to call home for many years to come. In addition to the upfront costs of buying a house, prospective buyers are worried about finding hidden issues after they move in. The savvy home buyer knows that some issues can go unnoticed until they pose an immediate and substantial threat. They may be wondering about the condition of there home:
Will the home inspection discover roof leaks?
Will the home inspector determine if my plumbing or electrical wiring need to be replaced in my home?
Will the Wood Destroying Organisms inspection discover termites or wood decay?
Will my house pass a four point insurance inspection?
Does my house qualify for wind mitigation credits to withstand wind/storm forces?
The best way to overcome the skepticism and concerns of prospective buyers is to find an excellent home inspection company. Make sure you choose a home inspector who will perform a rigorous inspection of your home; an inspector who is known to miss issues will be a waste of your time and money. Your home inspection company should provide a detailed inspection report, which you can use to increase buyers’ confidence by putting their minds at ease.
Helps Find Your Ideal Asking Price
Setting an accurate asking price is one of the most difficult challenges of selling a house. In addition to losing money, if a home is priced too low, the seller runs the risk of buyers wondering what’s wrong with the house. On the other hand, setting an asking price too high can have long-term detrimental effects on the ultimate goal of selling the house.
Fortunately, a professional pre-listing home inspection will reveal the current state of the home, including any negative marks against it. Sellers, and their real estate agents, can use the findings of the pre-listing inspection to identify the right asking price for the home in the following ways:
Negative Result: If the pre-listing home inspection revealed issues or other aspects that would be considered negative to potential home buyers, you can price accordingly or conduct repairs and schedule a follow-up inspection. However, in the event that your inspection revealed significant issues, you should consider the benefits of making major repairs before trying to sell the house.
Positive Result: If your home inspector is thorough and finds nothing wrong with the house, you can use the clean bill of health to justify a slightly higher asking price.
Highlights Selling Points
A pre-listing inspection by a notable home inspection company can shed light on certain selling points that may have been overlooked or never discovered. Some of the many selling points that can be uncovered from a pre-listing home inspection include:
Electrical upgrades
Energy efficiency upgrades
Water efficiency upgrades
Kitchen upgrades, including the sink and faucet
Quicker Home Selling Process
In addition to providing buyer confidence, having a pre-listing inspection is a great way to show that your home is in great condition, ready to sell, and worth what you’re asking for it. If there are any remaining repairs, you can assure buyers that your asking price is a fair reflection of those issues. Ultimately, being transparent with a home inspection report will make prospective home buyers more willing (and eager) to move quickly.
Help Your Real Estate Agent Sell Your House
While the best real estate agents can sell any house, the results of a pre-listing home inspection can help them greatly with the following hurdles:
Pricing your house
Finding potential buyers
Comparing your house against its competition
Completing negotiations in your favor
When your real estate agent is able to use a pre-listing inspection to their advantage, the entire process of selling your home can be significantly shortened.
Guidance for Pre-Listing Repairs
If your pre-listing inspection reveals certain major issues, you should seriously consider having work done and getting another home inspection before listing. Your real estate agent can advise you on things you should fix to make the selling process easier.
Hesitations About What to Fix?
Even if you disagree with your real estate agent about what to fix before listing the house, ask yourself these questions:
Would you realistically buy a house to call home knowing it needed the same work that your house needs?
If so, how much would you try to talk down the seller before you considered buying?
Local and State Disclosure Laws
Depending on where you’re selling the house, you may be legally obligated to meet certain local and state disclosure laws by providing prospective buyers with specific information about the condition of the house. Similar to lemon laws for new cars, these disclosure laws are set in place to protect would-be buyers from purchasing a home and later discovering a slew of hidden issues.
When properly followed, disclosure laws also protect the seller by providing evidence for one of the following things:
Written proof that the buyer was made aware of any pertinent issues with the house before it was sold to them.
Written proof that there were no pertinent issues with the house when it was sold to the buyer.
In both cases, the results of a pre-listing home inspection can help protect sellers from a potential lawsuit, substantial repair costs, additional fines, and more.
Avoid Valid Last-Minute Negotiations
Coupled with the local and state disclosure laws, a pre-listing home inspection can make the negotiation process much smoother. Whether you chose to make necessary repairs and have a second pre-listing inspection, your home inspector found no issues with the house, or you’re leaving minor repairs in the buyer’s hands, the results of a pre-listing home inspection can help reinforce your asking price and prevent a home buyer’s inspection from uncovering any surprises that would drive the price down.
Home Inspection Tips for Sellers
The two most important things you can do when choosing a home inspection company is consider their reputation as home inspectors and the home inspection services they provide. An exceptional home inspection company will provide comprehensive inspections of every home, without missing any details, and will provide you with a detailed report of their findings.
A home is an investment, whether you are buying or selling. Hiring a home inspector for your pre-listing inspection is an essential part of the home selling process because it provides you with the information you need to update and market your home for the best return on your investment.