Sellers, Set Yourself Apart From the Rest
Published by marionduffy April 21st, 2008 in Selling a house, Inspections - Seller. by marionduffy Tags: No Tags.With the current buyer’s market and the amount of available inventory, sellers need to do what they can to set themselves apart from their competition. One way to do that is to have a pre-listing home inspection.
It is always recommended that a buyer get a home inspection during the contingency period of the contract. The purpose of this is to make the buyer aware of any problems or defects in the house. It is like asking your mechanic to check out a car you are thinking of buying.
However, it can be very beneficial to the seller to get an inspection before putting the house on the market. For one, sellers are usually aware of the condition of their house, but a pre-listing inspection documents it. After the inspection, the seller may decide to do some of the repairs so it is in better condition when it goes on the market. Or, rather than doing the repairs, the seller can disclose the defects to potential buyers. Disclosing this before an offer is made reduces the possibility of the buyer trying to renegotiate the price after the buyer’s home inspection.
Secondly, if there is a problem the seller is not aware of, the seller will find out up front rather than after an offer has been accepted and escrow opened. At this point the seller can decide whether to make the repair or reflect the condition in the asking price. If the problem is not discovered before the house is listed, it will be discovered when the buyers do their inspection during the contingency period. So it is better to find out sooner than later. It is really hard on sellers to think they have their house sold only to have the deal fall through after the buyer’s inspection.
When you have a pre-listing inspection, your agent can advertise that it has been done and also provide interested buyers with a copy before they make an offer. Buyers should still get their own inspection of the home, but it is less likely that a condition will be found that is a deal breaker. Yes, the seller has to pay for the pre-listing inspection, usually around $250 to $500 depending on the size of the house. But, this is money well spent. It could very well help to sell your home more quickly and maybe even for more money.
So, do something your competition doesn’t want to bother with and set yourself and your home apart from all the rest!
3 Responses to “Sellers, Set Yourself Apart From the Rest”
- 1 Pingback on May 14th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Marion - This is such a smart strategy for the sellers for all the reasons you suggest. I also prepare a Reports and Disclosures book which is left at the property which includes property inspection, preliminary title insurance, CLUE report, Property ID report, city reports and all the disclosures the seller will have to fill out anyway. The buyer can then be confident they have made an informed decision when they bring in their offer.
Thank, Marion, for putting together a winning strategy. It’s so much better to be pro-active.