The Advantage of A Seller's
Own Home Inspection.

A prudent homebuyer will require a home inspection as a condition of an offer to purchase. A professional buyer's real estate agent will always recommend that the client require a home inspection. Therefore it is highly advisable that a seller retain a certified home inspector to expose potential problem areas that could adversly effect a possible sale. Necessary repairs should be corrected before showing the home to potential buyers.

Here's the advantages of a pre-inspection:

1. Making your home "showcase presentable" will entice a quicker offer at a higher price.

2. A home that appears to have been well maintained gives the buyer greater confidence there are no "underlying" issues.

3. When a potential buyer retains his or her own home inspector, there will be fewer problems exposed.

4. It lessens the chance that the buyer will backout of the sale at the last moment.

5. It lessens the possibility that the buyer will want to renegotiate a lesser price because of exposed problems.

6. By having a pre-inspection report by a certified, experienced home inspector, you have demonstrated the "good faith" of desiring to transfer ownership of a home that is in good, well-maintained condition.

Once a written formal offer of purchase is made and accepted which is conditioned upon a home inspection, other offers cannot be considered. Accommodating the selling processes can take many weeks. If the offer is vacated because of a failed buyer's home inspection or if the buyer wants to renegotiate to a lesser price....you risk losing dollars and valuable time. At this point the buyer has acquired the advantage of control. You want to avoid that possibility.

Cost Effective Consideration

Home inspections are relatively inexpensive and provide great insight towards arriving at a successful sale. However, the seller must decide which repairs and refurbishments will return the greatest monetary gain. The seller's listing agent can make sound recommendations base upon prior experience. You may elect to do a bit of paint touchup, repair some broken shutters, fix some drippy faucets, fix the air conditioning unit or even replace a water heater. But you may want to avoid the expense of replacing a roof or repainting the entire house.

Of course, these are decisions that you as the seller must make. But be aware that the law mandates that the seller must advise the buyer of any known conditions. A home could be offered for sale on an "as-is" condition, there could be "an allowance" for certain after-sale repairs or the the seller could simply decide what repairs would be made "after the buyer's home inspection". Regardless of the approach and cost considerations, it is always to a seller's advantage to expose potential home repair problems before showing the home for sale.

Strengthen your position by getting your own home inspection.

Attention Realtors: Please do not republish this article on your website or blog. If you would like content for your readers we will consider writing a unique article for your website upon request. Click here for more information.