Three Reasons a Seller Should Get a Home Inspection

Buying &  selling a home under the best of circumstances can be stressful for both buyer and seller.

If you are the seller there are countless hours spent cleaning, primping, and pruning the property for the eagerly awaited day that a contract is received, negotiated and finally accepted.

After the time and money spent adorning the home, there is still the very real possibility of a cancelled sales contract because of a deficiency listed in the buyer’s home inspection.  In fact, now more than ever potential home buyers are willing to walk away from a contract of a home that isn’t “just right”.

“Existing-home sales eased in June as contract cancellations spiked unexpectedly, although prices were up slightly, according to the National Association of Realtors®.”  Read More…..

A home inspection by the seller can identify potential problems before a sale and give the seller an opportunity to address potential pitfalls before a buyer does.

Three Reasons to Get a Home Inspection BEFORE Listing Your Home;

1. No budget for Repairs:  Reduce the chances of an emergency repair that is required to sell the home.  If you are like me you will probably spend a lot of  money  getting your house ready to sell. Common expenses are  new paint, carpet, and landscaping.  You should also consider a home inspection in order avoid being in the embarrassing and potentially financially painful position having spent hundreds perhaps even thousands of dollars on aesthetics only to find out the home has a major defect of foundation, HVAC, Plumbing or Roofing.  A  Seller’s inspection from a certified home inspector may identify necessary repairs while the seller still has a budget to correct any problems.
2. Time to shop for the best price for repair. The 11th hour of a sale {two days before closing} is not the time to be negotiating adjustments for repair of a house. Trust me when I tell you, the buyer and their agent will likely wait until the very last minute to send you the repair requests. In this scenario repairs will often be more costly because you need repairs fixed immediately for closing.  The buyer might inflate estimated repair prices in order to lower the sale price of the home or to cover other repairs that might be discovered  after the sale.
3. Reduced Your Risk of Losing the Sale due to unforeseen repair items. In North Carolina, real estate purchases are nearly always contingent upon on a satisfactory home inspection why not be prepared for it?   If you the seller get your own inspection report. This will give you a chance to correct and to “clean up” the inspection report before it becomes  a deal-breaker. This could save you thousands in mortgage payments and potential reduction of the final sales price due to unforeseen deficiencies.

Your  decision to invest in a home inspection as a seller may very well be the decision that saves thousands in emergency repair cost identified in the buyer inspection report.

Contributed by:
David Broadus
CEO Ideal Contracting LLC