If you are listing your property for sale, consider having your home inspected before you get your first offer. Working with your real estate broker on a pre-listing inspection can help you get top dollar for your home and make the closing process easy and efficient. A skilled broker can actually use the inspection as a marketing tool.
When a buyer makes an offer to buy real estate, he or she will of course get a home inspection. You'll be on pins and needles waiting to see what the inspection reveals and what the Buyer will ask you to fix. It's easy to take the position that you are not going to fix anything, no matter what the buyer's inspection reveals. Unfortunately, that position often results in the buyer walking away; and you will have a house that was under contract briefly, but then back on the market following the inspection.
Buyers talk and word travels fast; and your property will have the stigma of having "failed" an inspection, regardless of how minimal the problems were. Plus, when a contract falls through because of an inspection issue, there is a pretty good chance that you will have to make the repair anyway in order to sell your home to another buyer. A pre-listing inspection says to buyers that you made an effort at the outset to have an objective inspector evaluate the house, that you made necessary repairs and that you are not "hiding" a defect. It also helps your real estate broker negotiate a sale price closer to your offering price.
After you get the inspection results, fix the things that you are willing to fix and document the repairs. Identify and disclose anything that you are not willing to fix. Authorize your agent to provide a copy of the report to all potential purchasers and to other agents.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when deciding to make repairs or not:
- It is better to hire out the repairs because buyers, rightly or wrongly, are always suspicious of do-it-yourself jobs.
- If something is really broken, you are going to have to fix it in order to sell your real estate.
- If the inspection reveals an item that is old but still working, disclose it and tell your agent to notify buyers and other agents that the pricing of the house reflects the fact that the item will eventually need to be repaired or replaced. For example, if the roof will need to be replaced in 2 or 3 years, disclose this and simply tell buyers that the house would be priced much higher if it had a brand new roof.
Right off the bat, the buyer has reason to feel more comfortable about the condition of the house. They are still going to get an inspection, and their inspector will still find a few minor problems. But, your inspection will help you get top dollar and it will minimize the repair issues that could jeopardize a smooth closing.
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