Sellers Inspection, sometimes called a pre-listing inspection

We are going to put our house up for sale and wondering if having a home inspection before putting it on the market is a good idea?

Carly & Joe

Dear Carly & Joe,

In my professional opinion having an inspection before you put the house up for sale is one of the smartest things you can do.  The first and foremost is for the inspector to identify any problems that we would term “Show stoppers”. In other words anything big that would send the prospective buyer running away from the home once it is on the market. Big things are typically roof, foundation, and mold. The other advantage you have by identifying any potential problems is that you have time to get some estimates and entertain any “out of the box” ideas where once there is an offer on the table you have a set time to get bids and the buyer may even dictate who does the work and you are now paying more. Buyers may ask for a credit, as an example, of $8,000 for a basement repair that could be only $5,000 but they are estimating high. Getting bids before you list the house will be an advantage to you, in addition once all is identified and repaired you can ask top dollar for the house with confidence and get more money in the long run. If there is something you don’t want to repair you can disclose it and do not have to fix or repair. I hope this helps if not please give me a call and we can discuss this in detail.

Scott