Pre-Sale Inspections: What You Need to Know
Selling a home is exciting, but it can be a little scary and overwhelming, too. As this will most likely be one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, it’s important to get a professional’s opinion and give yourself a realistic glimpse into the future sale of your home.
A pre-sale inspection is an in-depth, experienced look at all aspects of a home. It details the condition of every part of the property – good and bad - and points out any problems that might exist – large and small. Most buyers today will not purchase a house until it has been inspected by a licensed, certified property inspector, so it’s important to be prepared and know what you are working with. There is nothing worse than having a surprise deficiency turn up during a buyer’s inspection. It can cause them concern, sour them on the house and possibly make them back out of the deal.
It is important to choose a property inspector that is licensed or certified, whichever your state requires. You’ll also want to make sure that your property inspection company is insured. Don't feel intimidated to ask questions regarding the qualifications of any inspector and the company they work for. You want a good inspection, and it pays to do some research on the various property inspection services available in your area. You can ask your listing agent to recommend a few companies, or check out the yellow pages for inspectors in your area.
The property inspector will carefully look over every part of your home. Then, you will get a detailed report of everything that was inspected and whether they located any problems. Most inspectors today will be able to give you this report either the day of the inspection or the following day, and many will also give you digital pictures of any problems they locate.
The pre-sale inspection will give you a list of key issues likely to be revealed by the buyer’s home inspection, thus giving you time to remedy them before showing your house.
A property inspection generally looks at:
- Foundation
- Roof/Gutters
- Insulation
- Grounds/Drainage
- Exterior of the house
- Furnace and heating system
- Air conditioner
- Garage or carport
- Attic/crawlspace
- Appliances
- Plumbing
- Electrical systems
- Interior
- Framing
- Kitchens and bathrooms
- Termite and/or pest inspection
- Any other items, such as pools, hot tubs, fireplaces, other structures on the property, etc.
While this list covers the basics, a property inspection can include anything else that you are concerned about or want more information about. A property inspector will use a variety of tools to complete their inspection.
Once you have this information, you’ll have a better idea of the value of your home before it goes on the market. Chances are that every house will have one or two concerns; most of the time these are things that can be easily fixed or repaired, however.
While there is no guarantee that an inspection will find every problem, it will give you a much better idea of the true condition of your home, thus allowing you to correctly price it and ultimately leave little room for a buyer to negotiate the listing price.
A pre-sale inspection can ultimately make or break the sale of your home, so go into it well-informed and with your eyes open. When problems are addressed in advance it ultimately leads to a much smoother closing for both you and the buyer. Getting a pre-sale inspection gives you peace of mind before selling your home and may even get you a better selling price.