pre-inspections

Seller's Pre-Inspections
Improve Chances For a Sale

Provided by Jay Burnham, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Nothing is more frustrating than working on a sale and finding out that the home must be renegotiated or at worst, cannot be conveyed due to a problem that comes up during the buyer's inspection.

Wouldn't it be better to know in advance what condition your home is in? Why not have the home inspected prior to putting it on the market. Not only will an inspection reveal the small repairs that can add up to big money, it can also reveal hidden expenses such as foundation troubles or a cracked heat exchange that could loom as a potential deal-killer.

With over 75% of the homes on the market aged anywhere from two years to fifty years, the odds are problems can turn up on any inspection. Although the inspection is viewed as the buyer's responsibility, it can also be a useful tool for the seller. There is no way to know in advance how a buyer will react to being faced with numerous repairs on a home. The buyer may be unrealistic about the typical wear and tear on a home of a certain age, or frightened away altogether. At the very least, you can be at a disadvantage because the buyer may wish to renegoitate the selling price, having decided to take advantage of the standard home inspection contingency in his/her offer.

Suggesting that you obtain an pre-inspection report of the home is part of the service that makes working with a Realtor a total professional experience and one much more likely to have a positive outcome for both of you. Finding a buyer for a home is only the first step in getting the transaction to close. You have to get through the hurdle of inspection, and that is where a lot of sales break down.

By addressing repairs in advance of marketing the home, your Realtor can compare the condition to other homes in the area on the market or those recently sold. If homes are very comparable in square footage and features, the fact that your home has a new A/C unit, new countertop, or freshly poured concrete driveway becomes a selling feature instead of a drawback in its unrepaired state. Small repairs that are made add to the overall well-maintained appearance of the home. It has been proven time and again that buyers will pay top dollar for a home in pristine condition, but they will discount a home in disrepair much lower than comparable market value.

An inspection also reduces liability should a problem fail to be identified. The inspector is the buffer between the buyer and seller (and their agents) in case flaws in the home are not detected.

Recently, Perry Ecksel, Inspection One, Southhampton, Pennsylvania was quoted as saying, "The purpose of the inspection is not to make a punch list for repairs, but rather to point out deficiencies exclusive of cosmetic items."

Based on what is mentioned in the inspection report, your Realtor may choose to show the report to the prospective buyer, along with your seller's disclosure statement as a means of showing the buyer how little needs to be done to the home. This will support any statement your Realtor may make in advertising about the home being well-maintained. Or you may choose to have the repairs done without mention. Either way, knowing the repairs in advance can help sellers in a number of ways.

If the inspection reveals large ticket items for repair or replacement, that too, can be an aid in pricing and selling the home. As an agent, your Realtor needs to know as early as possible during seller representation if you can, in fact, convey the property. If the repairs put you in the position of needing to bring money to the table to close, chances are good the sale may collapse. Better to know sooner than later. In any case, alternatives can be explored such as an equity loan to cover the cost of the repairs, or leasing the home for a year with the purpose of building enough equity to make repairs.

IN CONCLUSION: A pre-inspection can take the anxiety out of waiting for the results of a buyer's home inspection and provide you with the assurance that your price is reasonable. It makes good sense and helps your home sell quicker and easier.

JAY BURNHAM, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
PREVIEWS International® Property Specialist
54 Dodge Street
Beverly, MA 01915
978.233.2828

Designations Earned: CRB, CRS, GRI, RECS, SRES