Selling your home can be a stressful situation. When an offer falls through because of something that has come up in the inspection, sellers can sometimes wonder if they could have done more.
Doing a pre-listing inspection allows the sellers to address any of the home’s issues or “red flags” before putting it on the market. This can help prevent offers from falling through after the inspection. It can also give a prospective buyer good insight into a home they may be considering making an offer on. A pre-listing inspection is an additional step that can be taken to allow a transaction to be as seamless as possible.
I get asked this question frequently because I suggest this frequently to my clients who are selling their homes. The standard process is that the buyer will carry out an inspection before the purchase of their home. So why on earth would a seller do one before? The biggest reason for transactions to fall apart is because of snags that come up during the inspection.
Avoiding suprises and securing the deal
The reason that these discoveries have such a huge impact is that when someone makes an offer on a home, they’re making an offer based on the assumption that there’s nothing wrong with the home other than what’s been disclosed. When this new information comes to light, it surprises people and make them question if they made the right move, or if this is even the right house for them.
The next step they often take is asking for a price reduction to account for the surprises, which can be a quite emotional for both the buyer and the seller. And we often see is that when emotions run high, this is when people tend to walk away from the negotiating table.
A smooth transaction and a better offer
A pre-listing inspection can go a long way to avoid these surprises and downfalls. First off, it gives the seller the opportunity to address any issues that may have come up during the buyer’s inspection, leading to a smooth transaction overall. Next, sellers can provide prospective buyers with a copy of the inspection report, which serves to disclose any issues in advance and shows what has been rectified already.
This doesn’t mean that the buyer won’t do their own inspection, which I always recommend you do even if there is a pre-inspection report, but it really does put them at ease. Now they can make offers with the time and space to decide what they’re comfortable with. And this often leads to better overall offers.
So if you’re looking to make your transaction as smooth as possible, a pre listing inspection can go a long way towards making that happen.
This is #AskPete. If you have any real estate questions, feel free to send them and I will get you the answers. Or stay up to date on the latest tips for real estate buyers and sellers by clicking the YouTube button below: