When you are selling your home, one of the major points of high anxiety is the home inspection. Sellers, through the use of a Seller’s Disclosure Notice, are required to disclose willingly what they know about their home to a buyer. Concern occurs when a home inspection is ordered by the buyer and the inspector finds an issue(s) that the seller didn’t know they had which in turn costs them money to fix. This might also give your potential buyer an out since most contracts are written “contingent on inspection results.”
If the ordered home inspection does present any issues, chances are your buyer may opt-out of the contract/purchase of the home fearing what the report reveals. Remember your buyer is not financially or emotionally invested in the home yet and are often scared off by serious inspection results.
As a seller you have a solution to this problem. Order a pre-listing home inspection on your home before your agent puts it on the market. Most inspectors give detailed reports on items they find and can even give some advice on how to get them fixed. Finding out ahead of time about issues gives you, the seller, a chance to get them addressed or fixed pre-listing.
This gives you an advantage since it will create a baseline on your home which can then be compared to a buyer requested home inspection. Often times when you can present an inspection report coupled with paid invoice copies for repairs made on the home as a result of the inspection, and a potential buyer will take that documentation and defer requesting a second inspection.
Don’t let the cost of an inspection, which could reach about $500, keep you from getting a peace of mind before selling your home. The more prepared you are the less your anxiety will be through negotiations. Valuable, third-party advice such as an inspection can save you time in the long run by fixing any issues up front. The cost is less when compared to time spent vetting buyers when each buyer wants to do an inspection.
But, if the cost of an inspection is just too prohibited to your budget, you do have another choice. Offer the buyer a home protection plan. Usually, you the seller, would not incur the cost of this coverage until the home goes to closing and then funds are paid at the closing table from the sale of the home. Benefits are that your home is often covered during the legal “listing period” against any unforeseen items. The buyer’s benefit is that it gives them an “insurance” policy against any major functional breakdowns during their first year in the home.
Both the pre-listing inspection and/or offering a home protection plan give you a higher marketability. It tells any potential buyers that you are interested in protecting them against unforeseen issues that might happen with the home. Homeowners with Fairfax homes for sale should be very conscience about these offerings.
For recommendations of home inspectors and/or home protection plans, contact me Thierry@ThierryRoche.com or call (703) 222-6714.