Hiring a home inspector to crawl thru your home prior to listing it on the market can be a good idea or a bad idea. It really depends on your knowledge of the condition of your home and your willingness to make some repairs before or during the selling process. Here’s a few tips that may help you decide.
Pros
The main benefit of the pre-listing inspection is that you will learn about all of your home’s defects. If you are a conscience home owner, you should already know about most of them, but most home owners don’t have the trained eye of an inspector. Knowing all of the defects up front will ensure that you aren’t caught off guard when the buyer hires their inspector. Getting this done up front will also give you the opportunity to get quotes or actually complete some of the repairs which can make the option period negotiations a little smoother. This inspection can help you and your Realtor determine a good listing price and it can also strengthen your negotiating position if your home only has a few minor defects.
Another pro to this type of inspection is that the inspector will be working for you, not the buyer. The inspector should be able to give you a professional opinion on all of the defects and he/she may be able to help you determine some basic cost estimates for repairs.
Cons
The biggest drawback to this is that you will be required to deliver the inspection report to potential buyers which could hurt your negotiating position if there are numerous defects that you are not willing to repair. Major defects like aging AC systems, roof, or electrical panels could be a big turn off to potential buyers. Most home owners would prefer to sell their home as-is, but a defect-riddled inspection report could force you to make some repairs before you have offers in hand.
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