Prelisting Inspection

You may have heard of a “Prelisting Inspection”, but what is one and what are some of the pros and cons. In the current market, a buyer’s market, the seller and listing agent don’t want to list the house at a set price, only to discover through the buyer’s home inspection they had unforeseen problems they were not aware of. This ultimately could affect the money the buyer was counting on at closing for their own needs or the findings could cause a deal to fall through, due to discovered defects.

You may hear the argument about not wanting to know of any problems and concerns regarding disclosure issues that may arise. Those may be valid arguments if significant defects are not discovered during the inspection (to the buyer’s detriment) process or in a seller’s market. In the current market where sellers are already being beaten down on price knowing ahead of time may be to the seller’s benefit.

Here are a few considerations.

1. First the buyer even though they may still get their own inspection may feel more at ease, as the seller is not burying their head in the sand about latent defects.

2. The seller can list the house with a disclosure “the roof is nearing the end of its life” rather than the buyer saying they didn’t know. Or “there is a wooden foundation present”, “Polybutylene plumbing and here is an estimate if the buyers wants it all replaced. This way the buyer cannot come back and say after they put an offer in on known deficiencies, they want more off or repairs to be preformed.

3. The seller then can factor these considerations into their selling price with the guidance of their Realtor.

Other Considerations of a Prelisting Home Inspection:

1. A Pre-Listing inspection may not discover all defect as with any inspection, so make sure you get and seasoned home inspector. The buyer’s inspector may have a difference of opinion on some systems.

2. The house may develop changes that will become apparent during a later inspection, such as a heat pump losing refrigerant, a plumbing leak or a roof leak to unforeseen changes such as weather.

3. This is also a good reason to offer a warranty on older systems. If you are a seller you Realtor can advise you on these and discuss the pros and cons of obtaining such a warranty.
So if you have any questions or are interested in a pre-listing inspection please contact;
Showalter Property Consultants
www.showalterpropertyconsultants.com