Thread: Should Seller have an inspection?

I'm currently buying a new construction home (est. completion 3/6/13) and am about to put the home I own on the market. It is a modest house in a declining neighborhood that we've lived in for 28 yrs. I've put much labor and money in home improvements, landscaping, etc, but realize that none of these will enhance the selling price. It is the 'gem' of the 'hood.
My question: as seller of the house, is it a good idea to have an inspector come by before I put the sign out? My wife's colleagues say yes, but I'm worried about sinking any more money into this, and I know that after an inspection, there's a record established, so everything on it must be disclosed.
Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks

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Investors (flippers) understand that there are only a few reasons you should spend money on a property you intend to sell.
1) To get a higher selling price

2) To make the property more desirable to more people interested in buying.

3) To put the house in a condition that will make it easier to sell, faster.

A home inspection before you list the property can help you identify what is needed so that you will be better able to market the house to more prospects, sell the house faster, and get more for it.
BUT, plan to spend some to get the house in this condition.

Investors also understand that to make the most money on a property, they must be willing to spend money to make it as appealing as is practical.

I am a firm believer in pre listing inspections so my in my opinion the answer is yes. Find out now what needs to be fixed and get it fixed, or find out now what needs to be fixed and be prepared for price negotiations later. It can help you sell the home quicker. Think about it from the buyers end.

Also, get a home inspection on that new construction home you are purchasing. Just because it is new, does not mean it is done correctly.

I wouldn't. You should know the condition of the property better than anyone. If you hired an inspector he may tell you bad stuff you don't know about and that you don't want to pay to have fixed. Now you're on the hook as being knowledgeable of defects and will have to disclose it in the sales contract.

I would also sell my house as is regardless of how awesome it is or isn't. If it is in as good a shape as you believe it will stick out above all the rest of the crap that is out there on the market.

Do inspectors in your area do walk and talks where they just walk around and do a regular inspection but don't give you any type of report?

You are correct that anything brought to your attention would be fodder for disclosure.

The inspection lets you know what is wrong so that you can decide to fix or disclose but you have to do one or the other. But YOU get to decide and take it off of the negotiation table. It cuts down on surprises and inflated repair costs.

Originally Posted by Mike Lamb

I would also sell my house as is regardless of how awesome it is or isn't.

IMHO I disagree, "as is" says there are problems and I will not pay to have repaired, take it or leave it.

Originally Posted by Richard Rachunek

I'm currently buying a new construction home (est. completion 3/6/13) and am about to put the home I own on the market. It is a modest house in a declining neighborhood that we've lived in for 28 yrs. I've put much labor and money in home improvements, landscaping, etc, but realize that none of these will enhance the selling price. It is the 'gem' of the 'hood.
My question: as seller of the house, is it a good idea to have an inspector come by before I put the sign out? My wife's colleagues say yes, but I'm worried about sinking any more money into this, and I know that after an inspection, there's a record established, so everything on it must be disclosed.
Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks

I suggest you have a sellers inspection. Not because I am an inspector but because you are not. Many items will be found that you may think are in good order or you may not see some of the items an inspector will. When I say you are not an inspector I am saying this because you don't matter. Blunt but honest. No to many buyers are going to think much about what you did or did not disclose. They are the buyer. You are the seller. You are a liar!!!! Sad but true all buyers think that.

You want to know what is wrong with the property in the eyes of an inspector. You can decide what to fix and what you just do not want to fix. Keep in mind some buyers think a broken receptacle cover is a big deal. You can give them your list. This is what A Home Inspector found and they will respect that. They will accept your disclosure more readily. They may not even get a home inspection but don't count on that.

The last thing you want to be thinking about is "Oh God. All of this is going to be disclosed". Well, yeah!!!! It is either now or later. Better now and suck it up. Fix what you want or can afford. Maybe give an allowance if you just are not into fixing things. After all the Realtor is going to pump your house up a bit anyway so an allowance back to the buyer looks like a good deal for them. Everyone wants a deal.

Now about that new build. One of my worse cases on a new build was the entire 2 stories of brick on a the right side of the home had to be removed and replaced. There was already a crack 4 feet up from the front of the home to the rear of the home. They started putting the brick up out of plumb. They caught it but instead of starting over they just brought it back into plumb. You had a story and a half plus the gable of brick pushing down and out. The brick would have eventually came down. Maybe on you. This home also had 13 windows out of square. They had double locks on the windows like most new homes. You could lock the right side but not the left. All the windows and the brick work out around the windows had to be redone. That was just the beginning of that home.

You need a Home Inspection on the home you are selling. You need a home inspection on the home you are having built.

I hope that answered your question!!!!

Yes.

and

No.



Yes ... IF ...

... IF ... the seller is going to do one of three things:
- a) correct everything found
- b) correct SOME things and DISCLOSE ALL of the things NOT corrected
- c) DISCLOSE EVERYTHING on the report and NOT correct anything

No ... IF ...

... IF the seller is not going to do one of the things above: a). b). or c).

I agree with Jerry.
I have had some clients that think the inspection is going to show that the house is perfect and they can pass it to prospective buyers and the buyers won't need to get a home inspection. If you are of this mindset, don't do it, it won't happen.
You ARE going to end up with a repair list or a disclosure list or both. There is no perfect house.

Originally Posted by Chris McIntyre

IMHO I disagree, "as is" says there are problems and I will not pay to have repaired, take it or leave it.

IMHO I disagree. It says "if" there are problems I will not pay to have them repaired. Take it or leave it.

Rich has another house to move in to. He may wish to cut out the monkey crap and price the house to sell.

I see too much haggling caused by what I do. You fix that, I'll fix this, we want a credit, more letter writing from lawyer to lawyer, the lawyers don't answer phone calls. Delay, delay, delay.

This is just how I would handle it.

Now that you have opinions both ways, here is mine.

I recommend "No". You simply never know what buyers will ask for. Why spend money on a pre-sell inspection to do repairs that a buyer may not ask for or find some problem that you will now have to disclose?

I have had buyers who wanted every single iddy-biddy thing on my report repaired and others that just shrugged at huge problems and said, "Thanks for finding that".

You already have the "gem of the hood" so see what happens with it and deal with buyer requests if they come up.

One other point: In this market, the buyer is going to try to beat you down on price whether or not the house is "pre-inspected". Take the money you would have spent on the inspection and repairs and let them haggle a bit after they get the home inspected.
In my experience, "as-is" seldom is (unless it's bank owned).

I agree Benjamin, "as-is" is only true if the seller is willing to walk. The buyer has retained his inspection contingency in his purchase contract. I have seen banks restructure the deal.

I bristle when I see what banks get away with and how buyers and especially agents cower when they say the purchase is "as-is". Banks would have a buyer believe that they didn't know anything about the property when they did a 'trash-out', had a BPO, and had contractors make 'basic' repairs, paint, replace missing items, and more. They have done well in insulating themselves from disclosure and deal scrutiny. They have become the bullies in this real estate market. Deal makers should always remember that there is always someone that is smarter than they are when it comes to making a real estate deal.

One reason for the seller to reckon with the condition of his home is because Real Estate Appraisers are now noting conditions whose resolutions are becoming conditions of the loan approval. The old roof, in-operative heating system, missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, in-operative fireplaces, and other large ticket and safety items end up being loan conditions when the buyer gets to the lender's office. A cash buyer may have an advantage here, but they also aren't as easily swayed by the banks bully tactic or the seller decision to cut his loses and run.

Personally, I don't like doing inspections for sellers. Telling someone his home needs work is difficult. You can't predict how your inspection report will be used, by who, when, or why. The person using the report has no concept of how you did the inspection, and maybe doesn't even understand the scope of an inspection, or the SOP of a home inspection. The post sale use of a home inspection is frequently akin to Monday morning quarterbacking.

hey guys

i have apre listing pdf that i sell fo $250. it tells sellers what inspectors look for--and how to not piss off the inspector.

1] boxes over crawl space access
2] cluttered soap-towels and crap under sinks
3] move clothes and boxes around attic access scuttleholes
4] remove ugly junk around exterior
5] clean your gutters
6] clean your selfcleaning stove
7] clean your furnace inner chamber--change filter
8] clean your window tracks


i as inspectors hate all that crap--and i'm not happy when i find it

then when seller has recieved and states they are ready i do a pre listing inspection for another $250--but only test the four majors--roof--plumbing-hvac--electric--and an abbreviated report stating only the major problems


i have done many of these and believe it or not houses sell faster

just my thoughts--they can disclose what ever they want

cvf

Inspect the home. Disclose everything. If you've done all that work already, the inspection report will come out pretty clean. Ask for a printed copy you can leave out for buyers to view.

Pre-Listing Inspection - Allsafe Home Inspection