How a Home Inspection Could Save You Thousands When Selling Your Home

Now that you have an Appraisal in hand and you have your property all ready to be put up for sale, it’s time to proceed and get your home “on the Market”.

Or is there something else you should do? That depends.

First and foremost, you should take an inventory of what you own and take the necessary steps to eliminate any objections before they even arise.

You may want to get an inspection by a Licensed Home Inspector. If you do, it is a good idea to have the home inspection done before the appraisal, but after doing what was stated earlier in Chapter 1: How to Get Your Property Ready for Sale.

Depending on the age and condition of the home, it is sometimes a good idea for the seller to get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection.

The reason being is, if your buyer decides to have an inspection done, it’s likely the inspector will find something that the buyer will want repaired before he will proceed with the sale.

Who knows what will be found or how the inspector will present his report. If for example, he would point out the roof has a 5 to 7 years of life before it should be replaced, it may kill the deal if not handled correctly.

In some cases, inspectors meet with the buyer and unintentionally kill the deal just by the way it’s presented. In fairness, other inspections are presented in such a way that the buyer does not become alarmed and the deal is put together.

After all, the house is not new and there are going to be issues. The problems arise when the buyer comes back after you have already agreed on a price and says, “I’ll still go through with the sale if you will allow a credit for the new roof.” Who needs that!

If you have an inspection in hand when the buyer looks at your home, let him know you have one and point out that your inspector did find some things (if he did) that needed to be addressed.

If you have done some of the repairs that were mentioned, let the buyer know what was done and then tell the buyer (in the roof example above): “You will notice the inspector pointed out our roof has a 5 to 7 year life expectancy. We took that in to consideration when we arrived at our asking price.” This will help to eliminate any surprises that may come up if the buyer still decides to have his own inspection done.

Buyers will commonly use issues that come up from the Inspection as a way to renegotiate and get the Sellers to come down on the sales price. By ordering an inspection right away, you’re already aware of the issues Buyers may find and use to get you to lower your price.  With this information, you can, as already stated, make necessary repairs and let the Buyers know ahead of time that your price reflects the issues uncovered by the Inspection.

In addition to the inspection, testing may need to be done. Not to be confused with the home inspection. Testing may be necessary if your home is located in an area that has radon problems, water or well problems, methane problems, etc. Testing these things beforehand could save you time and trouble down the road. Homes with septic systems should also have testing done ahead of time. When looking for a home inspection, consider inspection companies that do testing in addition to the inspection. Again, limiting the number of problems that may come up later will help you sell faster and more smoothly, and give your buyer peace of mind knowing that you’re not cutting corners.

Having a Home Inspection and appropriate tests done before putting a home on the market have saved sellers hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars that may have been lost by having to renegotiate the sale after the inspection.

You should also offer a Home Warranty. Not to be confused with your Homeowner’s Policy, a Home Warranty covers such things as heating, electrical, and plumbing systems, central air conditioning, water heaters and trash compactors, kitchen appliances, roofing, and more, depending on the company and plan you choose. While your homeowner’s insurance may cover these things if they are damaged as a result of fire, flood, or other natural disasters, normal wear and tear over the years can also cause your major systems or appliances to fail, leaving you with high repair costs that you will need to cover out-of-pocket. A Home Warranty will go a long way to put your Buyer at ease and make his decision to buy your home much easier, because he knows the warranty will protect him from these repair costs. An average warranty costs $300 to $600 a year, paid at the time of closing (no upfront costs!), and can shield you from repair costs ranging in the thousands of dollars.

Now, imagine that you are in the market to buy a home. Wouldn’t the benefits of a Home Warranty make the home you’re considering that much more attractive?  Shouldn’t the largest purchase of your life come with a warranty?  For our purposes, providing your buyer with a Home Warranty can help your home sell more quickly and maybe even for a better price. According to a 2007 study by American Home Shield, homes that were protected under a home warranty sold an average of 23 days faster and for 4% more than competing homes without warranty protection. That’s a difference of over three weeks and thousands of dollars.

When we have these four things – Appraisal, Home Inspection, Home Warranty, and testing – to sell our home fast, at the highest price, without the need of a real estate broker or agent, and save thousands of dollars, in hand, we are now ready to put our house on the Market, right? Well, almost.

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