Why Conduct Property Inspections Before Putting Your House on the Market.

We have been asked time and time again by our clients about why we need to do a property inspection and pest inspection before putting their home on the market.   Let’s look at why this has become a common practice among agents.  Suppose you recieve an offer on a property, then get the pest inspection, and the inspection shows about $20,000 worth of suggested repairs.  The prospective buyers will most likely ask for a price reduction, therefore bringing all parties back to the negotiating table, and possibly risk closing the sale.  The other reason property inspections are reccomended to be done up front is for the purpose of pricing the home appropriately.  Suppose a home is priced at a $1,000,000, but there is a severe foundation issue, or drainage issues that may cost about $50, 000 to repair.  Once inspections are done, again, the prospective buyers will likely ask for a price reduction, have the sellers make the repairs, or walk away.  Should they walk away, the risk is that the property will sit on the market for a longer period of time, possibly face a price reduction greater than the cost of the repairs, therefore affecting the sellers net proceeds.  It is also imperative to work with inspectors that are reputable and thorough, and always get additional inspectors out to the property if there are any items in question.  Furthermore, should you want to fix something on the inspection report prior to putting the home on the market, you can.  If you want to fix something once you have an offer, you are obligated to hire a licensed contractor, even if it’s a job that you can do yourself.  That being said, the few hundred dollars shelled out for an inspection is money well spent and can save you thousands of dollars should the property have a major defect that can only be detected by hiring the appropriate experts.