Selling a home is no easy task, but you can increase your future odds of success with potential buyers if you take a proactive step to ensure that you complete a pre-listing home inspection early on in the sales process. Learn more about what a pre-listing home inspection entails in this article.
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What Is A Pre-Listing Home Inspection?
When selling a home, you might uncover a few things that need repair or replacement, and if left unaddressed, it’s likely that a potential buyer will back out after discovering their presence. You can avoid a great deal of hassle, embarrassment, and last-minute expenses by conducting a pre-listing home inspection long before the sales process begins.
A pre-listing home inspection, as the name suggests, consists of a residential property undergoing a quality assessment before the house is placed on the market. Usually, it’s paid for by the seller or a prospective buyer (but this would technically be a post-listing inspection, which we’ll address later).
Most pre-listing home inspections are conducted by a real estate listing agent. Once the residential property is thoroughly checked for any signs of damage, disrepair, and the like, the listing agent will provide the seller with a detailed written report of what obstacles or issues, if any, have been found that require immediate attention.
Do Buyers Really Care About Pre-Listing Home Inspections?
In many cases, individuals selling their house are eager to close a deal as soon as possible. Whether it is intentional or accidental, they often may forgo a pre-listing home inspection entirely, until they have no choice but to perform one to satisfy a prospective buyer.
If a home inspection is not performed prior to listing, and the subject isn’t brought up until a buyer has already made an offer, then the inspection will likely be the defining last step before the real estate deal is officially sealed.
When an assessment of a residential property is done this late in the process, the seller is at much greater risk of losing the sale immediately, especially if a glaring problem is uncovered by the prospective buyer. Less critically, but perhaps more commonly, many home sellers may end up taking their house off the market for a temporary period of time after realizing they have some serious home improvement to do.
To put it simply, buyers care a lot about pre-listing home inspections, and anyone hoping to sell their home without a hitch should care as well.
Why All Home Sellers Should Get A Pre-Listing Inspection
There are many benefits to getting a pre-listing home inspection for those selling a residential property, and these aren’t limited to appeasing potential buyers. Indeed, there are a number of advantages for the seller to enjoy.
Being proactive and scheduling a pre-listing home inspection before entering the real estate market can be a boon to sellers in the following ways:
- Less Stress — You won’t have to fret about last-minute repairs, replacements, or fees when you take care of an inspection before any buyer can make an offer or demand to see a home quality report.
- More Time — The sooner you get your home inspected in relation to the time you list it, the more time you’ll have to make any necessary adjustments or improvements to your residential property.
- Flexibility — Not only will you have more time to make needed repairs and alterations in your home, but you’ll also have greater freedom regarding whom you choose to hire for various work tasks, plus the flexibility of a relatively open schedule that isn’t already booked to the brim with open houses and back-to-back showings.
- Better Seller Credibility — Buyers will see you as more trustworthy and feel more confident in securing finances and loans to purchase your home if they can see a completed inspection report of your property — especially if it’s already been completed and the paperwork is ready on the same day the buyer visits for an initial showing.
- Listing Price Assurance — When you complete a pre-listing home inspection, you’ll get a better understanding of what your house is truly worth — which may actually be higher than what you expected! A little bit of proactivity now might mean a lot more profit from your property sale later on.
Ready to sell your home? We’re ready to help!
If you’re currently considering selling your home and you live in the greater Denver metro area, contact Brandon & Lana to ensure that you work with two of the best representatives in local real estate. With more than two decades of combined experience representing both buyers and sellers in hundreds of residential property transactions, Brandon & Lana have the industry know-how to perform thorough pre-listing inspections.
When you choose our dedicated real estate duo, we’re committed to helping you get the best deal out of your home, whether it’s exceptionally ready to receive a buyer’s offer, or it needs just a little bit of TLC before it can be listed. Contact us today to learn more about our real estate expertise and our professional services for pre-listing home inspections. Oh, and don’t forget to schedule your free seller’s consultation online now!
