Eventually, your buyers are going to conduct an inspection. You may as well know what they are going to find by getting there first. Having a pre-listing home inspection performed ahead of time helps in many other ways, such as:
- It allows you to see your home through the eyes of a critical and neutral third party.
- It alerts you to immediate safety issues before agents and visitors tour your home.
- It may alert you to items of immediate concern, such as leaking pipes or a gas leak on an appliance.
- It permits you to make repairs ahead of time so that defects won’t become negotiating stumbling blocks later.
- You have the time to get reasonably priced contractors or make the repairs yourself, if qualified.
- It helps you to price your home realistically.
- It may relieve prospects’ concerns and suspicions.
- It may encourage the buyer to waive his inspection contingency.
- It reduces your liability by adding professional supporting documentation to your disclosure statement.
Copies of the inspection report, along with receipts for any repairs, should be made available to potential buyers.