Sellers often ask “What can I do to prepare my home to sell?” They’re looking for things like change the knobs on the cabinets, paint the walls eggshell white or install ceiling fans. Though some of those things will help improve the appearance and desirability of your home, they won’t give you the protection a pre-sale home inspection will. Here’s why every seller should get a pre-sale inspection.
Pre-Sale Inspections Protect Sellers
For a few hundred dollars, sellers who get a pre-sale inspection have an extra layer of protection. As a seller, it’s your job to disclose known defects. A home inspection won’t absolve you from your duty to disclose known defects, but will help you fully disclose defects that can be seen by a trained and untrained eye. There some damages that you cannot see. Imagine that a latent problem breaks out just before you are closing a sell?
Why does disclosing more help protect you? The more you can disclose about your home, the less a buyer can say they “didn’t know about” months later. A professional home inspection report is written proof you told the buyer the sink leaks or the door sticks.
Pre-Sale Inspections Make Your House More Attractive
One of the biggest fears a home buyer has is buying a home that needs a lot more work than they’d anticipated. If you (the seller) can answer questions like what types of repairs will need to be made soon? What systems and components are coming to the end of their usable life? What systems work properly? When you can answer all of these questions for a potential buyer upfront, they can focus on how much they like your house and move forward. Not make up stories about the potential problems they could encounter.
Pre-Sale Inspections Decrease Negotiating Time
When a buyer makes an offer on a home, they are assuming all the major systems and components work. In their mind, their original offer is a price they’re willing to pay should the home inspection come back with no defects or problems. When they get their inspection and find any defects, they either want to negotiate down the price or get the seller to fix most everything on the list.
If you know what a home inspector will find before you get into a negotiation situation, you can decide whether or not to fix things and price your home accordingly. Does this guarantee a buyer won’t try to renegotiate the deal? No. But it makes it a lot harder for a buyer to come back and say they want you to fix something you already told them didn’t work.
Pre-Inspections Should Be at the Top of Every Seller’s To Do List
Pre-inspections are beneficial in protecting you from not disclosing something you should have as well as making your home more attractive. Giving a buyer some assurance your home is in good shape could make the difference between a buyer choosing your home versus your neighbor’s home.
Wondering What Your Austin Home is Worth?
You don’t have to wonder anymore! Our FREE Austin Home Value Tool sends a detailed neighborhood market report with home sales data (and sold prices!) and what’s currently for sale, so you get a complete look at the real estate market. All we need is your home’s address and an email address! No phone calls and no need to speak to a Realtor first!
Thinking of Selling Your Austin Home?
We can help you make a priority list and determine what improvements or inspections would be most beneficial to you. We understand every seller has their own budget and can help you prioritize for your budget. Visit our Austin Home Seller page to learn more about how our Austin home selling program gets sellers more money in the shortest amount of time. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Seller Survey to schedule a no obligation consultation.
How Much is My Austin Home Worth?
Online real estate portals will give you an estimate for what your home is worth. Need a more detailed analysis? Try our Qualified Home Evaluation.
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