As the seller, many people think that only the home buyer has a home inspection upon buying the home. However, the seller can benefit from a pre-listing inspection because it avoids unnecessary problems down the road. If you’re selling your home, consider getting pre-listing home inspection services. You may be surprised to learn that 55% of Sound View Home Inspections home inspections are sellers’ inspections.

How Does a Pre-Listing Inspection Work?

Normally, the pre-listing inspection is performed before the home is listed on the market. This allows prospective buyers to see the condition of the home prior to negotiations being made. Having the inspection performed after negotiations can cause all kinds of issues on the part of the buyer, so it’s easy to see how this kind of inspection can benefit everyone involved.

The inspector will provide a typical inspection and create a report, and as the seller, you may choose to also have a one-page overview prepared for easy reference. The seller and real estate agent then review the report and/or overview for approval, and may choose to adjust the listing price or other factors. Then, both the report and overview are published and available to real estate professionals and prospective buyers.

What Are the Benefits of a Pre-Listing Inspection?

As we said before, the benefits are numerous. Being upfront about the condition of the home will help to eliminate conditional offers or issues with negotiations, resulting in the seller having to sell the home more than once because the buyer has changed their mind. Everything is agreed upon before the listing is published and the home goes on the market, which minimizes the liability for all parties.

On top of this, if the home is found to be in better condition than originally thought, the price can reflect this. The buyer is also invited to have an Onsite Review at a reduced cost that provides insight for the buyer, provides the buyer with a complete inspection report and creates a contractual relationship with the inspection company. (Buyers should be advised that without the Onsite Review, the inspection company remains responsible only to the seller.) There will be no conflicting information making the transaction complicated—just peace of mind for everyone, and a smoother, quicker process where everyone wins.

If you’re selling your home, we highly recommend considering a pre-listing inspection to make your sale as quick and easy as possible. Sound View Home Inspections offers sellers’ inspections as one of our home inspection services.