Are you planning to sell your house? Many experts recommend getting a home inspection before listing it. This helps you identify any issues you might want to correct. Today’s buyers love move-in-ready homes. Making this your goal means a higher sale price, so an inspection is a good idea.
If selling your residential property for the first time, this post is for you! Just for your information, always consult an expert real estate agent to sell your house. You will have a ton of questions that an experienced Realtor can answer for you.
4 Easy Steps Before You List Your Home for Sale
1. Perform Your Own Inspection
Before you hire a home inspection, go through all the rooms and inspect things personally. Keep a checklist of things that might be problems. You might actually find an issue that the professional inspector might miss.
2. Get Recommendations
Finding a quality home inspector might be difficult if you don’t know where to look. If you already have your Realtor, ask him first. If you don’t have your agent lined up yet, ask your family and friends for their opinion.
3. Book the Home Inspection
Getting the home inspection before listing it means the inspector will go through your home with a fine-toothed comb. They are trained to know what to look for and what would likely be a negative to any home buyer. You’ll get the report before any potential buyer has a chance to see your house in person.
4. Correct the Important Deficiencies
Now you know what problems exist so you can correct them. Some might be easily fixed yourself. Others will require a professional.
Keep track of everything you fix. Your Realtor will want this information before they craft their marketing materials.
Advantages of a Pre-Listing Inspection
As discussed above, an inspection is a good idea before selling your house, if you are still not sure why? Just go through these advantages of inspecting the house before sale.
- Reduce Stress
Now that the problems have been corrected (or at least recognized) you won’t be caught off guard during the selling process. Peace of mind is a valuable thing. - Pricing the Home Is Easier
Knowing all the problems and what’s been fixed will help you better understand how your home stacks up to the competition. - Adds a Selling Point
Having the pre-inspection completed, and sharing that with potential buyers means they’ll be more excited about your listing compared to the competition. - Increases Sales Price
Here’s the big one… how would you like a higher sales price? Yes, even though you needed to spend some money on the inspection and repairs, you’ll likely more than make up for it with a faster sale at a higher price. Sounds good, right?
Disadvantages of a Pre-Listing Inspection
The biggest one is cost. Expect to pay between $350-$550 depending on the size of your home for a thorough home inspection.
You can also expect a bit of a delay getting the inspection scheduled and getting the report but this negative can be overcome by some advanced planning.
Conclusion
Now that you understand how getting a home inspection before listing it can benefit you. Make sure to follow our advice and you’ll be glad you did.
