How Pre-listing Inspection Can Help Sell a Home

Even with the greatest of real estate brokers on your side, selling a home can be a tricky thing. Increasingly, many of those looking to sell are finding that a comprehensive home inspection can help lessen the stress of the selling process, and help it go more smoothly.

Traditionally, potential buyers will have a home inspection done after the initial offer is accepted. After a careful review of the inspection report, the prospective buyers will either submit a request to the homeowner to fix some or all of the problems, or ask for a price reduction and tackle the issues themselves.

Because of the many deadlines and documents that must be juggled in order to complete a home sale, the home inspections almost always entail added stress for both parties.

But according to Ed Henningsen of the Eliot-based Henningsen Inspections, such compounded worry only proves that the homeowners themselves should be looking to get a head start on the inspection process.

“For a few hundred dollars, you get a professional inspector who will evaluate the house just like any prospective buyer would’ve done,” says Henningsen, who offers energy audits and radon mitigation tests on top of his cornerstone home inspection service. “That way they can prepare themselves for potential requests from the buyer, and gives them a better idea and a head start on how best to proceed.”

Doing a pre-listing home inspection also allows ample time for improvements to be done in an efficient, organized manner, saving the homeowner both time and money.

With improvements – whether it’s new, more efficient insulation, an improved energy system, or minor touch-ups – squarely in place, the home immediately becomes more marketable, says Henningsen.

“Doing a pre-listing inspection actually can help increase the pool of potential buyers,” he says. “That improved curb appeal can help make a better first impression, and sometimes that first impression can mean a lot in terms of a sale.”

On the buyer’s side, the stress of making an initial offer can be significantly eased, if they’re privy to the results of an inspection and the recommended improvements.

“It helps the buyer understand the home better,” says Henningsen. “Even if they end up wanting to do their own inspection, it’s almost certain that a buyer will feel more comfortable making an offer if one has already been done – offers are good, right?”

Reduced stress, money saved, improved curb appeal, a faster sell – what’s not to love?

“As with many things, when it comes to inspections and the buying process, knowledge is power,” exclaims Henningsen. “If you can better understand your own home, or if you’re a buyer who can see the results of the inspection and have an idea of what needs to be done, that improved communication can only make the process go more smoothly.”