REVEAL HOME INSPECTIONS Return to Home Page Index
Phone 845-526-2499

Why a Home Seller should consider Pre-Sale Inspection and Testing:

More and more sellers are paying for home inspections themselves, and for good reasons:

A last-minute house inspection, ordered by the buyer, may reveal problems that delay the closing or even cancel the sale. The home inspector may report that the roof needs replacing, that two bathrooms on the first floor have plumbing problems, or that the furnace is about to expire. The buyer may want out, even if the seller offers to make all the necessary repairs. Buyers may not be interested in a house with a basement so wet that it needs a sump pump.

But if the sellers know beforehand about any defects, they can attend to them-or inform any buyers who come to look at the house-and not have the closing delayed or called off because the problem is discovered only later. If an inspection reveals major, costly problems, the sellers-if they don't want to take on the expense-can reduce their asking price to compensate any buyers.

An inspection report can reassure buyers about the soundness of a house. At some point in the negotiations, you can simply say, "I had the entire house inspected a few months ago, and everything passed, except for a leaky faucet in the basement, which I had fixed. Would you like to see the inspection report? I can also show you the plumber's bill for repairing the faucet."

In a buyer's market, when buyers have many choices, little things can mean a lot. Having written evidence that a house is shipshape, while saving the buyers a few hundred dollars on an inspection, may tilt buyers in you direction.

If buyers are interested in your house but skeptical of the inspection company that you hired, encourage them to hire their own company. Be sure that the buyers don't insert into the contract a contingency clause so vague that they can bow out on a whim (if the inspection report is "unsatisfactory," for example).

Phone 845-526-2499