Have Your Home Inspected
BEFORE Putting It On The Market!

Don’t wait until after you have reached an agreement with a buyer to learn what may or may not be wrong with your home.

A pre-listing engineering inspection is the same inspection a prospective home buyer would perform once an agreement to purchase the home has been reached. It is an examination & evaluation of all components of the home by an objective third party (a licensed home inspector).

An engineering inspection provides an overview of the condition of the home and cites any noticeable defects, safety issues, or code violations.

REMEMBER - A home inspector's report is just one person’s opinion regarding the condition of a home. Therefore, it is not wise for a homeowner to allow the buyer’s inspector's report to be the only opinion being considered.

10 Benefits Of A Pre-Listing Engineering Inspection
Realistically, every home has issues that need attention. Even well maintained homes could possibly have minor defects of which the homeowner is not aware.

1. The pre-listing inspection familiarizes the homeowner with the scope of a professional home inspection and what is involved.
    
2. The pre-listing inspection provides an opportunity for the homeowner to learn about defects & correct them ahead of time instead of being blind-sided at the last minute by the buyer’s home inspector’s criticisms.
   
   Once the issues are corrected, a homeowner can ask the home inspector to remove the criticisms from the report and provide a “revised clean report”.
    
3. A clean pre-listing inspection report can be used as a marketing tool. Buyers can be informed that the home has been professionally inspected and found to be “problem-free”.
   
   The home can then be featured as being a “pre-inspected home” and a rider to that effect can be placed on the yard sign.
    
4. The pre-listing inspection supports the spirit of full disclosure and puts prospective buyers at ease knowing that the homeowner is not trying to hide anything and is willing to disclose everything.
    
5. The pre-listing inspection sets the tone for a more cooperative negotiation rather than an adversarial one.
    
6. The pre-listing inspection can be used to answer questions from a buyer who might suspect a specific problem exists. The fact that the source for your answers is a professional home inspector’s report should calm the buyer's fears about whether the problem exists or not.
    
7. The existence of a clean professional pre-listing inspection should discourage a buyer’s home inspector from being excessively critical of the home.
    
8. The pre-listing inspection report is a 2nd opinion from another objective professional that can be compared to the buyer’s home inspection report.
    
9. The pre-listing inspection can be used to refute exaggerated 11th hour requests for expensive repairs.
    
10. If a homeowner does not wish to correct the problems discovered in a pre-listing inspection, the homeowner would have the option of offering the house in “as is condition” with the pre-listing inspection report being available for prospective buyers to review.
    
    With this strategy, the condition of the house would be factored into the list price and the condition of the house would be disclosed up front so there is no justification for buyers to ask for steep discounts based upon work that needs to be performed.