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January 2008
Index of all
past
Affiliate Corner columns
Ready to sell? Consider a pre-listing inspection
By Tom Gould
WIN Home Inspections
One way to make your listing appeal to all buyers is to conduct a pre-listing inspection. This type of inspection helps sellers discover flaws in their home that they might want to address before sale.
Since the buyer will use his or her own inspection to gain information on issues that could justify renegotiation or even abandonment of the purchase, it’s important for you to know the condition of your client’s home – even if your client doesn’t plan to do work on the property. A pre-listing inspection also creates a positive marketing tool that you and your buyer can use to promote the home.
Pre-listing inspections also help you prepare your client’s home for the best possible results during a buyer’s inspection. Some inspectors complain that sellers often don’t think about how to best present a home to the buyer’s inspector, who may draw conclusions about a home’s structure based on minor issues the seller could easily address.
Gestures as simple as changing burned-out indoor and outdoor light bulbs or scraping windows that have been painted shut could prevent the mistaken impression that the house has electrical flaws or outages or that none of its windows open. Replacing filters in furnaces and air conditioners and obtaining a furnace cleaning and service will remove the concern that the furnace has not been maintained, easily removing an often ‘automatic’ issue from the buyer’s inspection report. Adjusting door knobs and locks to allow for the interior and exterior doors to operate more smoothly can also help with the buyer’s inspection. You’ll also need to provide keys to exterior structures and unblock access to attics and crawl spaces.
In the current market conditions, there are a large number of seller-occupied and bank-owned homes on the market competing against your listing. Anything you do that makes your home stand out in the neighborhood can only add to the marketability of your listing. When a buyer walks through the front door of your listing knowing that this particular home has already been inspected, it removes one of the worries that buyers carry with them throughout the buying process. Removing the worry only helps build confidence in your listing, and in today’s market confidence is a big thing.
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