Congratulations! You worked hard at negotiating the Purchase and Sales Agreement on your home with a great sales price, too. The performance dates have been set and tomorrow is your Buyer’s home inspection. Are you sleeping well?
There are only two ways of answering that question and rarely a third. It is either “yes” or “no”… not maybe. Yet, if it is a “maybe” it could only mean that you have a few issues with your house regarding something that you hope the inspector will not find. Right? We ask you these questions. Is it worth losing sleep over or even the loss of the deal by trying to conceal issues or the fear of not knowing about them in the first place? (Keep in mind that if you know about an issue and not disclose it on the Property Disclosure Statement… it is against the law and you can be sued if proven as such.) But let’s take this from a proactive point of view.
Here it is. Get a Pre-listing Home Inspection. A Home Inspection will cost between $350 to $500 that will buy you a good night’s sleep and save you countless dollars that your Buyer will ask for in repairs and/or off the selling price. A Pre-listing Home Inspection will give you information about the flaw of your home that you can disclose, as a non-negotiable repair, or have the opportunity to repair it for a fraction of what the buyer will ask for in compensation. For every $1,000 flaw that your Buyer finds to repair, they can ask for $3,000-$5,000 off the sales price or they may decide the flaw is beyond their comfort level and back out of the agreement. At that point you now know about the flaws and have to start all over again with a new Buyer and disclose these flaws on your Property Condition Disclosure. OUCH!
In closing (Yes, a pun… both for this article and at “closing” table), performing a professional Pre-Listing Home Inspection will give your Buyer’s confidence that they are buying a sound home from a transparent, credible and knowledgeable Seller. This is a great advantage for you, the Seller, when negotiating the Purchase and Sales Contract and paving the way for a smoother closing period. Your Buyers will still perform their professional Home Inspection but you may sleep a bit more soundly.