Imagine you are buying a home. You enter the kitchen area and see a professional inspection report and a folder containing receipts for repairs or improvements made to the house based on that report.
What would you think?
Hopefully, seeing something like this instills trust that the seller was proactive with the inspection process and takes selling their house seriously.
If you are going to sell your home in the next 90 days, please remember that a buyer home inspection can be a source of stress, renegotiation, and even in some cases, the buyer backing entirely out of the sale.
Below are the top reasons you should hire a qualified and experienced inspector and examples we encounter when doing three different inspections.
4 Seller Home Inspection Benefits
No unwelcome surprises If you have lived in your home for some time, you might be surprised that your home has hidden problems, things you have overlooked, or certain things (i.e., the electrical box) that could be in an unsafe condition.
Helps budget-conscious buyers If your home is perfect for a first-time buyer, taking one expense off their plate may be all the incentive they need to purchase your home.
It puts you in control of the contractors and timing Let’s say you completed the inspection a few months before your listing, and ten items need your attention. Upon doing a little research, you determine three you can do yourself, and the remaining seven will require licensed professionals.Having the report allows you time to interview contractors, obtain price estimates, and complete the work. It also allows you the ability to space out the expenses over time.Contrast this to a buyer inspection where you must have all contracted work completed before house closing. Not only might you be surprised by the number of things on the report, but you will have to choose the first contractor available to complete the work, adding to the stress of home selling.
Speeds up the process. Let’s say the home buyer still hires an inspector. Even if they find a few items to attend to, the list should be small and the corrections speedily made.
Our Story
Here are real-life examples of things we have found on three different home inspections that surprised each homeowner.
This crawlspace was a room that was only accessible by carefully going through old steel-framed windows and dropping down into it. The crawlspace had a dirt floor and blocked drainage tile outside. The blocked drainage tile caused water to back up into the crawlspace feeding the thick, lush carpet of mold.
This attic space shows wet insulation and wet/moldy truss members. This was due to a lack of proper ventilation into the attic space.
We were standing on the roof, looking down at the chimney. The crown wash has receded and cracked and exposed the holes in the brick. This is a pervasive problem that most homeowners don’t know about until (1) they have a home inspection, (2) they end up with costly repairs to the chimney, or (3) they end up with water intrusion, structural damage, mold or (4) all of the above.
Schedule Your Home Inspection with Us Today
A pre-listing inspection puts you ahead of the game. It eliminates unknowns, streamlines the selling process, and potentially gives you top-dollar for your home. Why leave anything to chance? It’s easy to schedule your inspection with us!