How a Pre-Listing Home Inspection Helps You Sell Smarter

Selling your home can be a real hassle without a pre-listing inspection. You won’t know how much your home is worth without having it inspected. A pre-listing home inspection would make your sale a smooth experience. Plus, buyers would rather buy an inspected house. But what is pre-listing inspection, and why is it a good idea? Let’s find out.

What is a Pre-Listing Home Inspection?

A pre-listing home inspection refers to the inspection done before the home is put for sale. Throughout the process, an inspector examines the house to find potential flaws you might want to know before a buyer makes a visit to your home with an inspector. What distinguishes a pre-listing inspection from a traditional home inspection is that it’s requested by the seller.

Advantages of a Pre-Listing Home Inspection

A pre-listing home inspection is a reassuring measure to take with several advantages that ultimately make your sale a successful and profitable experience. Some of the advantages of home inspection include:

Preparedness To Take Action

The information you receive from a pre-home inspection indicates your home’s status. You can use the inspection results to prioritize the issues and schedule repairs based on the urgency of the matter. This gives you control over your home’s issues and eliminates the stress of sudden major problems.

Saving Money

Once your home is examined, you can start the repairing process and stop minor issues from turning into serious, costly problems. Additionally, buyers won’t catch you off guard if they perform a standard inspection and talk you into a concession in the asking price.

Better Marketing

A pre-inspected home is ready to move in, and serious buyers can buy the house with more confidence and less concern. Just make sure to be honest and transparent about the house’s condition and what you have done to make it better.

More Profit

A healthy home and safe shelter aren’t cheap. Pre listing home inspection and follow-up maintenance make it fair to increase the asking price and make more profit from your sale.

Common Components Checked During a Pre-Listing Inspection

Qualified home inspectors in Canada have some regulatory standards based on which they examine your home and update you on your home stats. However, the scope of pre-listing inspection depends on your preferences. You can either ask for a comprehensive home inspection or limit the inspection to the parts or areas of the house that concern you.

• Structural components: foundation, walls, and roof (shingles, flashings, gutters, etc.)
• Exterior components: windows, doors, decks, and patios
• Interior components: ceilings, flooring, attic, and crawling space
• Plumbing system: pipes, water heater, and other fixtures (faucets, toilets, sinks, etc.)
• Electrical system: panel box, wiring, outlets, and switches
• Heating and cooling systems: furnace, air conditioner, and ventilation system
• Appliances: main home appliances such as the stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, etc.

How Pre-Listing Inspections Improve Negotiation Leverage

You may encounter buyers who haggle over some house problems in the hopes of reducing the asking price. Pre-listing inspection limits the buyer’s negotiation power over the asking price since you have already made the necessary fixes and repairs. Additionally, you can determine a fair price and close the deal more quickly.

In other words, a pre-listing home inspection puts the ball in the buyer’s court since your home is all check-up and no conditions are accepted. Rest assured, you won’t be cornered into a concession if you do a pre-listing inspection.

Costs and Time Involved in Pre-Listing Inspections

Generally, pre-listing home inspection cost ranges from $250 to upwards of $400. The cost depends on several factors, such as the home's location, size, and age. Inspection in urban areas may cost more than in rural areas, and the older or larger a house is, the more it would cost. It’s worth mentioning that inspectors may charge more based on the different types of home inspections.

Similarly, the time it takes an inspector to examine the house depends on how big or old the house is and how comprehensive you want the inspection to be. But inspection typically takes 3 or 4 hours unless the house is extremely out of shape.

Conclusion

Having the house inspected before listing it for sale is a very smart move. It helps you figure out the value of your home and determine a fair asking price. Plus, it makes your house more marketable. Sure, you have to spend a couple of extra hundreds, but it’s worth it as it ultimately makes your sale more profitable.