You’re thinking about turning one of your biggest assets – your home – into a pile of cash by putting it on the market. And the timing couldn’t be better.
Although a recession might occur in 2023, interest rates are anticipated to stabilize later on this year. That means more buyers will likely jump back into the housing market and search for a new home.
Before you move forward with listing your home, though, you should have a pre-listing home inspection done on your home. Here’s a rundown of the many benefits of pre-listing home inspections.
Let’s get started!
Pre-Listing Home Inspection Aids in Making Repairs
A major benefit of getting a pre-listing home inspection done on your home is that it will allow you to make critical repairs before you put your home on the market.
An inspection may uncover home issues that you might not have known about. For example, you may discover that your crawl space is leaking. In addition, the inspection might identify roof damage.
You may even learn through your inspection that you have an infestation of wood-destroying bugs. All of these problems can be a deal-buster.
By addressing these issues before you list your home, you increase the likelihood of your home sale going through.
Accurate Pricing
Another benefit of getting a pre-listing home inspection is that it can help you to price your home more accurately.
Let’s say you don’t want to fix the problems that your inspection has revealed due to the costs required to do so. You can factor these expenses into your home’s asking price.
Then, you can explain to potential buyers that even though your home has specific issues, they’ll be receiving the house for a discounted price.
On the flip side, let’s say you decide to repair all of the problems that your home inspection uncovers. Or, perhaps your home inspection comes back clean. You can elevate your home’s asking price to reflect this.
If your inspection doesn’t reveal any problems, you can use this information to confidently market your home as well.
Building Trust
Yet another advantage of getting a pre-listing home inspection done is that this can help you to build trust with your prospective buyers.
When you get your home inspected and disclose any discovered issues to possible buyers, buyers will be more willing to trust you. They won’t have to worry that you are attempting to hide something about the home from them.
They will therefore be more apt to do business with you due to your forthrightness and transparency.
Making Transactions Smoother
A pre-listing home inspection also offers the benefit of streamlining the home sale process.
If a potential buyer makes an offer on your home, they will likely hire an inspector to evaluate the home’s condition themselves. If you get a pre-listing home inspection done before you sell, you’ll likely catch and fix issues before they crop up on your buyer’s inspection report.
This means you can sell your home more quickly. After all, you won’t have to repair these issues after the buyer’s inspection; they’re already fixed. That saves you the time and hassle of having to collect repair estimates for the home and then schedule repairs on short notice.
Or, if you choose not to make the repairs, you won’t have to become entangled in lengthy negotiations with the buyer. As we mentioned earlier, you can disclose these issues upfront and focus your time and energy only on buyers who are a good fit for your property.
Saving Money
A pre-listing home inspection won’t just save you time and energy: It may also save you money.
That’s because buyers generally overestimate the repair costs associated with the homes they’re interested in purchasing. As a result, you may lose money in your deal if you try to factor their preconceived costs into your asking price.
By collecting cost estimates and paying to have the repairs done yourself before you list your home, you could save several thousand dollars.
Generating Information About Your Home
A pre-listing home inspection will also provide you with information about your home that you can then share with a prospective buyer. This will allow your buyer to fully understand your home’s condition.
As a result, your buyer can make a more informed decision regarding purchasing your house and thus approach the deal with confidence. This is important given that this may be the biggest investment they’ll ever make.
Promoting the Value of Maintenance to Buyers
Finally, when you get a pre-listing home inspection done, you demonstrate to buyers the importance of having a home inspected regularly.
Homes should ideally be inspected every few years to ensure their durability and safety. When buyers get their homes inspected and fix the problems that their inspections reveal, they can keep their homes in tip-top condition long term.
How We Can Help
Getting a pre-listing home inspection done on your home offers numerous benefits, including helping you to build trust with your potential home buyers. It also allows you to make essential repairs before you begin the process of selling your home.
As the leading associate broker in the Maryland real estate market, our team is ready to assist you in buying or selling your home. We can also help you to build your real estate portfolio if you are an investor.
Contact us to learn more about our services, and let’s kickstart your next real estate transaction today!