Hello!
Having a good week? I hope so! When you sell your house most buyers
do a home inspection after you accept their offer. Many buyers treat the
home inspector’s findings as an “all you can eat buffet!” “We found it
so the seller should fix it.” “Or, reduce the price.”
Hey, some of this stuff can add up fast. A new roof, there goes $6K-$20K, plumbing not vented,
there goes $1,500+. Fireplace chimney flue has small
cracks and they are now saying it needs a new liner? That’s another
$5K-$15K. Don’t even get me started on radon and cracked sewer lines.
Listen, you need to protect yourself when selling your house. You need to get preemptive with negotiating the inspection.
No, I’m not advocating for hiding anything from the buyer or not disclosing material facts. Quite the opposite. When a buyer
discovers something wrong with your house they feel entitled to have you fix it. When you make the facts known about your
house you remove the whole “buffet” or most of it from the table.
How? I recommend doing the inspection up front as the seller and providing that to the buyer before they make an offer. This
has held our deals together better, and saved our clients a lot of money not having to negotiate repairs that were already
made known. Plus, sometimes the buyer waives the inspection period altogether as they saw your inspection report. So, hit
the “easier” button and get a pre home inspection done before you sell. Some people are afraid to do them as they then have
to disclose the information to prospective buyers. I say, they are going to find out anyway. Happy home selling! ~ Travis
