Why Do A Pre-Inspection When Selling Your New Orleans West Bank Home?
May 4, 2008 by lisa
Filed under Blog, For Sellers, Real Estate FAQ, Real Estate Talk
More and more often, home buyers on the West Bank of New Orleans are choosing to walk away from contracts on homes that have what they feel are too many repairs or updates needed after the inspections are done. Many times it is not that the items are very serious, but that there are so many small things that point to deferred maintenance that the buyers no longer have a “warm and fuzzy” feeling. They begin to doubt their choice and, let’s face it, there are a lot of choices out there right now.
How do you, as a home seller, combat this? Get your home pre-inspected! Having your home inspected before listing it allows an unbiased professional to take a hard look at the house and tell you what items they would note if they were working for a buyer. This gives you the chance to address any problem areas before your house ever goes on the market and makes the buyers feel more comfortable that they are making the right choice when they write an offer.
What are the advantages of a pre-listing inspection?
- Home sellers can ensure that the inspector is certified and licensed by the state. Buyers have the right to have any and inspections done that they want - but they are not required to hire a licensed home inspector. If they decide to use Uncle Joe, who used to “work for a contractor”, it could be the death knell for your contract if he gives bad advice to the buyers.
- Sellers can be alerted to any existing problems before their house goes on the market. This gives you the opportunity to have any defects that were uncovered corrected before filling out the disclosure forms.
- Inspection results can be used to bolster the asking price for a home in excellent condition
- A clean inspection report can be used as an attachment to the seller’s required disclosures to back up statements about condition
- Some buyers may choose to rely on the pre-inspection and waive the inspection period in a contract, leading to a faster closing
Convinced? If you need a list of qualified, local home inspectors feel free to give me a call at (504) 616-6262 or drop me a line at lisa@westbankliving.com. I have some great professional companies that I would be happy to recommend.
Related Reading:
Louisiana Home Inspections Ranked #1 In The Nation
Louisiana Property Disclosures Part 1 - Yes, You Have to Disclose That!
Louisiana Property Disclosures Part 2 - Bugs, Bugs and More About Bugs
Louisiana Property Disclosures Part 3 - Structure
Louisiana Property Disclosures Part 4 - Plumbing, Water, Gas and Sewerage
Louisiana Property Disclosures Part 5 - Do You Have Power?
Copyright 2008. Lisa Heindel, All rights reserved.
Check out http://www.MoveInCertified.com
So this is where you hang out, when you are not on Active Rain? I spotted your post, and I just wanted to say that many sellers have been asking me to do a pre-inspection, so they can avoid grief later. Yesterday at a seller’s home, I saw that they had updated their water heater, but it had been installed incorrectly. It is much easier to have the workers come out and do it right now, before you start showing. Thank you for the post.
Frank, thanks for weighing in from an inspector’s perspective. It’s those little things that can be easily remedied before a house goes on the market that can cause the biggest problems once an offer has been accepted. Thanks for reading and commenting!
[...] Why Do A Pre-inspection When Selling Your New Orleans West Bank Home? [...]