You can actually save money in the long run by paying to get a home inspection. That’s right, doing your own inspection in the very beginning gives you the time to properly research any issues and get quotes from a couple of contractors for the repairs that are needed to sell. Doing this will allow you to make an informed decision on what you are willing to repair and what you are not willing to repair and will remain “as is”. If it turns out that a lot of repairs are needed, your savings from shopping contractors and going with the most competitive bid could offset the cost of the pre-listing inspection.

Having to put a home back on the market after a buyer walks, can be a bad sign for future buyers and will definitely cost you more time and potentially more money. Many deals fall through when the buyer gets his own inspection and finds tons of unexpected issues with a property. Disclosing these issues up front will help decrease the number of repairs that must be negotiated; therefore, giving you a better chance of moving forward with the sale. Knowing where you stand on certain things, before the  buyer completes his inspection, will make for a smoother negotiation process.

Homes with more upgrades than comparable properties, typically get more interested buyers and tend to sell for higher prices. With that being said, when repairs are made to resolve issues from the pre-listing inspection, those repairs may be advertised to buyers as “upgrades”.  If the inspection report is provided to those interested buyers in advance, the buyer has the confidence to make a stronger offer because he has a better understanding of the condition of the home he is looking to purchase. Upgrades to a home always looks better to a buyer, because it gives the impression the previous owner took care of this property.

By providing buyers with a copy of the inspection report up front, along with other disclosures, you can negotiate what you are willing to repair when an offer is first received. This can be completed before you are under contract and at the mercy of the buyer’s due diligence period. This will also give you a clear picture of competing offers. Some sellers would go with a slightly lower offer with little to no repairs over the headache of fixing everything just to get a little higher selling price. Having all your ducks in a row, puts you, the seller, in the driver’s seat.

Many things are on the seller’s mind including not knowing if the buyer is going to back out during due diligence, how bad the buyer’s inspection will be, how many repairs the buyer will request, how much the repairs will cost, how long the repairs will take, and if the repairs will be satisfactory to the buyer. Stress when selling a home usually comes from the unknown. Knowing the most you can about your home, puts you in a far better position moving forward with listing as opposed to not knowing the home’s condition. Getting your own inspection, can reduce some of the stress while aiding you and the buyer in making a more informed decicion about the sell of the house.