Should I Pre-Inspect My House Before Selling?

By Rebecca Durfey

Rebecca Durfey brings over 20 years of experience in real estate transactions within Maricopa County. Despite managing multiple clients simultaneously, her primary focus is to provide a personalized experience that makes you feel like her sole priority. Rebecca and her team are dedicated to efficiently achieving the desired outcomes for each client they serve.

Do you want to sell your home fast? In this current market, that’s not as easy as in past markets. Due to higher interest rates, home prices, and lower demand, we aren’t able to throw your home on the MLS and expect it will absolutely sell in a couple of days. That being said, we can still take steps to increase the likelihood of finding a buyer in a more timely manner – even in this market. It does require a little extra work, though. One action sellers are finding is desirable for our buyers is when the sellers have a pre-listing inspection performed. It can take one more concern and one more cost off the plate of the buyers and, therefore, possibly result in less time on the market. Here are three key benefits of pre-inspecting your home:

1. You can hit the market with a clean product. The bottom line is that homes in better condition sell faster and for more money. Think about your pre-inspection like certifying a used car. Certified cars are a more desirable product, so people will be willing to pay more money faster. On the other hand, buyers will try to draw things out and get every opportunity in negotiations if your house is an unknown quantity.

2. You can fix major issues before hitting the market. As an agent, I’ve seen this situation play out too many times: My client finds the perfect buyer who is willing to give them everything they want and more. However, this buyer finds some repair issues during the inspection process that makes them nervous, and rather than ask for a repair, they decide to cancel. A pre-inspection should help identify those “dealbreakers” you will want to take care of ahead of time, which can possibly protect your sale.

3. Pre-inspections give you leverage at negotiations. When you have a better product, you can expect less concessions requested from a buyer. Whether you want a quick sale, more money, or better terms, we need leverage to get the outcome you desire. One of the common hurdles during negotiations in the inspection period is for a buyer to use repairs as a negotiating point. By addressing issues upfront and creating more demand for your home, expect that we enter negotiations with a stronger position.

As always, if you have any questions or want to sit down for a pre-listing consultation, please feel free to call, text or email me at any time. There is no cost and there is no obligation. I look forward to hearing from you!