Can sellers benefit from home inspections?

The process of selling a house has long put the onus of inspection on prospective buyers. The seller sets a price for the home, and it’s up to the buyer to determine if the house is worth that price, in large part, through a home inspection. However, sellers, buyers, and their respective agents are learning that a pre-listing or seller inspection can benefit all of them.

Seller inspections contribute information–the most valuable commodity in any purchase–to the homebuying process. With more accurate and up-front information from sellers, buyers feel more in control of the process and more confident about a home’s condition before making an offer. Buyers face many fears and doubts when investing in a home, and removing some of these misgivings makes for a better transaction.

Sellers also benefit from these inspections; they gain peace of mind. Not only do they know more about the condition of their home, but with the buyer more comfortable about the transaction and informed up-front about the house’s condition, the buyer is less likely to cancel or halt a sale. "Any time you can eliminate one of the major reasons for contracts falling out, I feel you have accomplished something," says Dave Folsom of Keller Williams Realty in Southlake, who believes so strongly in the benefits of seller inspections that when representing sellers, he often pays for the inspections.

While all agents may not believe in the inspections as strongly as Folsom, an informal Texas Association of REALTORS® poll indicates that many agents think the inspections are worthwhile. Of the almost 600 members who participated in the poll, 69% thought that "it’s important for sellers to have a professional evaluate their home’s condition." Only 8% of those participating believed that seller inspections are "a waste of money."

However, some agents maintain that unless the seller suspects that something is wrong with the house and wants to know the cost of fixing it, seller inspections invite trouble. And even then, they waste money, according to a REALTOR® from Waxahachie. She suggests getting free estimates from service professionals (e.g., plumbers, contractors, electricians) rather than spend the $200-400 for a typical home inspection.

Jim Freeman of All Around Inspections in Conroe counters, "I’ve found that sellers and their agents don’t want to know (what’s wrong with a house) because they’ll be legally bound to reveal (the problems), warts and all, in the disclosure statement. As a result, they choose to play ostrich, stick their heads in the sand, and take their chances (with the buyers’ inspections)." However, ignoring potential problems can backfire, especially in today’s litigious society.

Most homeowners don’t possess the expertise needed to assess the condition of structural and mechanical systems in their own homes. Providing inaccurate information on a disclosure–even inadvertently–can lead to legal problems with buyers. These inspections can save sellers from being accused of inaccurate disclosures, even if they were inadvertent.

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.tar.org.