Why should I Pre-Inspect before selling my home?

 

All homes should be inspected prior to any transaction.  Many people are unaware of many existing problems.  It can be beneficial to know before you list your house by having an unbiased inspection performed by a licensed inspector. This will assist you in pricing your home correctly before placing it on the market.  By taking into consideration the repairs needed, you can further ensure that a potential contract will go as smooth as possible. 

If a buyer has the inspection first, they have the power to decide what they want repaired.  If you the seller perform the inspection, you can eliminate this by repairing the items needed to show good faith early on.   If too many items are found a first time home buyer will become overwhelmed and this is a way out if the home inspection cannot be negotiated.  Once a home goes pending, then comes back on the market due to a bad home inspection, it can hurt potential marketing as agents and buyers will question why it came back on the market.   This can be a good investment to ensure smooth contract negotiations.   It also shows potential buyers the value you have in your home and the length you are willing to go to show what a solid home it is.  This also potentially eliminates one more contingency in the contract, allowing the financing to be the main one. 

Most people have an annually physical performed by a Doctor, but most homeowners don't have a preventative home inspection performed every three to five years. Protect your investment by staying on top of typical maintenance of your home and appliances.

The inspection will begin with the exterior and continue to the inside.  The crawl space or basement will be towards the end.  An inspector will check electrical, basic structural, insulation levels, plumbing, mechanics (furnace, a/c, hot water heater, etc), and will give you a complete report.   The report will show the age and condition of everything checked.  The end of the report will show the minor repairs which normally consist of smaller items that are more informational to watch or fix if you desire.  The major repairs are in need of looking at closer as these could be a much more expensive than the minor items.

The State of Illinois now requires a radon disclosure on all homes.  Radon testing has become increasingly popular among home buyers to know the levels within the home.   The level acceptable as per the state is 4.0.  Anything above that advises mitigation that can start at $850 and increase depending on size and foundation.  Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that comes from the radioactive decay of naturally occurring uranium in the soil. It can enter homes and buildings through small cracks in the foundation, sump pumps or soil in crawlspaces.  The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is urging homeowners throughout the state to test their homes for radon after a study of radon testing results found nearly half of 22,000 homes tested by professionals had potentially unsafe levels of radon. The study also found 80 counties where few, if any, professional tests for the naturally occurring radioactive gas known to cause lung cancer were conducted during the two-year study period.

 

Information Provided By:

Troy Doehring
Tech Spec Home Inspection Service, Inc.