Have you approached your Sellers with the idea of a Pre-Marketing Home Inspection?
This seems to be a growing trend and I would be really interested in if Agents who have worked with Sellers or Buyers in that situation have found that it affects the Transaction one way or another.
I can see the pros and cons on both sides.....
Sellers Pros:
- Can be forewarned (therefore forearmed) of hidden problems that would or could affect a Sale
- Will have a heads up on small inexpensive to fix problems that can be taken care of. Thereby, reducing a "red flag" situation
- Already would have written information to dispute any Buyer Home Inspection findings if necessary
- Seller will appear to be more "up front" and honest
Seller Cons:
- Added cost
- May shine light on problems that could possibly been overlooked by a Buyers Home Inspection....but which now must be disclosed.
- Seller will need to repair or replace before being in a contract situation. Adding to the asking price?
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Buyer Pros:
- Will know all shortcomings up front so a rational decision can be made at the start
- Can avoid the expense of their own Inspection (not recommended)
- Will help to build Buyer confidence that there are no "unknowns"
- Will encourage a non-confrontational attitude between both Buyer and Sellers
Buyer Cons....none?
I personally find the Home Inspection phase of any Transaction on either side to be the most stressful for all parties.
Sellers develop a "well it was good enough for me" attitude and Buyers (no matter how well coached) fall into an "I'm entitled to a perfect house" mode!
On the surface it appears to me that a Pre-Marketing Home Inspection would aid in a smoother transaction for all! 
EDIT 1/21/08 It would appear we are all of like mind on having our Sellers do this. Why then are we unable to get the positive aspects in this across to them?
Concord New Hampshire Realtor Area Information
NH's Four Seasons
Joan Mirantz - Joni is a Realtor® with Homequest Real Estate, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm.
Joan Publishes a monthly Newsletter "Food For Thought" under the pen name Realtor Sherpa.
(Joan also answers to Miz Maven and Miss Joni.)
Joan works in Buyer and Seller Representation with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.
"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"
Having crossed over to the "other side of Middle Age" herself....Joan is an ongoing source of information about local programs, facilities and issues specific to her peers!
Livin' the Life...and Ridin' the Wave
Thanks Julie...that was why I wrote it. I thought it made good sense, but I can't get Sellers to see what's in it for them!
To me it would be a way to be forewarned!
Joan...Seller inspections are scary to me.
1. I recently lost a sale because the seller inspection did not discover the same things that the buyers inspection did. His agent failed to inform him that home inspections can be different from inspection to inspection.
2. Years ago....I've had a buyer rely on the seller inspection and not want to do or pay for his own...only to discover that the inspection missed a lot of issues and the buyer did not have a leg to stand on ..no recourse as the inspection belonged to the person who paid it for it...the former seller and not the buyer.
So my limited experience with it has not been positive.
Monika...Those are definately legitimate concerns...but avoidable if that Buyers agent had explained just that fact...all home inspections are not equal
Or if your Buyer had been more self serving and decided on his own Home Inspection?
Wouldn't you think it would be conducive to a feeling of trust?
Yeah...The sellers agent dropped the ball on # 1 and on # 2 despite signing a wavier they did not want to do the inspection. If the consumer is not educated about the merits of it....that they should never rely on a sellers inspection..it can be trouble. Thankfully I had a wavier...but non the less the buyer lost in the end.
Years ago there was a practice of sellers selling home inspections from previous buyers...now that was a nightmare.
Carol...and it sure does help to keep up that warm and fuzzy...on both sides. I hate contentious closings!
Thanks for the kudos!
Joan, A Pre-marketing home inspection is great for the sellers to give them the 'heads up', however I would still recommend my buyers get their own inspection done as what one home inspector doesn't find, the next one will.
Also, the home inspection book and commitment given by the home inspector are only for the person(s) who they had the contract with, ie. the sellers in this case, so it wouldn't be of much good to the buyers down the road.
It is a great thing for the seller though, this way they can fix any looming problems before the buyer's inspector finds them....and you're right, it does boost buyer confidence when there is an existing home inspection that they can look at.
Jo
I have not been able to get any Sellers to participate but I think it is a good marketing tool. In my opinion it is the responsibility of the Buyer's agent to make sure his/her buyer understands that inspections vary from inspector to inspector and explain the consequences of not getting his own inspection. Once again, it comes down to educating our clients.
I've done a lot of Pre-Listing home inspections lately. They were either booked by a seller who wanted it or by the Realtor who had the trust in their clients that they had a good game plan for selling their house.
Another "pro" for the seller is that when something needs to be fixed they have the time to find a good repairman at a good price. Many times it seems since there is a time limit on the escrow, sellers have to find someone right awayfor repairs, this adds to the cost because they have to choose whoever is available.
Yet another pro is that they have hired a professional and now it would be difficult to be blamed of non-disclosure later down the road. Lawsuits for disclosures will be increasing dramatically now that people aren't moving into houses and having $50,000 equity in a few months.
Joan,
In a seller's market, it might be a hard sell. In a buyer's market, the number one benefit is being able to differentiate their home from the rest of the stingy pack!
Mike in Tucson