Should I get pre-listing inspection?

Sometimes, yes. It can reduce surprises and make negotiations smoother, but it depends on your home, budget, and market.

Sometimes, yes. It can reduce surprises and make negotiations smoother, but it depends on your home, budget, and market.

Hi Mary, getting a pre-listing inspection can be a good idea. You will be able to see what items come up and let buyers know everything that has been addressed. The benefit of this is that when a buyer goes to put an offer on your home, they would have the chance to know the condition of the home up front, rather than them coming in thinking "what if there are issues with the property that need to be addressed?" This thought process from a buyer can cost you sometimes well in excess of what it costs to get an inspection and fix a few things that come up.

Should You Get a Pre-Listing Inspection? If your home was built in the 1970s, a pre-listing inspection can be a smart move before putting it on the market. Here is why: 1. Identify Issues Before Buyers Do Older homes often have aging systems like electrical, plumbing, or HVAC that may not meet today’s standards. A pre-listing inspection helps you find and address these issues early, so you are not surprised later when a buyer’s inspector finds them. 2. Increase Buyer Confidence When you provide an inspection report up front, it sends a message that you have nothing to hide and that you take care of your home. Buyers tend to feel more comfortable and may make stronger offers when they trust the condition of the property. 3. Control Repairs and Pricing By knowing what needs attention ahead of time, you can decide which repairs to make and which to leave as is. This allows you to price your home accurately and avoid last minute renegotiations that can delay or derail a sale. 4. Save Time During Negotiations When you already know the condition of your home, there are fewer surprises during the inspection phase, which often means a smoother, faster closing process. When It May Not Be Necessary If your home has been well maintained, updated, and you already have a good sense of its condition, a pre listing inspection may not be essential. In that case, your Realtor® can help you decide if a buyer’s inspection contingency is enough protection. The Bottom Line A pre-listing inspection is not required, but for homes built before 1970, it can give you peace of mind, make your listing more attractive, and reduce the risk of surprises later. It is an investment that often pays off in smoother negotiations and stronger offers.

Good evening Mary, I agree with Chris, it is a good idea to get a pre listing inspection. In doing that you will know any potential problems that will come up on a buyers private inspection report, and hopefully you can correct them. That helps put a buyer at ease and may save you time and money negotiating repairs or price during the buyers private inspection contingency,

A pre-listing inspection solves several problems. It will show you items that you may want to fix prior to listing; then you can provide this inspection report to a buyer showing the items fixed. You will have also saved the buyer from maybe having to have a new inspection performed.

That’s a great question. In most cases I don’t typically recommend a pre-listing inspection, even for older homes. Buyers will almost always do their own inspection anyway, so it can sometimes just create a list of items that you feel pressured to address before we even know what a buyer will care about. My preference is usually to focus on making the home show well, price it appropriately, and then address inspection items once we see what the buyer’s inspector identifies. That said, if there’s a specific concern about the home that you’d like clarity on ahead of time, we can certainly talk through whether an inspection would make sense.