Be Wise and Have an Inspection Before Listing Your Home for Sale

By Bill Primavera

When my wife and I bought our first home in the country (well, the suburbs, actually, but after owning a home in the city, anything north of the Bronx seemed like deep country to us) we didn’t call for an inspection before we made an offer.

Or after, for that matter. 

We fell in love with the charming features of our historic home, built in 1734, with two additional wings added in 1791 and 1861, and blindly made an offer to buy, at full price no less. I definitely didn’t qualify to be The Home Guru at that time. Boy, were we dumb, especially considering that we were buying a home that old.

During our first week there, the roof leaked into one of our bedrooms and the plumbing failed when the waste pipes in the basement, suspended by wire hangars, which should have been a red flag, fell to the floor.

In our defense for lacking basic intelligence about having a home inspection before making an offer, I would say that we had experienced a free ride when we bought our first home in New York City. It, too, was an historic home but had been excellently renovated and maintained before we bought it and we never had so much as a lick of trouble or any surprises while living there.

There is no rule that says you must have a home inspection before selling, but ordering a pre-sale home inspection is a good idea, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t like surprises and wants to get the best possible price.

As familiar as you may be with your home, there are often issues that you will be unaware of. Home inspectors are trained to identify these issues, which can give you a leg up on problems that might kill a sale.

Understanding what to inspect before selling a home will put you on the right track to a successful sale.

Selling a home can be a stressful experience, even when everything goes right. There is a lot to do and complications often pop up. While your real estate agent can help you navigate the process, there is one thing you can do to greatly simplify things – get a pre-sale home inspection.

An inspection will let you know the condition of your home. With this knowledge you can decide what to fix to avoid any surprises as well as maximize your home’s value. You can also go into the sale fully aware of issues that may concern buyers. Getting rid of problems before a buyer’s home inspection is just plain smart.

Many of the steps listed below are issues that could cause your sale to fall apart. By addressing these common concerns, you’ll increase the odds of not losing a buyer.

A general home inspection should include a review of all the fundamental structural and mechanical features of your home. A thorough home inspection should be paramount to making sure you catch any issues. Your real estate agent should be able to provide some excellent references.

Here are the basic issues to be addressed:

Plumbing

Buyers are going to want a functional plumbing system, one that can be relied on to work well for an extended period of time after they buy the house. The inspection should check all faucets, toilets, sinks and showers, as well as the pipes that are accessible throughout and underneath the home.

Heating

The furnace is a major concern of home buyers, and for good reason. Replacing an HVAC system is not cheap. Most systems have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, something to consider about your own system. Buyers will be very interested in the condition of the heating system, so it makes sense to verify the status for yourself prior to listing.

Electrical

The electrical system needs to be functional and safe. If your home’s electrical system is old enough, you may run into issues with buyers who want something capable of handling the load of today’s digital lifestyles.

Roof

The roof is of most importance to buyers. It seals the home and protects everything inside, so it makes sense to ensure that it is fully functional. Roofs are also expensive to replace, which is why buyers are going to want to know its exact condition before they make an offer.

Foundation

A strong foundation is obviously necessary for the home to be livable. Foundation issues can be costly to fix and most buyers will not want to take on such problems if they can avoid it. An inspection can tell you if there are issues with your foundation and which, if any, you need to fix. If issues exist, it will be smart to take care of them quickly rather than after you get an offer.

Having a clean bill of health on all of these items is a major reassurance to any prospective home buyer.

Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest-running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com). To engage the services of Bill Primavera, The Home Guru, to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.