Selling home question

So my house is going to be put on the market next week and my listing agent asked me if I wanted to have a pre-inspection done so I would know if there was anything wrong with my house before an offer was made. She said it's growing trend and can help it sell if a potential buyer see's that an inspection has already been done. Only bad thing is that it the cost comes out of my pocket.

Is this a new trend in selling homes? I can see the benefits from it in a way but hate to be out around $400 if it's not worth it.

We just sold our house 6/17/11 after being on the market for about 4 months. The inspection was brought up to us as a possible selling feature but the agent also said people are sceptical and probably would also get a home inspector of there chosing anyway. So, we didn't get it done. The buyer did!

I just bought a 16 yr old house in feb and if I remember correctly a home inspection was required by my lender and as the buyer I paid for it myself. $250 I think and I was there and went with the inspector as he did it. He went over it with a fine tooth comb, I was surprised. It was then up to me as the buyer to pick what i wanted repaired. All of it was very minor (soap lid on dishwasher was broke,etc) and we agreed to settle for $500 off the purchase price of $155,000. It would seem to me that the buyer is still going to get his own inspection and use it instead of yours. just my 2 cents

We sold our house and bought another one last fall. In both cases the buyers paid for the inspection then you have to negotiate what has to be fixed or know x amount off the price.

Charlie

Sounds like a way for the realtor to make a little more cash. They all use their buddies for these things. Both homes I have sold we never did that. We did pay for our own inspections when purchasing a home that wasn't new construction. Our last two were new construction so no need for it. The houses had to be inspected to meet code where applicable.

I have reviewed enough home inspections to know it real hit and miss. Probably more bad inspectors than good. As a buyer I would never rely on a sellers inspection. Inspectors recommended by agents cant be trusted.

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Justfishing &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote"> Inspectors recommended by agents cant be trusted. </td></tr></table>

Not always so.
Our company was recommended by a lot of realtors. This was mainly due to our professionalism and expertise.

I do agree that there are a lot of bad inspectors out there without much knowledge of what they are really looking at.

Interesting comments. What is your field of expertise?

As a realtor, this only benefits the Seller not the buyer. I have run across this before and advise my customers that these are only guidelines and informational purposes only and highly recommend that they pay to get a home inspection. Whos to say the seller will even give the buyer the inspection report. I would never advise my seller to give a buyer the inspection report. Keep in mind the person doing the work, works for the person that pays. So there interests lies with whom is paying. I would never rely on a Sellers home pre-inspection report. There is no telling what the relationship could be if any at all. Don't Risk it.

When the buyer pays for the inspection they should be there for it as well, to ask quesitons and visually see what the inspector sees. On average it is about $325 for a home inpsection and 4 hours of your time. Look at it as cheap insurance.

For about the same amount of money, I would have the seller get an appaisal by a licensed appraisal with experience. This is an invaluable tool when determineing the list price of your home. Realtors perform CMA's all the time, while they can get in the ballpark, they are not near as accurate as a licensed appraisal. This is also valuable if negotiations are involved and you already know what it appraises for and when the buyer's lender orders the property appraisal for loan purposes, you will know that it is going to be pretty darn close to what you already have. So you will have a comfort feeling up front that the buyer will be able to qualify based on the financing addendum that accompanied the offer.

Hope this helps someone and if I can help please let me know.