We are indeed in quite an interesting market. Some homes are selling quickly and at top dollar. Others are real steals. To real estate professionals, its usually obvious which will sell high and which will not. If sellers take the time to fix up and stage their home, doing critical things like removing all wallpaper and colored carpet, there’s a good chance the home will sell high and fast. Can’t part with your personal touches? Then unless you have a clone out there, you may be in for the long haul.
Once an Agreement is together, however, both buyers and sellers need to keep things in perspective. Buyers, if you got a great deal on a home, then the inspection should be more about major things that you could never have known about. And sellers, if you got top dollar for your home, you should expect to be very generous on your inspection resolution with your buyers. You do need to expect that a buyer paying close to asking price will expect the inspection items to be addressed by you unless you had disclosed them on the Disclosure.
The Disclosure is a Seller’s friend. What you disclose is supposed to be outside the scope of inspection requests. These are items that the Buyer should be taking into account when making their initial offer to you. Therefore, when filling out your Disclosure, you will want to review it carefully with your agent to be sure it is thorough. Inspectors do not miss anything these days, so it will be far less of a financial blow to you if you make note of all possible items up front.
Of course, a pre-inspection may be your best approach for a smooth transaction for all parties. While you will spend approximately $300 up front, it will help you see your home through your future buyer’s eyes and will give you a chance to repair or disclose the issues before they possibly destroy your deal. Remember, if buyers and sellers can’t come to a resolution about inspection concerns, the deal is terminated and both parties move on. Sellers, you obviously want to sell or you wouldn’t be undergoing the joy of preparing your home for showings. Keep the big picture in mind and understand that unless you are giving your home away, your buyer will expect you to fix what you didn’t disclose. Don’t like the sound of that? Pre-inspect so you know what you will have to address upfront.