Amazing as it may seem, homes inspected prior to going on market have two very significant attributes:1. They sell faster than homes not inspected until buyer has made an offer.
2. They sell closer to asking price than homes not inspected until buyer has made an offer.
Why heck does that happen?
When buyer makes an offer, there is an assumption made by buyer, reasonable or not, that there is nothing wrong with home! If there was something wrong with home that seller knew about, but did not disclose, shame on them, it is about to cost them money. Most often, though, items that come up on inspection by buyer were unknown to seller. Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise! And we've already established that surprise is not good in real estate. So how is it that inspection for seller makes buyer pay more for home and do it in less time?
Let us create an example of a 20-year-old home that has a fair market value of $100,000, just to make math easy. That value assumes that nothing is wrong with home. When buyer has home inspected it is with assumption that anything discovered to be wrong will be corrected by seller or a price concession will be made.
Now, let's consider that buyers inspection revealed need for a new roof, several plumbing leaks, and need for replacement of three exterior doors. When these discoveries are made by buyer's inspection, clock is running and running fast. These items need to be corrected before sale can be completed. This time crunch puts seller at a disadvantage when dealing with contractors. When time is critical, you have fewer choices and costs go up. Additionally, buyer often wants to have input on who does what work.