Sellers may benefit from doing a Home Inspection Report.. upfront.
Category Blog
In a market that has been especially harsh on sellers, and prices are down, it is wise for them to make use of every possible tool to enable a quicker and better result.
If the seller does a professional Home Inspection Report it is received by a prospective buyer as a totally voluntary act of integrity and transparency that gives the buyer an upfront, unbiased, disclosure of any material defects.
By doing so, the trust that the seller builds in the interface with the buyer will more than likely speed up the sale process. And possibly achieve a better price.
It's usually the buyer who is advised to get a home inspection done on a property they have decided to make an offer on, implying that there are potentially 'secrets' to unveil, or further defects to discover. However, homeowners should consider taking the initiative and commissioning a professional inspection report on their home as they put it on the market. The seller's initiative will also pre-empt any intention the buyer may have had to make the offer conditional on a favourable home inspection report.
While it is nowhere near common practice in the South African residential property market at this stage, real estate agents, who often avoid recommending an inspection for fear of upsetting the seller, should nevertheless embrace the process rather than balk at it.
In contrast with South Africa, pre-sale professional inspections and reports on homes (by licensed inspectors) are a common international standard, to the extent that they have become mandatory, and and regulated in developed countries. At this stage, however, independent professional inspections on homes up for sale in South Africa are almost always generated at the request of the buyer - and can often be 'nitpicking' in their nature. They are seldom an automatic prerequisite to a property changing hands.
By taking the initiative and commissioning an inspection the seller provides peace of mind on the structural aspects of the home - such as the condition of the roof and foundations, damp problems and cracks. Furthermore, the full, upfront disclosure of any material defects will prevent buyer comeback on some or other defect (real or perceived) after the sale has gone through.
Finally, the roughly R3 000 to R5 000 cost of a professional inspection of a medium-size home will be lost in the premium that the process will more than likely put on the sale price achieved.
Author: Ronald Ennik
