PRE-LISTING INSPECTION
In many cases, home inspectors are called to houses right before the homes are sold. However, it is usually the buyer who pays for inspections to be done. This may be the standard course of action, but it may not be the best one. Instead, it is often beneficial for the seller or real estate agent to arrange for pre-listing inspections.
There are several reasons that sellers or real estate agents may want to handle pre-listing inspections. The first is efficiency. When buyers have to get their own inspections, it makes it so that each one must contract with an inspection company, set up a time when they can have access to the property, and get their own reports. Inspectors say that they are often called to look at the same house by many different people. Needless to say, this takes up a huge amount of time – time that would otherwise be spent showing the home to more prospective buyers.
Next, buyer trust is increased when a seller has an inspection report ready to go. It shows that the seller and agent are transparent about the condition of the house, instead of just quickly showing it and hoping the prospects don't notice some undisclosed problem. Even though some buyers may still want to set up their own inspections too, the level of trust is still greatly increased.
Finally, it allows real estate agents to zero in on the most likely prospects faster, especially if the house does have some problems. Those who don't want to fix anything, or who would try to get the house for too low of a price, are weeded out while the serious prospects remain.