You’ve finally decided to sell your home in Massachusetts, but you’ve got the news from your real estate agent that your home needs to pass a home inspection.
A home inspection is one of the most important and final steps to complete before the sale of your home gets processed (unless of course, your buyer chooses to waive it completely). It provides the potential buyer a chance to find any problems with your home and includes areas needing repairs.
What is a Home Inspection?
A home inspection gives the potential buyer a chance to get a licensed professional inspector to review your home thoroughly. The home’s condition can get determined by the inspector, including identifying any maintenance or costly repairs that need attention in the not too distant future.
Some of the things that the inspector will look out for include:
- Air conditioning
- Heating system
- Plumbing
- Appliances
- Joists
- Electrical
- Windows
- Roof
As part of their offer, buyers will often request a home inspection contingency, giving them the right to get the property inspected and walk away within a certain period from their purchase offer if they find the inspection unsatisfactory.
Setting Up a Home Inspection
It’s suggested that a home inspection is scheduled as early in the sales process as possible to allow time to attend to the requested repairs. Usually, the buyer’s real estate agent will provide a list of home inspectors that are licensed in the state of Massachusetts for the buyer to choose from.
During the inspection, the seller is expected not to be in the home, giving the buyer and inspector time to walk on the property and inspect everything thoroughly.
Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection
After the home inspection, the seller and buyer will come up with a remedy if repairs or maintenance need attention. Some buyers will request the seller to attend to the repairs, while others may ask the seller to lower the home’s price to accommodate the money they’ll have to spend to do the repairs themselves.
Whatever gets decided between the buyer and seller should be put in writing and signed by both parties. A signed agreement will protect both the buyer and the seller from any miscommunication or discrepancies.
Preparing Your Home for a Home Inspection
As a seller, it’s your obligation not to withhold any faults you’re aware of in your home at a home inspection. You could be breaking the law, and the home inspector will most likely find the faults anyway.
Below are more ways for you to prepare for a buyer’s home inspection:
- Keep the power on if you’ve already moved out of the house, ensuring there’s fuel for the system’s inspection
- Remove some of the clothes in all the closets so the inspector can inspect the inside of the closets
- Ensure all the light bulbs are in working order by changing them before the inspection. The home inspector will need to inspect every area of your home and check if your light bulbs are blown or if the receptacle is not in working order.
- Ensure easy access into your attic if it’s accessible from your closet
- Basement walls will get inspected for water penetration areas and cracks, so ensure there are no obstructions in the way.
- Change the furnace filters and leave service tags intact for the inspector to see them
Do whatever you can for the home inspection to run effortlessly by ensuring there are no defects.
Pros and Cons of a Home Inspection on a Pre-Listing
A pre-listing home inspection is popular among sellers, as they allow the seller to get their homes inspected before they list their homes. This allows the seller to determine their home’s condition and prevent a sale from getting canceled due to a problematic home.
Pros of a Pre-Listing Home Inspection
- You learn about your home’s condition
- Getting an exact price for your home is easier
- You can attend to repairs sooner
- You will minimize your stress
- You can lessen the need for negotiations
- You can help get the buyer’s confidence improved
- Your real estate agent’s job will get easier
Cons of a Pre-Listing Home Inspection
- Two inspections will get done of your home
- The pre-listing inspection will be at your own cost
- Issues will need to get disclosed due to disclosure laws
Home Inspections Should Get Attended by Your Real Estate Agent
If you’re selling your home and don’t have a real estate agent, then you should get one fast! A licensed estate agent will ensure that your interests are well taken care of when they attend your home inspection. Without your estate agent, you can’t be sure that the home inspector did a thorough job.
Let’s look at a few reasons why you can benefit from a real estate agent:
- As the home inspector identifies issues, your estate agent can explain these issues
- A home inspector can exaggerate the importance of a problem and cause unwarranted stress to the seller or buyer
- Issues can get misinterpreted if your estate agent is not present
- With an estate agent present at the inspection, they can negotiate any problems that arise between a seller and buyer
Get a Real Estate Agent to Help You
Both buyers and sellers should take a home inspection seriously, so if you’re selling your home, consider getting an estate agent to help you throughout the sales process.
We have licensed real estate agents who can help you every step of the way, from listing your home to representing you at a home inspection.
If you need an estate agent’s services, email us at pavel@pavelbuyshouses.com, and an agent will call you back.
If your home has too many repairs, or you missed a few maintenance issues, and you can’t get them fixed right away, we will buy your home as-is. Contact us for an obligation-free quote, and we will make a cash offer for your home!
Text or call us at 781-309-7085 for more information.