When is the right time to get a home inspection? Part 2

In part 1 of this blog post topic we talked about when the right time to schedule your home inspection is as a home buyer. In part 2 we’re going to talk about when to get inspection(s) as a home seller. Part 3, we’ll talk more for current or new homeowners that haven’t actually had an inspection.

The scenario is common, you’re going to sell your home and you are worried about what might be found in the home inspection once you accept an offer. It’s completely understandable. You’re about to sell something for the most money you’ve ever sold something for, most likely. You don’t want anything to derail that, and you’re worried about what you don’t know. Of course your real estate agent is as well. It is why they asked you all those questions about what you know about the house before they listed it for you. The questions about any history of water damage, any history of leaks, any known damage, etc… All of those are to make sure they have answers they can give to potential buyers, and to make sure they are not misleading someone when answering them, which would put them, and you, in a legal situation they want to prevent.

Before we go any further into this topic, I do want to put this disclaimer here. If you are already working with a real estate agent on a house you are going to list, or already have listed, consult them before scheduling a home inspection. You have hired them to help you sell your home for the best possible price. They do this through their experience and their sales strategies. Not all strategies include a home inspection, and you do not want to impede your real estate agents ability to do the best they can for you.

Back to the main topic, you’re planning on selling your home, and you decide you want to get a home inspection before you list it. The best time to do this is approximately 2-3 weeks before you list the home. Let’s talk a bit about why. First, the home inspection report is only valid for the time the home was inspected…that means the longer you wait, the more time there is for the status of the house to change from when it was inspected. A good example of this is if you had a home inspection when you listed your home, and a bad situation happens where the house sits for a year without being sold. Well, that home inspection that was done a year ago when the house was listed, really isn’t as useful anymore as it was a year ago. Especially if the agent is actively pushing the house the whole time and there has been foot traffic in and out of it. In this situation it may even be beneficial to have another home inspection to show its current state.

The second reason that 2-3 weeks before you list your home is the right time to do a Pre-list inspection is because it allows you to take time to figure out what to do. Is there anything in the report that the inspector has recommended further consultation and evaluation with another licensed professional? 2-3 weeks would give you the time to make those appointments and speak with them. Again, the point of these timeframes are to help you plan things out without adding a huge amount of stress onto you because of a time crunch. 2-3 weeks should give you enough time, but that’s on average. You yourself know how you act best, and if you need more or less time, then that is 100% what you need.

Giving yourself time to either make repairs or get quotes for said repairs, allows you to make sure your house sales goes smoothly. Either by having nothing wrong with the house, or by pricing it to reflect work that may need to be done. If you do have the repairs done, it’s also a good point to provide the inspection and the invoice for the repair work to the agent. That way, when they are asked by prospective buyers, “Have there been any recent repairs done on the property?” Your agent can confidently reply, “Yes, the owners had an inspection before they listed the house. The owners addressed these areas with a licensed and insured professional to make the repairs.”

Remember, the home inspection and home inspector are not trying to persuade anyone towards or away from purchasing a home. It is simply an inspection to provide information of the property. What the real estate agents and home buyer/seller involved decide to do with that information is 100% on them. We as the home inspectors have absolutely no idea what the buyers intentions for the home are, and it is none of our business. If they’re going to make it their new family home, that’s wonderful, and we wish them well on doing that. We’ll give them as much information as possible about the home to help them be successful on their journey. At the same time, that might mean as it stands currently, or going down to framing or even just the foundation and rebuilding from scratch to fit their needs. We have no way of knowing that, so we, at our company, do not judge a property. We simply state what we are seeing and give you information on if it should be corrected, why and who to contact for further help.