Episode 10: Should I Do A Pre-Listing Home Inspection?
Wondering if you should be doing a Pre-Listing Home Inspection for your home? Find out what a home inspector is looking for when they go through a home and how you can best prepare for one. IN THIS EPISODE join us as Lori and Ian Souden, Owner and Principal Inspector of Fort South Inspection Services, Inc. dive into the experience a buyer or seller will have to complete a home inspection.
Biggest takeaways:
1. What are inspectors looking for?
2. What are the benefits of a home inspection?
3. Are most things fixable?
4. How do I pick a home inspector?
5. Inspection Costs?
Hear some more of the tricks, trips, wisdom, and stories that we didn’t summarize. Listen to Episode 10 of Lori Alvarez’s Real Estate With Soul: Should I Do A Pre-Listing Home Inspection?
The Story
Our last conversation covered the possibilities and you can sell your home in an as-is condition. But what about those home inspections? Are they important?
Home inspections. The necessary yet unnecessary part of buying and selling a home?
And they’re just another stressful part of the home buying process. Who can you trust? What are they even looking for? Is my home a disaster? But don’t worry, we’ve got you.
“Pre-listing home inspections have been growing in popularity lately.
What Is A Home Inspection?
Well, you’ve probably heard of a home inspection--which is as simple as it sounds. An inspector walks throughout the home to inspect all of the in’s and out’s of a home’s function and safety.
But what about a pre-listing home inspection? Don’t let that extra word scare you. It’s the same thing as a home inspection. It’s a home inspection prior to listing your home on the market. Make sense?
Pre-listing home inspections have been growing in popularity lately. In the state of California, they aren’t required, but many people find that they bring up valuable information about your home.
Ian said, “it's essentially the same inspection that a buyer would receive” but without all the fluff of links and reporting details.
Why is it important to have a pre-listing home inspection?
WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL TO A SELLER?
Ian explained that it gives really beneficial information to the sellers:
“It really gives the sellers a good heads up on what the buyer might come back with as far as repair requests or credit requests or something like that. So it does kind of it gives a slight advantage to a seller to have these things looked at prior to even putting it on the market.”
This allows the seller to fix major issues prior to going on the market to get the best value for their property right from the start.
While a pre-listing home inspection isn’t required, it’s definitely recommended.
How do you know what inspector to hire?
Experience. Personality. Professionalism
It’s the number one thing to consider.
EXPERIENCE
“There are a lot of inspectors that are kind of independent owner operators, a lot of them are maybe retired contractors or some inspectors that were, or that are engineers and kind of do inspections on the side.”
PERSONALITY
“It kind of depends on personality type as well. So you do want a home inspector that will be thorough and knows what they're doing and has plenty of experience. But you also want somebody who would be available to answer questions later.
PROFESSIONALISM
“You know, it's professional to the point to where you're not going to feel embarrassed having them at somebody else's house, the house that you're looking at, I have come across inspectors show up in shorts and flip flops, and it's like, you know, okay, so, right.”
Everyone is different. And that is what makes your buying and selling experience so diverse. But when you are intentional about working with the right people who are confident, knowledgeable, and workable it will make the biggest impact on your experience.
Write down a list of the most important things you want to make simple in your home buying and selling process. Find the inspector that sets themselves a part in the ways that you’re drawn to.
What does the inspector look for?
Many people have misconceptions about what home inspections are. Let’s break it down.
Overall they:
Walk through the home
Check major components of the home from roof to the foundation
MAIN INSPECTION ITEMS
Individual Systems
Roofing System
The Structural System
Foundation
Attic Space Crawl Space
The Electrical System
Heating And Air Conditioning
Plumbing
Water Heater
Kitchen Appliances
Material Defects
And So Forth
Overall they are looking for something that significantly impacts the value or habitability of the home.
California inspectors do have standards they need to follow which Ian likes to say are “minimum standards, basically going around and kicking the tires on the house.” It’s simple checking, testing, and looking.
Ian likes to take his home inspections up a notch.
“Good inspectors typically go a little bit above and beyond and at least certain areas. So there's different ways to do that. Some inspectors use thermal imaging some inspectors use specialized tools that help measure the electrical system as they're going through and checking the receptacles some inspectors include pool, there's, there's so many options, you know, especially now, where you can kind of shop around now, in my experience, you definitely get what you pay for.”
And that brings up a good point? How much is this going to cost?
Cost of Inspection
Lower cost: basic inspection. Kind of self explanatory.
Above and beyond services may cost you a couple hundred more, but that is easy to decide when it’s the difference between $5000 for your home or $10000.
Generally for the inspection report you can expect about $300-500 but is dependent on the square footage of a home.
A Home Inspection Is Not
It is not to find all the little things that are wrong with a home.
While the inspector will check doors, hinges, windows, and everything interior and exterior, all of that doesn’t go in the report space.
Unless that minor issue is part of a bigger issue, like a crack in the floor tile for instance, it’s not going to always be in the report. It’s just not designed for that purpose.
How long does a home inspection take?
Typically it is 2-3 hours in a single day.
Misconception
What if you’re thinking the pre-listing home inspection will scare away buyers?
The buyer is going to have a home inspection completed anyway.
By doing a pre-listing home inspection your position yourself ahead of them, so you have time to fix issues that may turn away potential buyers.
Get rid of the surprises.
Ian says that its a great idea to have a pre-listing home inspection completed as you’re getting things together to put your house in the market. You can get all of those files and paperwork squared away, and have systems serviced right before going on that market (which looks really impressive). No surprises, that’s the goal.
What if you could sell your home as is?
If you want to sell your home as is, sell it with full disclosure.
Lori has found that pre-listing home inspections can allow for a seller to sell their home as is.
Here in California you are subject to standard practices of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide and water heater strapped appropriately. If all those things are good to go, essentially you can say, hey Buyer, here’s a home inspection for your review. This is what’s going on in the home, this is full disclosure, and no surprises.
And that makes the buyer feel confident in agreeing to the terms of buying a home as is.
What are some standard issues you find in a home inspection?
Time period of construction affects a lot. In Ian’s experiences it can range from early 1900’s to completely brand new.
Often the areas that have needs of fixing are in locations homeowners don’t often go, such as the attic space or crawls space.
Small leaks underneath the home
Basic lack of maintenance
Systems nearing their expiration
Most homeowners take great care of their homes, but no one is perfect and no two homes are the same. Most homeowners didn’t realize something needed fixing, so it’s understandable that things will come up on the inspection. So expect minor repairs to be noticed, it’s nothing to get overly panicked about.
It is the Home Inspectors job to take on the role and responsibility of the liability of a home’s condition. And also to climb underneath the home, because, you know, who really does that for fun. Not us!
The value of a home inspection to a buyer?
It’s important to have an inspection regardless of the exterior looking condition of a property.
You may think, oh I can just inspect it myself. But do you really want to save $400 on a $400,000 purchase that could go bad if you miss something in your own unprofessional inspection? Overall it’s a minor fee to pay in order to keep you and your family protected.
Do the best you can to make an informed decision on a property. Trust us, it’s worth the investment, and some realtors may even cover that home inspection cost for you. So be sure to ask them about that.
Now of course, if it’s brand new construction you can make an exception to having a home inspection completed and it’s most likely still under warranty. But it’s still good practice to have one and feel confident in your purchase.
If you’re buying a home for instance from the 1950’s you never know what you could be dealing with down the road as age catches up to the building.
Ian said, “It's just like buying a used car, you wouldn't buy a used car without taking it for a test drive. Except, much more expensive.”
“It’s just like buying a used car, you wouldn’t buy a used car without taking it for a test drive. Except, much more expensive.
— Ian Souden
Should you be at the home inspection?
Often buyers are encouraged to be present at a home inspection (however limited when possible during COVID-19).
Why should a buyer be there? It allows the inspection to explain the findings in the report right away in person versus descriptions and review over the phone.
It also allows the buyer to build a relationship with the inspector so they can better understand their client’s needs, personality, concerns, and trust.
Homes don’t come with an instruction manual. You may be wondering, where is the gas shut off? The water heater? What makes the sprinklers work? The inspection can be a great opportunity to educate the buyers about safety, permits, and good maintenance practices.
How often do major issues happen?
Ian said, “I'm pushing almost 4000 commercial and residential inspections in my career. I could probably count on both hands, the number of houses properties that I've seen that had something so wrong, that it was insurmountable, then it's, it's rare to see something where it's just like, wow, there's really no good way to fix this or it's not worth it.”
Keep in mind some of these “fixes” may not be necessary right away, but are something to consider in a few years down the line. Don’t be overwhelmed by it.
At the end of the day, if you really love a home and you’re willing to invest in it, anything can be fixed.
Tune in to hear about the safety requirements for a pond.
Ian and his team do an excellent job of painting the picture of what maintenance you’re in for after a home inspection. It’s complicated, and there are a lot of moving parts but after 11 years in the industry, they’ve figured it out pretty well.
How long are inspection reports?
Possibly 30-45 pages depending on the depth of details. Could be even more. Pictures are also included which adds to it.
In Conclusion
At the end of the day, choose a home inspector you respect and a licensed professional you feel comfortable asking questions. Ultimately you as the buyer have the power over choosing who does the home inspection. A realtor may make suggestions and recommend people they already have relationships with and know and trust, but it’s not required that you use them.
Ian suggests that you call around when you’re looking for a home inspector.
Ask basic questions.
Check their experience level
Do your personalities match
Are they properly insured for liability and certified
*Note* California does not require a certification or a license to do home inspections.
Which, is surprising, but not unheard of. We recommend that you look for a professional that has ongoing education, certification, and stays informed about the market. Some inspectors work underneath an organization, so before choosing them make sure they are in good standing with their organization.
Tune in to the podcast to learn about the safety practices for using an extension cord.
Ian Souden has his master inspector certification and is committed to continual education and growth and servicing his clients to the best of his ability. Ian is the owner of Fort South Inspection Services, located in Claremont, California servicing most of Southern California. You can reach out to his office manager and also his lovely wife Lindsay at office at their website https://www.fortsouthinspects.com/ or you can call or text her directly at 844-446-7728.
Lori Alvarez has been in the Real Estate Industry for almost 15 years. If you’d like to contact her call her at 909-227-4196. She loves helping families find their home sweet home.
Our podcast is geared towards our current clients. We love to give our buyers and sellers great information. Wondering about something we haven’t covered? Send us a message.
Thanks for reading. What’s going to be your next step to finding your home sweet home?
Real Estate is an ongoing, beautiful story. That’s why we love to share ours and to help you begin yours! Tune in to the next episode where we will continue the conversation and talk pre-listing home inspections.
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