I always try to keep an eye out on articles written by Mike Holmes. This time Mike writes about the benefits of home inspections. Mike's article is actually
reprinted in yesterday's Montreal Gazette. It shouldn't come as no surprise that we're in the buying season and that it's a good idea to get a home inspected by a professional before buying. Having said that, Mike also suggests that you have an inspection completed on your own home
before listing it for sale.
Mike suggestion makes total sense because selling one's own home can be an emotional process and it's a good idea to get an idea of any unforeseen problems you might have with your home. Wouldn't you rather have your inspector catch any issues up front than a potential buyer's inspector? Being more proactive will most likely get you a better sale price in the end. It will be up to you whether you decide to fix an pre-identified problems. Should you not repair any issues in advance of listing then expect your price to negotiated hard once a buyer's inspector finds problems or repairs to be completed.
Mike also suggests that you have your inspection report ready and available for any future buyers (referencing even the contractors used) visiting your home. Here Mike is also very skeptical of inspectors that are referred by real estate agents. He says you want to get an inspector that does the job not one that lightly reviews a home and may not "catch" all problems. A home inspector in such a situation might do this because they want to keep getting referrals from the agent. Last year, I had two purchase transactions where I was shocked that my client's inspectors did not catch some major items and now my clients are now either in court or given up and financing the problems themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment