**SPONSORED CONTENT BY VALERIE HUNTER-KELLY**
My agent is insisting that I get a home inspection before listing my property. Doesn’t the buyer usually get the inspection done after contract? Why should I pay for one before my home goes on the market?
Home buying is often more about elimination than about ‘finding’ the right home. Home buyer’s look for reasons to eliminate a property from consideration often because of unknowns, especially as it relates to condition of the property. For instance, there are two homes for sale on the same street just a few lots away from each other with identical floor plans and same amenities. One has had an inspection and made reasonable or necessary repairs and the other has not. Which home has the greatest advantage of being seriously considered? The home which has identified the negatives and turned them into positives in the buyer’s mind!
A pre-listing home inspection can help the seller get a head start on issues that might otherwise derail negotiations for the purchase of the property, and allow sufficient time to make repairs rather than be constricted by a negotiated narrow time line. In many instances, sellers who have had a pre-listing home inspection completed by a licensed inspector discover things that they didn’t know about their property and can therefore make more accurate disclosures about the properties condition; can elect to correct items that might be ‘deal killers’ and by presenting to a prospective buyer an inspection report showing what was the condition and receipts demonstrating how those conditions have been addressed may find the buyers are sufficiently satisfied and may forgo their own inspection and accept the property in its present condition. In those situations, an ounce of prevention is truly better than a pound of cure. Trust you professional REALTOR to advise you about how best to position yourself in the marketplace for a quick and hassle-free sale.
Valerie Hunter-Kelly is team leader of the Air Assault Team, a part of Keller-Williams Realty.
To buy a home, click here: www.airassaults.com
To sell a home, click here: www.virginhomesellers.com