It’s pretty common in Marin County for sellers to have a pest inspection done before putting their home on the market so potential buyers can know going in about issues like termites and dry rot, and whether they’ve been remedied. But it’s much less common for sellers to do other pre-listing inspections. Traditional thinking says that any buyer who gets into escrow will be ordering additional inspections (and paying for them), so why would a seller bother? Actually, there are some great reasons to do more than just a pest inspection up front.

Many sellers simply don’t want to spend the money when they don’t have to, which is understandable. A typical home inspection runs in the $400 to $600 range, so why not let the buyer bear that expense? That may seem like a smart way to see it, but that thinking can lead to surprises in the middle of the escrow and can end up costing much more than the inspection would have. What can end up happening is a buyer gets into escrow, tying up your property for weeks, and then uncovers previously unknown issues and proceeds to negotiate hard for the money to remedy them. You then have to decide whether to make considerable concessions or run the risk of having the deal fall through, which would leave you back at square one, but with a home that’s no longer new on the market and with issues that now need to be disclosed to any new prospective buyer.

If you know about problems before you bring your house on the market you then have time to figure out the best way to address them. Getting bids from tradespeople and deciding on the smartest and most cost effective course of action is an easier proposition when you’re not under the gun, negotiating with a clock running. Uncover those problems yourself beforehand, decide which make sense to deal with and how, and then you nip them in the bud before they have a chance to mess up your deal. And if you provide reports detailing any issues up front, a buyer will then need to take them into account when writing the offer rather than asking for a credit or repairs once in escrow.

Of course there’s quite a variety of inspections you could do depending on your situation, so your agent can help you determine which might make sense to spring for. In addition to the termite and home inspections we often recommend a sewer scope, for example. The $200-$300 it costs can be money well spent and give you some really important info. If your sewer lateral is shot and needs a $10,000 overhaul would you rather know that going in or have that news dropped on you in the middle of the escrow? And if you’re in the Ross Valley Sanitation District you can benefit from their Lateral Replacement Grant Program, whereby they’ll pay up to $4,000 of the cost.

Pre-listing inspections are about avoiding surprises and heading off problems before they can complicate your deal. Every situation is unique, but often doing investigations up front and getting needed repairs done prior to marketing your home can benefit you as a seller. You’ll be able to show your home in the best possible light, giving buyers confidence about their buying decision, and limit the potential for messy complications popping up down the road.