A pre-listing home inspection can reveal issues in advance of an offer being received. By being pro active the seller can fix those items that they would be willing to fix and disclose those items they are not willing to fix. Many times sellers who have made considerable price concessions are asked to make some very expensive repairs that they never knew existed. These can amount to several thousands of dollars. The seller may have not come down on their price so much if they had known there were going to be so much in repairs.

I would also recommend a sewer scope on almost all homes and again a seller would be smart to be pro active. More and more buyers are asking for these even on newer homes. I recently saw a new townhome where the soil had sloughed under the sewer line creating the need to dig down and provide support. Tree roots, old age and even Verizon cable installations can damage a sewer line.

I would also recommend a home warranty. American Home Shield provides coverage even during the listing period and it does not need to be paid for until and if the transaction closes.

If a seller is not going to provide these assurances they should be aware that when they accept an offer they may be needing to pay up to an additional $5,000 to $10,000 for various repairs and we have not talked about radon, attic mold, water in the crawl space, roofs, EFIS, etc. etc.

It is a tough market.

Thanks for looking over my blog.

Have to give a thumbs up to your recommendation on getting rid of junk. We did just that, but used Door to Door storage pods. We looked at PODS too, but it was too expensive. Either way, the pods made cleaning up the property so much easier.

Email me if you want more information on these guys.

Mark,