Home Inspections

Tips for Listing Agents

Home inspections are a key part of most real estate transactions, whether buying or selling. As a real estate agent, it’s important to understand how to navigate this process, which can help your clients get the most out of their home inspection. In fact, quality pre-listing home inspections can provide a smoother sales process with fewer headaches and stress. These inspections can help you get maintenance performed before the property hits the MLS and you have offers coming in while preserving your negotiating position.

Listing agents can play an important role in helping their client prepare their homes to go on the market. Staging and cosmetic improvements may come top of mind in terms of creating additional perceived value for the home. This is normal. However, sellers should also consider preparing their homes for the home inspection.

The results of pre-listing home inspections can affect the transaction by giving buyers the opportunity to use the issues located in the inspection report as leverage to negotiate a lower purchase price. And, in some cases, the deal may fall apart because of some of the findings in the home inspection.

Listing agents can help mitigate the need for these negotiations by helping your seller get prepared for a successful home inspection. By helping your client get prepared for the home inspection, you can help them avoid the headaches that can come from unexpected surprises.

So, aside from the cosmetic improvements and staging that you are planning, here are some other items to consider:

Safety Hazards

• Test all Smoke Detectors, replacing batteries if necessary
• Test or install CO Detectors. Make sure that one is present in between the kitchen and the bedrooms
• Look for any electrical issues: GFCI outlets installed within 6′ of a water source, electrical outlets without covers, open junction boxes
• Look for any mold-like substances and repair as possible
• Look for any Trip Hazards on walking surfaces, interior or exterior, as well as steps and handrails
• Open and close all windows in the property as they are a form of egress in case of emergency

Other Issues

• Check for ceiling stains as they can indicate current or previous water damage issues
• Check for leaky faucets, slow drains, and running toilets
• Look for, repair, and paint any rotting exterior wood. This can alert you to signs of wood-destroying pests or structural damage prior to listing

Making repairs and getting those items cleared out of your home inspections report is a crucial step before uploading the report to the MLS.

With Golden Gate Home Inspections, we provide you with several ways to get your home inspection report cleared. Make sure to speak with our customer service team when you book your home inspections. They can provide you with the details necessary to list the property with as clean a report as possible.