Sellers Home Inspection

Over the weekend I met a nice couple that plan to sell their home in a desirable subdivision in Kingman. During my presentation I told them about the advantages in the current market of doing a home inspection, like what I wrote about before.

I notice other bloggers offering similar advice as well, here for example.

I think that I will be taking the listing today and putting the house on the market. There is another item to take advantage of that coincides with a seller having an inspection performed and that is obtaining a home warranty. A couple of weeks back I attended what is called an Affiliate Expo. The local Associations Affiliate Members basically put on an expo for the local Realtors. There I found out about a couple of home warranty plans for sellers that doesn't require the seller or the Realtor to 'pay' for the home warranty coverage.

A home warranty plan can be a negotiating point between a buyer and a seller. On lines 257 through 263 of the purchase contract you will find that the home warranty opportunity to negotiate is already pre-printed. Because this remains a buyers market I have conditioned my listing clients into offering such a warranty to the buyer.

This plan to obtain a home warranty at the time of listing the property can really be an advantage for a seller. First get the home warranty that is offered to the seller for free upon listing. Next, get a home inspection. If the inspection produces a defect to something that is now under warranty, the seller will only have to pay the deductible to repair the defect. Not only that the seller will then have documented proof to use for disclosure that proper repairs to the house have been done.

It is time to think outside the box (and how I hate that cliche) in this current market if you are a seller. You need every advantage to prove to potential buyers that your property is not only a good value price wise, but also simply a quality home compared to the competition. A seller can document this by using a home warranty (and passing it on to the buyer) and the inspection report.

My offer to sellers still stands. If you hire me to list your property AND follow through by obtaining a home inspection at your cost, I will refund the cost of the inspection at the close of escrow from the negotiated fees. For the rest of this year I will even double the refund at closing.