First Time Sellers Tips #3

You've opted to sell your home and may or may not have selected a REALTOR. The next step I'm going to give you is optional....but HIGHLY suggested.

Get a home inspection!

What? Get real. Home inspections are what buyers get when they like my house enough to put in and/or negotiate a contract for sale.

That's CORRECT. But you can also get a pre-inspection. Why wait for your house to be sold (under contract) to find out about problems within it? Isn't it a better idea to have the home inspected and remedy the problems beforehand?

I think it's definitely worth checking into, take this scenario I had with a client a year or so back: Nice, little house. Needed some updating/ personal decorating touches but many houses do. It was priced accordingly and put out with my typical marketing blitz. It showed. There were interested buyers....and ta-dah! Foundation issues below, mold issues in the attic. Blew a potential sale to bits and pieces. Eventually the home sold as the mold was remedied and foundation repair was taken from the sale price, but for tens of thousands below it's original value and after months and months of headache.

Now, if it were inspected beforehand, both issues would have been out in the open and could have been addressed before setting the listing price and putting out marketing efforts, just to be found later on. The mold would have been a non-issue (disclosed, yes....but with proof of remedy and warranty) and the home could have been priced with the foundation issue in mind- and would have sold months earlier (thus saving my seller time and money to pay for and 'run the house' for those months).

Don't tell me your house is perfect. It's not. I can find 10 things in MINE right now, that I want to/ need to/ at least should consider remedying before I sell. Even if your house is a year old, I promise it's imperfect.

The REAL trick of the trade is picking the home inspector that's going to do the job well enough to find the issues for you! I'd be glad to refer you to him!

First Time Home Buyer Steps Part 7

Inspection and modification:

You're cruising along quite nicely. You've found a REALTOR, lender, house and have it all negotiated and agreed to....you're holding on to a signed contract to buy your first home. Congratulations! Now you've got to make certain that puppy is a good buy (home inspection) and that you're well represented (attorney).

Nothing scares me more, in working with buyers, than the potential call 6 months or a year later to complain that the house I sold them is a lemon. I always recommend the single-best inspector around. Your REALTOR can and will give references out as well. Here's some things to inquire about when selecting a home inspector (whether referred or not):

• How long have you been practicing?
• Are you member of a professional association?
• What is your continuing education requirement?
• Can I attend the inspection?
• How long will it take?
• What will you/won't you inspect?
• What is the fee?
• What type of report do you give and how long will it take to be completed?

Any inspector worth his or her salt should answer all of these questions quickly and confidently. If you have any hesitation towards the individual or team you're considering, step back and question yourself, "Can I wage possibly the largest investment of my life on this person's 'expertise'"? If the answer is no, move on.

Assuming you select a good inspector and the home being purchased is not an 'as-is', short sale or any type of REO or bank owned property- you will have until the end of your attorney modification period to ask for items requiring attention to either be fixed or credited for monetarily. Remember, this only applies for items over $500 (in my contract)...there is some risk involved in buying a home and as NONE are perfect, it's unrealistic to think a seller can or will get it in perfect shape in order to close.

In my board of REALTORS contract the home inspection clause goes longer than the attorney modification clause (10 calender days to 7). It's always wise to get the home inspection done immediately so any potential issues are unearthed and resolution can be found.

People ALL THE TIME want to bypass the attorney. That's your choice, but never recommended by this guy. A REALTOR cannot practice law (unless he or she holds such qualifications to practice as an attorney). I always tell folks mulling over the idea of skipping legal representation, "I'm no dummy but the worst attorney around is going to run circles around me in any sort of legal-based confrontation. Spend a couple of bucks to make sure you're well-covered."

Inspection Credit

When one is purchasing a home, it is ALWAYS strongly advised that he/she/they have a home inspection. Once the contract is negotiated and accepted, a buyer will have a specific number of days to have both a home inspection and attorney modification- it's negotiable, so the the number of days can change.

I'll go into specifics of home inspections in future blogs- this one jumps the gun and talk about what to do once said inspection is complete. A buyer has a right to ask the seller to repair or give credit for issues found in the home.

BUT a provision in the contract that is OFTEN overlooked is: The Parties agree that repairs which do not exceed $500 in the aggregate to remedy,shall be considered minor deficiencies for the purpose of this Paragraph, and buyer agrees to assume those repairs with no allowance from Seller.

This is my blog for today because I have a buyer purchasing a listing of mine for a good $10,000 under it's market value and nit-picking over $100 in menial repairs. Uggh. It really should be your REALTOR's job to explain that provision on either side of a deal (buyer or seller). Houses aren't perfect- NONE. A 50 year old house has flaws. A 5 year old house has flaws. A brand-spankin' new house has flaws. There's a little bit of buyer beware to be had, and that's why a great home inspector should NEVER be overlooked.

Where I go I just don't know, I might end up somewhere in Mexico.