Finding out what's wrong before the home buyer does
Pre-sale inspection may seal the deal

By Dan Benson
of the Journal Sentinel staff

June 22, 1997

Your six-figure home sale can be killed by a loose hinge on the kitchen cabinet.

That's why pre-sale home inspections are becoming more common in other parts of the country and are being touted by some home inspectors here.

"A lot of times, when I do a home inspection for a buyer, the buyer already has been told a couple of things are wrong," said Ron Fischer of Fischer Home Inspection in Wauwatosa.

"Then I find a small thing. Buyer says, 'No big deal.' Then another small thing - 'no big deal.' Then another and another.

"After a while, you have 20 small things - a door lock that doesn't work, a garage door without a safety release, missing screens, storm windows that don't fit. Now it is a big deal and you've killed the sale."

Home inspections are traditionally done on behalf of the home buyer, usually as a contingency for the sale. But Fischer and Sue and Richard Bastil, of Action Property Inspections, Brookfield, are among home inspectors who say a pre-sale inspection can help sellers sell their home faster.

"We do the same inspection we would for a buyer," said Sue Bastil, who said they do about 10 pre-sale, or listing, inspections a year.

The cost of the inspection varies according to the size of the house and the amount of time required. Generally, the cost ranges from $150 to $400. (Prices shown in article from 1997, today the cost of a home inspection ranges from $200 to $500)

Usually the seller wants to know what might need to be repaired before a house is placed on the market.

"Most sellers don't realize how detailed the report is," Fischer said. "I check about 700 items in a home. The report is 20 pages long.

"Even a good house will have at least 20 items that need repair. Most of them are very inexpensive to fix."

Fischer said sellers often think they have a deal made when the buyer presents an offer contingent on an inspection.

"Then the inspector comes through, finds some things, and the buyer reduces his price based on the inspection. The seller loses money, if they don't lose the sale outright.

"It's a disadvantage for the seller and the Realtor not to know what's wrong with the house. Unfortunately, they sometimes don't want to know."

"It benefits the seller and real estate agent in that they can determine the needs of a home, some assessment of the costs and parameters of repairs that will be needed and then give some thought to what can be negotiated with what the buyer's inspector may find," said Don Crawford, president of the National Association of Home Inspectors.

First-time home buyers are especially scared off by the prospect of spending all their free time unjamming windows, replacing traps under the bathroom sink or replacing cracked window panes, Fischer said.

"First-time home buyers always had Dad around to fix stuff. Then they had the landlord. Now, they begin to realize, it's them or nobody," he said.

Kent Baumgardt of Baumgardt's Home Inspection, Elm Grove, is not a fan of pre-sale home inspections, primarily because sellers may use the inspection to market their house or use it to fulfill their disclosure obligations.

"We give an inspection to Jane and John Doe Seller and they turn it over to Jane and John Doe Buyer," Baumgardt said. "The buyer won't have a real good understanding of what the inspection says, having not had the opportunity to ask questions and hear from the inspector what the vulnerabilities and conditions of the property are. The (written) inspection itself is not the entire process. The buyer should always secure his own inspection.

"We're happy to do the inspection, but it has to be made very clear that the seller's inspection would not be used to fulfill the seller's disclosure obligation," which would inform the buyer of any structural defects, faulty systems and the presence of lead or other toxic materials.

Sue Bastil agreed.

Pre-sale inspections "have a good place on the market and they inform sellers of potential problems. But we don't like people to use it to fulfill disclosure requirements. We don't do it for the buyer.

"The seller can show it, but we would always recommend the buyer get his own inspection."

Crawford agreed.

"Often that report becomes available to prospective buyers. Then the buyer relies on the report of an inspector he doesn't know, without any knowledge of the caveats and disclaimers. His expectations can be through the roof, based on the written inspection. If he moves in and finds out that the problem is not in the report, he may take the inspection as being presented as a warranty or guarantee," Crawford said.

"Everyone should know what they're selling," Fischer said.

Pre-sale inspections are most common with relocating executives whose companies may end up buying the house, especially if the home is 20 years or older, said Ken Sanders of Coldwell Banker/Equitable Stefaniak.

"I have seen listing inspections more in the last three years on relocations, and a scattered few conventional sales. On conventional sales, it's more prevalent with for sale by owners because they don't have access to the Realtor's expertise."

Sue Bastil agreed. "It's especially useful for someone selling their house by themselves, because they don't have a Realtor to help them. They feel they're getting an unbiased opinion."

Fischer Home Inspection is DILHR Weatherized & State Certified.