In the Chicago real estate market, we know that home inspections are important for new home buyers. For your own safety and for the quality of your investment, you need to have a professional home inspector look at the property you intend to buy. However, there is also ample reason for sellers to get a qualified home inspection, too. For one, your city or village might require it.
A qualified inspector knows what to look for and can help you set an appropriate price for your home.
According to a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times, a home, or point-of-sale, inspection can derail your closing, whether you are a seller or a buyer.
If you are a seller in this market, you definitely don’t want anything to go wrong once you have an interested buyer. With tons of homes on the market and many with seriously reduced prices, a surprise repair deemed necessary by a home inspector may take just long enough for your buyer to lose interest.
Since it is a buyer’s market, a lot of the best deals on real estate that buyers might be considering are moving quickly. As a seller, if you know what work or repair your home needs, you can factor that into your price after the repairs are completed.
However, if you have an interested buyer and the closing is delayed because your home inspection reveals repairs that need to be made, you may have an unhappy buyer on your hands. Losing a buyer because of the results of an inspection is an easily avoidable occurrence; just have your home appraised by a qualified professional who can bring any structural concerns to your attention before you put your home on the market.
Also, because many cities require an inspection, it’s best to get one before you settle on a selling price. Especially if you are trying to sell your home to avoid foreclosure in a short sale situation, it’s best to be prepared and knowledgeable about the repairs that might be needed to suit your city.
Your city’s point-of-sale inspection may reveal some repairs that need to be paid, and depending on the city, it may require that the current owner take care of those repairs. Some municipalities won’t allow the price of the repairs to be included in the overall home price, even if the buyer agrees to take on the repairs after the sale.
Also, if you are attempting to sell your house as a short sale, the bank has pre-approved the selling price of your home. If you need to change that price to accommodate repairs that your city inspector finds necessary, the bank can refuse the new price. It’s just another reason why a home inspection or thorough appraisal can help you sell your home more quickly.
