A major source of stress for people who are selling their home is the home inspection. No matter how well you’ve maintained your house, there can be unpleasant surprises. It’s smart to pre-empt a buyer by doing a pre listing inspection before the home is listed for sale.
Buying a home is often the biggest purchase buyers make in their lifetime. Home inspections are additionally stressful for buyers because most are ill equipped for even minor home repairs. This is because of a sociological shift.
Most homeowners are older than their buyers. These are 2 different generations. The majority of sellers had parents who came through the Depression. Their parents didn’t call the plumber because they fixed things themselves. What sellers heard growing up was “We’ll make do with what we have.”
Their younger generation buyers grew up in a very different world. They never or hardly ever saw parents with a screwdriver trying to fix something. This generation did not see Dad putting together a tricycle for them with 1,000 small parts because he didn’t have to. They drove plastic Big Wheels or Dad paid a small fee to have a more conventional tricycle assembled. As a result this generation is often not comfortable with any work required on a home because it’s not within their experience.
We have 2 different worlds combining on a home purchase. Sellers do not understand why something they see as a minor fix is upsetting to their buyer. I think this explains why things get out of perspective so quickly.
It hurts a seller more to have a failed contract than it does a buyer. The seller must put his house back on the market and statistically the next offer that comes along is at least 2-3% lower. This cost is much higher than a buyer’s home inspection. As a result the seller loses much more.
By getting the house inspected by a professional home inspector, issues likely to come up are uncovered. Homeowners can repair them or get estimates from contractors. Either way, they’ll be prepared and that puts a homeowner in a good position.
