Selling Your Home

Should I get a pre-listing inspection?

By Steve Lockhart

The short answer

A pre-listing inspection is the same kind of professional inspection a buyer would order, completed before the home goes on the market. Its value is information.

Full answer

A pre-listing inspection is the same kind of professional inspection a buyer would order, completed before the home goes on the market. Its value is information. The report tells you about the roof, systems, and major components, so you can decide what to repair, what to disclose, and what the condition supports in your price before a buyer walks through. Knowing issues up front changes the conversation in your favor. You can price for the real condition, fix what is worth fixing, and disclose matters properly rather than learn them from a buyer's inspection during the negotiation period. It can also reduce the chance of a stalled deal when a buyer's inspector finds a surprise. The inspector is the licensed professional who performs the inspection; an agent's role is to help you choose the inspector, interpret the report, and decide what to do with the findings. I am not an inspector, and I do not perform inspections.

Go a little deeper

Frequently asked

Questions sellers often follow up on

Will the buyer still do their own inspection?

In most sales, yes. A pre-listing inspection does not replace the buyer's right to their own inspection, and most buyers or their lenders still order one. Your pre-listing report prepares you for that moment, and it often makes the buyer's inspection less surprising.

What do I do with issues the report finds?

You have options: repair what makes sense for your market, price for the condition, disclose what is material, or offer a credit when it serves the sale. The point is that you decide with the information in hand, rather than reacting to a surprise in the middle of negotiation.

Does a pre-listing inspection ever hurt the sale?

It can surface honest issues that must be handled, which is exactly its purpose: better to know before listing than to learn during a contract. When handled well, disclosure and a plan protect you and keep the sale moving.

The Lockhart Method

Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results

My strategy: use the pre-listing inspection as a decision tool. The report informs pricing, preparation, and disclosures, so we present the home from a position of knowledge rather than surprise. I do not perform inspections; I help you use the professional report.

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