Should Sellers Do A Pre-Inspection?

There was a brief and nominally informative article in the Sunday Seattle Times: Sellers should consider paying for inspection early in process

One of our most important responsibilities as listing agents is carefully reviewing the “Seller Disclosure Statement“, also referred to as “Form 17“. It is a requirement in the State of Washington that this form be completed by just about every seller of real property. (There are few exclusions) Some view it as an inconvenience. We view it as an opportunity.

In reviewing this form, a seller is presented with a comprehensive array of questions concerning the condition(s) of the many components that make up a residential property: plumbing, electrical, heating, water quality, septic system, etc. It is while going over this form with sellers that we learn about the general condition of a property, as well as important specifics.

When a seller mentions that they used to have a few mice, we see a red flag.

When a seller says his furnace is the original, 25 years old, and is running strong, we see a red flag.

What a seller may see as a minor problem can often mushroom into a very large problem if not properly addressed. An important key to successful selling is to resolve all potential inspection/disclosure issues BEFORE putting your property on the market. When a buyer’s inspector discovers a significant problem it can be extremely difficult to regain a buyer’s confidence.

Every buyer wants to believe that they can trust the seller. When the buyer discovers a problem that was not previously disclosed via the seller’s Form 17, that trust can evaporate. That’s why our motto is, “when in doubt, disclose it”. It is highly unlikely that any seller will end up in court over an issue that was disclosed, in writing, to a buyer prior to the closing of a sale. A buyer will readily sue a seller over an issue that is discovered after closing, and should have been reasonably been known to the seller. Whether the sewer line backs up when it’s cold outside, or the crawl space floods every time it rains hard, such matters should always be addressed, repaired, and disclosed to the buyer. Yes, even if it has been repaired, it should be disclosed.

Oddly, we find that younger clients are more readily up front about issues that should be disclosed. Many older sellers appear to be of the mind that if we, the agents, don’t know about a problem, the buyer won’t either. Sometimes, if we discover a problem, some older sellers will ask us if it is really necessary to tell anyone about it. We try to explain that the days of “buyer beware”, for the most part, are over. We attempt to explain that the buyer’s inspector would likely discover the problem. Then we might be asked, “what if he/she doesn’t find it”? You get the idea. In our experience, younger clients are more trusting, more interested in the process, and more trustworthy than their older counterparts.

Should sellers pay for a pre-inspection?It would be easy to say yes to this question. Unfortunately, the wrong people would be paying for an unnecessary service i.e., those that would have a pre-inspection are usually the folks that are the most knowledgeable about their homes, and the most honest. The folks that should have an inspection are the least likely to do so because (a) they don’t want to spend the money and (b) they don’t want to know about any problems they aren’t already aware of, thinking this absolves them of responsibility. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Seller’s Property Disclosure form is an excellent template for reviewing the condition of your property. Use the above links to review and print a copy. It is always best to stay ahead of potential problems in order to avoid expensive, and untimely, repairs.