Pre-Listing Home Inspection: 7 Shocking Examples That Show Why Home Sellers Need It
Website design By BotEap.comIn the last 10 years, home sellers did. There is no need for inspections. If one buyer’s inspector found a problem, another buyer would come along. But that has changed. It is VERY difficult to get buyers into escrow now, and very easy to lose them if they find problems during inspection. These are true stories of disaster-causing issues ranging from large monetary losses for sellers to outright write-offs of escrows. It’s time for sellers to realize the value of the “Certified Pre-Owned Home” services now available. A $300-$500 home inspection along with a home warranty can save the seller thousands of dollars, make the buyer happy, and help sell the house faster.
Website design By BotEap.com1. The listing says “Air Conditioning”, but the house does not have it.
Website design By BotEap.comDuring the inspection, the buyer asked the inspector about the air conditioner. The inspector found that there is no air conditioning installed. The listing agent, when asked why the listing said there was air conditioning, replied that the seller said there was. Air conditioning was important to the buyer, who works from home. The buyer attempted to negotiate a fair deal with the seller to add air, but the negotiation fell through and the sale was lost.
Website design By BotEap.com2. The dwelling has a serious construction defect.
Website design By BotEap.comMany homes are now built by builders as two on a lot or more. The home inspector saw that a balcony over the driveway was sloping. When he measured himself, he showed an eastward slope of more than 2 inches in 4 feet. But there were no signs of danger in the stucco around the balcony. Inspection of the identical back house showed that the same balcony was absolutely straight. The conclusion was that the builder had allowed the balcony to be finished even though it was sloping. The buyer backed off, saying, “I was concerned there might be other construction defects that weren’t so obvious.”
Website design By BotEap.com3. The bathroom sink has a small water leak on the tile counter causing serious water damage.
Website design By BotEap.comSome defects are almost undetectable. In this case, the dark tile on the counter and the fairly crowded cabinet hid significant water damage. There was enough water to have caused the cabinet’s plywood base to expand, the shelf paper to discolor, and some mold to start growing on the paper. But there was no leak in the pipe. Upon further inspection, the inspector found that when water was splashed on the tile behind the faucet, it ran through small cracks in the tile grout and dripped from the back of the cabinet base. There was reason to expect more moisture and mold under the base of the cabinet which could not be inspected. This finding, along with other troubling issues, caused the buyer to cancel.
Website design By BotEap.com4. The house has hidden earthquake damage.
Website design By BotEap.comA condo looked great from the street. The interior was in beautiful condition. However, inspection of the pipes under the sink revealed a disturbing fact. The galvanized pipe drain coming up from the bottom of the underground garage 3 stories below appeared to have lifted and shattered the drywall above it. Suspecting that this was impossible, the inspector recalled that this building had been damaged by a strong nearby earthquake. A closer look revealed that the floor had dropped 1-2 inches during that earthquake and did not recover and the ceiling had fallen in along with the interior walls. Only the perimeter load-bearing walls remained. The result was that the torn drywall was a wall that had FALLEN onto the solid pipe. The damage was so extensive that the buyer backed out.
Website design By BotEap.com5. Other listing without air conditioning.
Website design By BotEap.comThis was a condo conversion and a very nice property. But again the listing said A/C but there was none. The buyer, in this case, was not that keen on the deal and used this as an excuse to walk away.
Website design By BotEap.com6. The seller of the 1930 Hillside house loses $200,000.
Website design By BotEap.comThis house is on a hill and there were several retaining walls and stepped foundations that needed repair. There is no question that if the seller had done a pre-inspection, the foundation problems could have been fixed at much less cost and time. But the work was rushed because the house was in escrow and cost much more than necessary.
Website design By BotEap.com7. Lots of minor issues put off first-time buyers.
Website design By BotEap.comThe buyer, a young woman looking for her first home, was put off by problems that individually weren’t that expensive, but added to a long list of problems she just couldn’t face. If the seller had done a pre-inspection and done a little work, this escrow would have been closed.
Website design By BotEap.comNote: This article is copyrighted by the author, but sellers, buyers, agents, and other home inspectors are encouraged to copy and use this article as long as the author’s name and website are preserved.