Why More Agents Are Using Pre-Inspections to Market Homes

Seller-led home inspections could help head off late-stage contract cancellations.  

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey

With rising contract cancellations shaking up deals—nearly 15% of homes under contract nationwide fell through in May, according to Redfin—real estate professionals are looking for ways to get ahead of last-minute surprises. One solution gaining traction: Pre-sale listing inspections.

Matt Cook, director of business development at Cincinnati-based HomeTeam Inspection Services, says the company’s 200-plus franchises nationwide are reporting an uptick in demand for such inspections. Since 2017, HomeTeam began touting pre-listing inspections. “Everyone thought it was silly at first,” he says. “Everybody thought: ‘Nobody will want to do an inspection on the listing side. The buyer is going to do it. Why would I want to double down and say ‘let’s find the problems?’”

But home sellers are now finding it can be a differentiator. “I think more people are realizing—especially listing agents—is that you get an upper-hand if you get a pre-listing inspection,” Cook says.

Cook’s company even provides yard signs promoting: “This home has been pre-inspected.” The signs can be placed next to agent’s for-sale signs in front of the home.

Pre-listing inspections are allowing home sellers to get the home professionally inspected before it hits the market. Sellers then can handle minor repairs up front—like leaky faucets or loose toilets—that could help prevent buyer panic during escrow if they see an inspection report with a list of potential problems.

Real estate pro Melissa Bailey with the Jason Mitchell Group in Scottsdale, Ariz., finds home inspections are often a culprit for why buyers end up backing out of a deal. “If there’s a home inspection and any inkling that a house needs repairs—even if they’re not major—a buyer will back out,” she says.

That’s why pre-listing inspections have become the first step that real estate pro Cara Ameer, of Coldwell Banker’s Vanguard Realty in Florida, says she recommends to her sellers in getting a home ready to list. “It is so important today before you go on the market to get a handle on what your home's condition is … and on your time and on your terms,” Ameer says. Plus, she says pre-listing inspections give buyers extra assurance: “Disclosure is confidence. And you want that buyer to go into that transaction with confidence.”

Ameer says buyers can still do their own inspections, but may use the seller’s report as a “baseline.” And even if sellers don’t fix everything that turns up during their inspection, they can choose what to address to improve their home’s marketability.

The following are the potential benefits that agents cite from pre-listing inspections:

• Market the home as “Pre-Inspected” for added credibility.
• Address any potential red flags before they become deal-breakers.
• Avoid stressful renegotiations post-inspection.
• Show transparency to today’s cautious, cost-conscious buyers.

In today’s high-interest, high-anxiety market, pre-listing inspections offer a proactive—rather than reactive—approach to marketing a home for sale, Ameer says. “Pre-listing inspections can help derail a lot of the surprise and shock that might happen from inspections—for both the buyer and the seller,” she says.  

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