What is a pre-listing inspection
and when is it worth ordering?
A pre-listing inspection is one the seller orders before the house goes on the market. It shows the seller what a buyer's inspector is likely to find, while there is still time to repair it, price the house with it in mind or plan around it.
- A pre-listing inspection is a home inspection the seller orders before the house goes on the market, instead of waiting for the buyer's inspection once it is under contract
- It shows the seller the problems a buyer's inspector is likely to find in the roof, the structure and systems like heating and cooling, so the seller can repair them, price the house with them in mind or plan around them ahead of time
- It does not replace the buyer's own inspection: the New Jersey REALTORS® standard contract still gives the buyer the right to have the property inspected
Explainer. Written by The JK Realty Group.
A pre-listing inspection is a home inspection the seller orders before the house goes on the market. In most sales the first inspection happens after the contract is signed, when the buyer's inspector goes through the house. With a pre-listing inspection, an inspector goes through the house first, so the seller learns about the roof, the structure and systems like heating and cooling before any buyer does.
It does not replace the buyer's inspection. The standard New Jersey REALTORS® contract still gives the buyer the right to have qualified inspectors go through the house, at the buyer's own cost. That happens within a number of days set in the contract, after attorney review (the lawyers' review of the signed contract) is over. The same roof and the same furnace get looked at either way. What changes is timing: the seller hears about any problems first, while there is still time to decide what to do about them.
With the report in hand, a seller can fix a problem before listing, price the house with it in mind, or leave it and be ready for the buyer to bring it up after the buyer's inspection. Say a seller in Pitman has a roof nobody has looked at in years. If the seller knows the roof's condition before the first showing, the seller can decide what to do about it on their own schedule, not in the days after a buyer's report arrives.
It tends to matter most on older homes, where roofs, heating systems and plumbing have had more years to wear, and less on a house built in the last few years. The seller orders it, so the seller pays for it, before there is a buyer.
It helps to know a few things before ordering one, including the age of the roof, the heating and cooling, and the water heater; any past work on the house; and what you would do if the report comes back long. Your agent can walk you through whether the age and condition of the house make it worth ordering. Whether anything the report turns up changes what you disclose to a buyer is a question for a licensed New Jersey attorney.
What to know
A buyer's inspector will find the same roof and furnace either way. Going first means you see the problems before a buyer does and can fix them or build them into the price. On an older South Jersey home, there are usually more of them.
Thinking about listing an older home? Let's talk.
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Add The JK Realty Group as a preferred source on GoogleThis is how the process runs in general. Inspection periods are set in the contract and vary; what your own contract says, and what you disclose, are questions for a licensed New Jersey attorney. General information, not advice about any specific property. The JK Realty Group, brokered with OMNI Real Estate Professionals. Equal Housing Opportunity. See our Terms of Use for how we source and credit these posts.
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