While many real estate agents have their clients wait to get required municipal inspections until they get a contract, I encourage home sellers get municipal inspections before they put their home on the market.
One reason for getting the municipal inspection up front is so you can advertise that the house has already passed the city inspection. Or maybe you want to know what you will have to fix before getting a list of repairs from the buyer under the inspection contingency.
Either way, getting the municipal inspection before hitting the MLS can help you get your house sold and minimize expensive repairs.
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One of the big advantages of getting a municipal inspection BEFORE the buyer has their inspections, is that municipal repairs can be done by the seller (or friends/family). Unless the work involves a permit, you don’t need to hire someone if you can get it fixed yourself.
You can save a lot of money by changing the outlets yourself, or hiring a handyman instead of an electrician. But if you wait until the buyer has had their inspections, the buyer will usually want specialized contractors to make the repairs.
More importantly, if your municipality is going to force you to make expensive repairs, don’t you want to get credit for them (possibly even getting a higher sale price)?
One of my former clients was getting ready to sell her home in University City MO. The municipal inspector required her to get the entire plumbing system pressure tested. She also had to get rid of some peeling paint and broken windows on her detached garage.
She wasn’t planning to do any of this before she got the city inspection. But since she was forced to do these items to sell, the house was able to be listed for a higher price rather than discounting it due to a run down garage. Plus, I included the plumbing pressure test in the advertising of the house. While we would have preferred that she didn’t have to do it, it was something that let us stand out compared to the other homes in this historic neighborhood.
If she had waited until after getting a contract to bring in the municipal inspector, the house would have been listed for less money and she would have been hit with expensive repairs AFTER she negotiated the price.
Are You Thinking About Moving?
I specialize in selling St. Louis homes regardless of whether they will be the hot listing to hit the market or if they have a challenge that makes it much harder to sell. I also work with buyers who want to find the home of their dreams, but don’t want to overpay.
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the St. Louis area, give me a call at 314-265-8073 and let’s talk about your options.
