Home Inspections are Very Important in the For Sale By Owner Process

A home inspection by a professional inspector should be one of the first steps in the FSBO home sale process. This is a routinely performed step on homes of all ages and quality. It should not be thought of as a negative reflection of your for sale by owner home, or as a sign that the potential buyer suspects any problems with your home. Because of the greater cost and more complexity of today's homes, these types of inspections have become a normal part of the FSBO home buying process. These inspection reports are usually the conclusion of the successful purchase of a property, and are often used by the purchaser for information to maintain their newly purchased home.

What is a Home Inspection?

Many states don't license the service of home inspections. Because of this, any person who holds a current business license can perform home inspections. There are however, many home inspection training schools, but many of these are businesses that primarily want to make money by training and certifying business inspectors. These businesses and associations market their services to people who want to enter the home inspection field. The most important factors in finding a good home inspector are experience and a good reputation.

What Is A FSBO Pre-Listing Inspection?

Prior to listing their home FSBO, many home sellers contract the services of a home inspector. This inspection can determine if there are any defects that need to be repaired can be repaired before listing the property; which improves the quality of the listing. It can also be used as a positive selling point for the house.

One downside to having the home inspected prior to listing the house is that the seller may be made aware of information about defects in the home. Often, this type of information may need to be disclosed to a potential buyer. FSBO sellers who discover this kind of information, should consult with their attorney about applicable disclosure laws, and if these laws apply to information that is gained from a pre-listing inspection.

It is also possible that a FSBO pre-listing inspection will not eliminate a prospective buyer's desire to have an independent inspection performed on the property. They may think that their own inspection is less likely to be biased in favor of the seller. Moreover, the prospective buyer may want an inspection to make some preliminary determinations regarding their proposed use and any modifications to the house in question. An example of this is if a prospective buyer wants to know if the current electrical system is adequate for its existing use, and if it can handle any additions of a bathroom, hot tub, etc.

FSBO Special Inspection Considerations

The home inspector is likely to be familiar with most of the standard systems in a residential structure. However, it is possible that he or she does not have the licensing or expertise necessary to analyze every kind of specialty problems that could arise in the course of an inspection. Also, the inspector is prohibited from doing any sort of testing which could be destructive, which prevents the inspector from making a total examination of certain parts of systems, like furnaces. The home inspector may think that conditions in a particular structure require some further analysis. This analysis may need to be performed by an inspector with a certain specialty. For example, furnace service company, a testing laboratory, a soil engineer, or a licensed electrical contractor.