Why I Pre-Inspect Almost Every Home I Sell

Most sellers see a pre-inspection as a risk. I see it as one of the biggest advantages in my listing process. Here's why, and how it can help protect you when selling in Washington.

Getting your own home inspection before you list might sound like you’re looking for problems. I look at it completely differently.

In fact, I pre-inspect just about every home I sell.

Over the years, it has become one of the most important parts of my listing process. It gives us information, time and, most importantly, control.

A pre-listing inspection is really just a buyer’s inspection moved earlier in the process. Instead of waiting until you’re under contract and letting the buyer be the first one to discover what’s going on with the house, we hire a licensed inspector before we ever hit the market.

They inspect the major systems, structure and overall condition of the home and give us a written report—essentially the same process a buyer is likely to go through later.

The big difference is timing.

Here’s my philosophy: Someone is going to inspect this house. There is no hiding anything.  If there is a problem, it is going to be found by someone. 

In most transactions, a buyer is going to want to understand the condition of the home. If there’s an issue with the roof, crawlspace, electrical, plumbing, attic or anything else, there’s a good chance it’s eventually going to come up.

So I’d much rather find it on a Tuesday three weeks or even months before we list than on a Tuesday when we’re under contract and have a buyer waiting for an answer by 9:00 that night.

That’s the advantage.

We get to deal with problems on our schedule, not the buyer’s

When we know about an issue ahead of time, we have options.

We can get our own bids. We can decide whether something makes sense to repair. We can bring in the right contractor instead of whoever happens to be available tomorrow. We can determine whether an item is minor, significant or simply something we should disclose and account for in our strategy.

And we can do all of that before there’s a buyer on the other side of the table.

Once you’re under contract, the dynamics change. Deadlines are running, emotions are higher and buyers can get nervous very quickly when an inspection uncovers something they weren’t expecting.

That’s when a $2,000 problem can suddenly feel like a $10,000 problem.

I’d rather know what we’re dealing with before we ever put the sign in the yard.

"Someone is going to inspect this house. There's no hiding anything. I'd rather find an issue when we have three months to deal with it than three days."

What about disclosure?

This is usually the first concern I hear from sellers:

“Wes, if we inspect the house and find something, don’t I have to disclose it?”

Potentially, yes—and that’s exactly why I’d rather know about it.

Washington sellers generally have disclosure obligations regarding known defects and conditions, including through the Seller Disclosure Statement commonly called Form 17. The exact disclosure requirements depend on the property and circumstances, which is why specific legal questions should always go to an attorney.

But from a listing standpoint, my philosophy is simple: I don't want surprises.

If there’s a material issue with the house, ignoring it doesn’t make it disappear. A buyer may discover it during their inspection anyway. And knowingly failing to disclose a material defect can create much bigger problems than dealing with it correctly upfront.

I don't see a pre-inspection as creating problems.

I see it as giving us time to solve them.

It allows us to decide what should be repaired, what should be disclosed, what needs additional investigation and how we want to present the home to the market.

Done correctly, that can actually give buyers more confidence in the property.

The strategy after the inspection matters just as much

This is where experience becomes important.

I don't believe in getting an inspection report and automatically fixing every single item on it. Homes aren't perfect, and inspectors can produce long lists of maintenance items and observations that don't necessarily need to become a major project before selling.

At the same time, I don't like fixing one obvious problem while ignoring five others that we know are likely to concern buyers.

We go through the report and build a strategy.

• What should we fix? 
• What should we investigate further? 
• What should we disclose? 
• What should we leave alone? 
• How do we present all of it in a way that gives buyers confidence rather than ammunition to renegotiate the deal?

That’s the part of the process my team and I spend a lot of time on.

We regularly coordinate contractors, repairs, cosmetic improvements, staging and the other pieces needed to get a home ready for market. The inspection gives us a roadmap so we can spend money where it actually matters instead of guessing. 

Worried you have created more work for yourself?

I get it, you don't know who to call or where to start.  That is where my listing boost concierge service comes into play.  We can recomend, or even project manage the repairs and updates at your house.

Does every house need a pre-inspection?

There are exceptions. A brand-new home or certain unique situations may call for a different strategy.

But for the vast majority of the homes I sell, even 'tear-downs,' my recommendation is the same:

Inspect it upfront. I'd rather find an issue when we have three months to deal with it than three days. I'd rather get our own repair bid than negotiate against a buyer's worst-case estimate. And I'd rather walk into the market knowing exactly what we're selling than cross our fingers and hope nothing unexpected comes up.

After roughly 20 years of selling homes, and 10 years with the pre-inspection model, I've learned that surprises rarely help the house get to 'sold'! There’s no hiding anything in this process, so my goal is to know what we're dealing with, get ahead of it and control as much of the process as we possibly can.

If you're thinking about selling in Bellevue or anywhere around Western Washington and want to understand what I would do with your home before putting it on the market, let's talk it through.

We can look at the condition of the property, what I would—and wouldn't—address before listing, and put together a strategy designed to get you to market in the strongest possible position.

Call or text (425) 577-9814, email wes@sellwithwes.com, or visit SellwithWes.com.

Let's figure out the smartest way to get your home sold.