Termites?  In Cary NC?  Well…. Yes.

One home inspection that home buyers always have performed on a Cary home is to have a licensed pest firm check for termites.  Termites are very common in the Cary area and a smart buyers agent will press the home buyer hard to have the property checked out during the due diligence period of the contract.

It is also common for a home owner to carry a termite protection contract, which usually includes a repair policy for any termite damage.  If the home seller has carried such a plan, the seller should let the listing agent know, and that becomes a selling point in the listing.  If the plan is transferable, it is even more affordable and valuable to the home buyer.

Some folks confuse a termite plan with quarterly pest service.  Those are two very different services, even though they are offered by nearly all pest and termite control firms in the Triangle area.

Home Inspections Prior to Selling

It is becoming more common for Sellers in Cary to have a home inspection prior to listing the house for sale.  I think that is a great trend, and a great marketing tool, particularly when all repairs are already made too.  This method allows the Seller to perform repairs with chosen contractors, and without the rush of a closing deadline.

When the Listing Agent can advertise as much, and the Buyers Agent can tell their client that the home has been inspected and repaired, it is a HUGE confidence builder for the Buyer.  The Buyers inspections will yield fewer findings, and the home should be easier to accept.

And, I said as much, in 60 Seconds in Real Estate

But, good builders and inspectors will be among the first to tell you they are not infallible.

We had an inspection performed a couple of weeks ago on a new home. Did the inspector find a ton of stuff? No. It’s a good home.

But, one item justified the inspection. Scott found a roof truss with a slightly split top chord that had been missed by the builder and by the framing inspector. Not an uncommon issue and not a difficult fix in the field. The truss manufacturer’s engineer came out, provided a letter specifying the proper repair, and the builder had the repair completed. And my client got a copy of the letter.

That last line is the key. “And my client got a copy of the letter.” My client says he is on a 5 year plan. Meaning he tentatively plans to move up or out in about 5 years. If the split truss chord had not been located and resolved, he may well have been stuck for the cost of an engineer’s drawing and a specified repair in the future at sales time. Having it handled and documented by the builder takes that off the table in the future, at no cost to my client.

Home inspection on a new construction house? You Betcha!

The thought was to encourage more Sellers to have a home inspection performed prior to putting their home on the market, and to make all cited repairs.  The idea is to put issues at rest, and remove them from the bargaining table.  More deals would consummate, with less emotional negotiations, if their were just fewer repairs to work through.

It seems the the North Carolina Association of Realtors is on the same wavelength.  Coincidentally, yesterday in their weekly update email, I received the proposed updates to Standard Forms for 2008.  NCAR Standard Form 101, “Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement” has a verbage change, with guidelines as follows:

“Added new paragraph 5, Home Inspection, to encourage sellers and agents to talk about advantages of having a home inspection done when property is listed…”

Works for me.  I encourage all NC Sellers to have an inspection done, and wish more did so.  regardless of which side of the real estate transaction I am involved in.

Most Sellers are surprised at that thought, since “The Buyer pays for the inspection.”  That is almost an irrelevant point. 

The Buyer does pay for their own inspection.  For their own information as to the status of the home.  To request repairs, with the omnipresent consideration that they can terminate if there are too many repairs, or if the Seller declines to make some repairs.  This is the most stressful negotiating aspect of many transactions.

If you think we are now in a Buyers’ Market in Raleigh and Cary, why not avoid most of that?  Pre-Listing is a great time to be doing repairs.  Sellers can simply pre-emptively hire a home inspector, and proactively repair the issues that arise prior to going on the market.  On their own timetable.  Without a Buyer and a Buyer’s Agent pressing contract issues on them.  

Folks who live in a home for 5 to 15 years get comfortable with the condition of the property, and often unknowingly live with significant deal-breaking deficiencies.  Yes, the Buyer’s home inspector may find something.  On a home with any age, that is quite likely.  No one inspector is perfect.  But the stress of resolving 4 or 5 minor items in negotiations, vs. 25 or 30 issues of all types, is much less for all parties.

Pre-emptive.  Proactive.  I like it!