Las Vegas Pre-Listing Home Inspection

Las Vegas has long been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Between scenic vistas, world-class entertainment, and a vibrant nightlife scene, it’s no wonder that so many people are looking to move to our little slice of heaven. This is good news for home sellers. However, there are some important issues that sellers need to be aware of before a pre-listing home inspection. Eagle Eye Home Inspection experts can help.

Nobody wants any more surprises during the real estate listing process than there has to be. In order to successfully sell your home, it’s important to keep in mind what issues will concern potential buyers. That’s where a home inspection can help. Rather than waiting for a buyer to hire their own home inspector, you can keep the ball in your court and have an inspection done on your own terms. This allows you to better understand the true value of your home. 

What Exactly is a Pre-Listing Home Inspection?

Getting a pre-listing home inspection before selling doesn’t need to be a complicated process. Don’t overthink it. There is generally nothing on an inspection that can’t be fixed with proactive action before your home goes to market. Basically, a professional home inspector will enter your home at a pre-determined time and give it a thorough inspection to check the status of a variety of important components that buyers will want to see.

Without an Eagle Eye Home Inspection, it would be foolish for a buyer to purchase your home in the first place. Having a home inspection completed will put definitive proof on paper as to the current state of your home.

It is best to put it all out there. Just remember that no home is perfect during the pre-listing process, and you will likely have a little work to do to get it ready for a buyer inspection in the future. A few issues aren’t going to set you back too much. Whether you’re in North Las Vegas, Pahrump, Mount Charleston, Boulder City, Las Vegas, Henderson, or beyond, we’re here to examine the condition of the property and help sellers remedy any possible issues.

A home inspection has been known to significantly shorten the sales process and help the seller move forward with fewer hang-ups. While we’ll get into the sort of things that home inspectors look for later in this article, they are simply addressing the major factors that determine a home’s overall safety and value. They are only there to document the true state of your home and put it into a clearer perspective. That’s where the Las Vegas home inspections experts come in.

Why Would You Want a Pre-Sale Home Inspection?

Basically, a pre-sale home inspection lets you stay ahead of the curve. The moment your home goes on the market, things can tend to get a little bit complicated. Between keeping track of offers, having your real estate agent schedule walk-throughs, and the constant anxieties that come with the home-selling process, it is easy to become overwhelmed.

This early inspection allows you to prepare for the worst. The last thing you want is for the sale to fall through because you didn’t realize the faults of your Las Vegas home. By staying ahead of any potential pitfalls before your Las Vegas home goes to market, you will have more time to make your home as desirable and sellable as possible. Las Vegas home inspections put the power back in your hands.

If you have any serious doubts, just speak to a local Las Vegas real estate agent and get their opinion on having a home inspection. While there are a very select few negative effects that can come from a pre-listing home inspection, it’s important to consider all your options by talking to a home-selling specialist. Generally, they will let you know how helpful it can be to improve the appeal of your Las Vegas home before it’s thrust into the public eye. Just one simple inspection before your listing can do wonders.

Benefits to a Pre-Listing Inspection

Overall, you’ll be doing yourself a lot of favors by obtaining a pre-listing inspection report. It is not time-consuming, and it can help you ask for a higher price (depending on how the results pan out). Let’s look at some other benefits:

• Eliminates negative surprises in the Las Vegas home-selling process, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve and be proactive in the renovation process
• Allows you to disclose the full information on your home without unknowingly misleading potential buyers
• Gives you more time to make any necessary repairs without scaring potential buyers away with poor results. You will then be able to shop around for the repairs you need to find the best possible deal for the job at hand
• Gives you a more accurate pricing level so you can truly see what your Las Vegas home is worth. It will also help you get problematic areas fixed before an appraiser comes to give his or her evaluation
• Makes the selling process more flexible so you can more accurately gauge the amount of work that needs to be done compared to any bids that come when it’s listed
• Can potentially speed up the selling process by giving you a more focused view on your home’s true value. You can then take this to potential buyers and confidently disclose any shortcomings and major benefits to buying your home
• Helps relieve the stress associated with the selling process. Selling your Las Vegas home is a major milestone in your life. It opens up a world of opportunities for your future. As such, there is a lot riding on the successful sale of your home. The last thing you need is a home buying inspector telling you that your home is worth thousands of dollars less than you had anticipated

Potential Negatives to a Pre-Listing Home Inspection

The biggest potential downfall to a seller home inspection is that you will need to disclose any issues you may find. Even though you probably weren’t planning on misleading buyers to begin with, this home inspection will put your home’s flaws on record and force you to address them. If it is something you don’t plan on fixing before the sale, such as costly repairs, then these pitfalls will likely need to be addressed in your asking price.

A buyer will have to take these negative aspects into account when they are making you an offer, as they will need to be addressing them as the potential new owner. There are also Las Vegas disclosure laws in place that will require you to disclose this information to any buyers. If you choose not to, they may have good legal standing to take you to court and recoup damages for the harm you’ve caused with your actions. That’s one road you don’t want to go down.

Whether or not disclosing this information will hurt your home sale depends on your financial standing. If a few thousand dollars is going to make or break your sale, then you may need to find alternative ways to get these problems taken care of before it goes to market. A deeper dive into the benefits of Las Vegas home inspections can help you understand the issues at hand.

Nevada statutes state that homeowners must disclose certain information to buyers before the sale of the home is completed. The seller will need to fill out a disclosure form for the Las Vegas property at least 10 days before the home is sold. This form will let the potential buyer explicitly know any defects with the home and surrounding property.

If the seller fails to do so, it will be considered as misleading the buyer, and they can sue you. In fact, you may even face criminal charges. For the record, a lot of the responsibility also falls on the agent responsible for the real estate transactions. Your agent will be seen as a responsible party if the buyer does not receive this information, which may include:

• Issues with the plumbing
• Problems with sewer systems or septic tanks
• Electrical issues
• HVAC systems and any shortcomings with heating and/or cooling in the home (this also pertain to insulation problems)
• Any other items that may affect the value of the property at the time of the sale or moving forward

In a nutshell, the seller needs to be completely honest with the potential buyer. If the buyer asks a question and the seller answers dishonestly, that may be seen as a violation of the Las Vegas disclosure laws in place. Having a pre-listing home inspection completed can help eliminate these potential hiccups and put all your defects out in the open. It’s really quite freeing if you think about it. That’s why so many people in our community look to use Eagle Eye Home Inspections to their advantage.

What to Expect During a Pre-Listing Home Inspection

When moving forward with a Las Vegas home inspection for house sale, you should be aware of the aspects of your home that will be the most closely examined. While our home inspectors will perform a visual and non-invasive pre-listing home inspection, they will be thorough with their examination. This allows the client to make repairs on their items faster during the pre-listing process. Before the process gets underway, keep these things in mind:

The inspection will generally take a few hours. In order to do a thorough inspection, they will need to pay close attention to detail around the various “problem areas,” such as plumbing and the exterior of your home. Make sure to reserve anywhere from 2 to 4 hours for the inspection to finish

Your inspector will carefully examine your HVAC system to check for any malfunctions, so make sure these areas are accessible

If necessary, you can have your real estate agent present so they can note the important areas and confirm them with the report

Your pre-listing home inspector will examine areas like:

• Plumbing
• HVAC systems
• Walls
• Floorboards or tiles
• Windows
• Roofing
• Electrical installations
• Foundation
• Insulation and attic
• Main air conditioning unit
• Structural integrity such as support beams or other visible support systems

The amount of time it takes to complete the inspection will depend on:

• The size of your Las Vegas home
• How welcoming and helpful you are toward your inspector
• The attention to detail of your inspector
• The number of problem areas and defects in your home
• How to Prepare for a Pre-Listing Home Inspection

Preparing your home can make the entire process go a lot smoother. If you have clutter and garbage lying around, it may become difficult for your inspector to properly navigate your home. In addition to tidying up, make sure to consider the following:

• Make sure your utilities are running properly. This is very important to the inspection as the inspector will need to check to see if your electricity, plumbing, and running water are fully functional
• Make sure that important points of access are clutter-free. The inspector shouldn’t have to clear debris from critical areas like septic tanks, drainage points, and crawl spaces during the inspection
• In addition to the general tidying up of your home, make sure unattended areas like your basement and attic are clean too. This will allow for easier access to your HVAC units and any water heaters that will need to be examined
• Make sure you have copies of keys made for all areas of the house that may be inspected. While you’re unlikely to forget a house key and deny them access, make sure your inspector will have access to your electrical panels too. No need to give them the keys to any valuables though
• Turn on any pilot lights for heating areas (furnaces, gas fireplaces, stoves, etc.) so your inspector can thoroughly check to see if your gas lines are working properly

If that’s all taken care of, you should be good to go! For most sellers, obtaining a pre-listing home inspection is the right move to get a firm grip on your home’s true value. Even if you’re not selling your home, it’s important to know where you can improve your property condition moving forward. Don’t overthink it. Your Las Vegas home will never be perfect, just worry about doing the right thing and making the inspection process as painless as possible. Pre-listing doesn’t need to be a nightmare. Take control with the Las Vegas home inspections experts.

We’re proud to serve the Boulder City, Pahrump, Mount Charleston, North Las Vegas, and Las Vegas Henderson areas with our dedicated inspectors. Together, we can help sellers get their ideal asking price out of their most important real estate transaction. By examining the condition of the property, the home seller can properly appreciate their items and list them accordingly during the sales process. The sooner you find out your property’s condition, the sooner you can make repairs, and the sooner your sale can be completed.