Ask your Home Inspector:
Selling Your Home Faster:
The New, National “Move-In Certified” Program
By Mark Schniers 
Today’s slower housing market calls for some creative thinking, and the pre-inspected “Move In Certified” program instills buyer confidence. As a participant, you assure the potential buyer that your home is free from any major concerns regarding safety and function, and that a professional, independent Home Inspection report is available for viewing. Other advantages include:
- You choose a Certified Inspector rather than be subject to the buyer's choice
of inspector. - It will alert you of any immediate safety issues before other agents and potential
buyers tour the home. - You can assist the inspector during the inspection, something normally not done during a buyer's inspection.
- The report can help you realistically price the home.
- The report can help you substantiate a higher asking price if problems don't
exist or have been corrected. - A Move In Certified Inspection reveals concerns ahead of time which:
o gives you time to make repairs and shop for competitive contractors.
o permits you to attach repair estimates or paid invoices to the inspection
report.
o removes over-inflated buyer estimates from the negotiation table
- Your inspection permits a clean home inspection report to be used as a
MARKETING TOOL. Your home can be advertised as pre-inspected with
a home warranty. - The deal is less likely to fall apart the way they often do, when a buyer's inspection unexpectedly reveals a problem, last minute.
- Your report provides full-disclosure protection from future legal claims.
The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (www.nachi.org) has designed this new yard sign, which is growing popular with both MLS and FSBO listings across the country.
The purpose of a home inspection is to document the overall condition of the property at the time of the inspection and to ensure that its major systems and components (water heater, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, etc.) are installed properly and working properly. While some items identified during the course of a home inspection might seem like minor items individually, collectively they could add up to major headaches involving both time and money. If sellers know what to look for, they can resolve many minor items before I come to do the inspection.
Let’s work together to conclude the sale! Download my “Check List" of easily-resolved items commonly found during a home inspection. Completing these repairs before I show up helps ensure that escrow progresses more smoothly.