“I’m going to sell my home and I’m a nervous about the buyer’s inspection. My home is in good shape but it’s not new. Won’t the buyer’s contractor come up with a lot of things wrong so he can charge to fix them?”
***ANSWER:
Great question. It’s the same concern you have when taking your car to a mechanic that you don’t trust 100%.
Fortunately, almost no professional home inspectors do repairs on homes they inspect, so there’s no incentive to “find” repairs that aren’t needed. Otherwise it would indeed by a conflict of interest.
Two related things to be careful of are:
1. Often home inspectors recommend additional inspections, such as roof or plumbing. Sometimes it’s because they think it’s needed. Other times it’s just to “cover their backsides” (CYB).
(In the 80’s, one inspector ALWAYS called for every imaginable additional inspection, scaring people out of buying homes that had no issues. So when I represented a seller, I put in my counter-offers that the buyer couldn’t use him. The inspector got mad and threatened to sue me, but never did.)
You want to be sure the buyer doesn’t think those “CYB” recommendations mean your house has problems.
2. Tell the contractor up front they’re NOT necessarily coming out for a bid, but to determine if any repair is needed at all. Offer to pay an inspection or trip charge if no work is needed. And hopefully you or your agent know a contractor who can be trusted. (I know people in most trades that I trust.)
Good luck!
More Information On Selling Your San Diego Home
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