Anyone who has been through the process of selling their home has had some sort of home inspection seller anxiety. You have a set price in your mind of what your home will sell for and the only thing standing in your way is the ever so dreaded home inspection. According to Zillow, of the buyers who have backed out of a real estate transaction, 15% have cited the home inspection as the cause of them backing out of the deal. Here in this blog, we break down where that stress comes from and some reasons to ease your.
Why Selling A House Is So Stressful?
Being that the biggest financial purchase/sale Americans have is their home, its no surprise that it is one of the biggest life stressors one undergoes in their lifetime. In fact, in the top 10 stressful life events, moving ranks number seven. Not only that, but there is an emotional attachment you feel with your home that you wouldn’t feel with your other investments. Your home is the backdrop to your major life evets, like your marriage, birth of a child and others.
One often cited source of stress is the feeling of coming up short. You set your expectations only to be disappointed. In fact, according to the Journal of Housing Economics, homeowners one average overestimate their home’s worth by 8%. This doesn’t happen to everyone, but most homeowner try to maximize their situation and set high expectations when selling their home.
Anxiety is often driven by a lack of control and uncertainty. When you are selling your home, there is a lack of control which drives home inspection seller anxiety. Not only will someone enter your home and take a close inspection upon every facet of your home, but it affects the agreed upon selling price. In fact, according to a Porch survey, About 46% of buyers reported that they “used home inspection reports to negotiate a lower price on their home.”
These are just a few of the driving forces that make the house selling process so stressful and why you may have been agitated at the thought of an upcoming home inspection.
What Are The Common Deal Breakers During the Home Inspection Process?
According to Home Inspection Insider, these are the top finds in the home inspection process that can ruin a real estate transaction:
- Foundation problems: The foundation is the most critical part of your home. If caught early this can be a relatively easy repair, but if left unattended to for many years, it could take the work of a structural engineer to repair.
- Extensive water entering the building: As one inspector put it to me, your home is at constant war with water attempting to make entry into your home. It’s very common, especially in basements and very noticeable after heavy rains. It will however take years to deteriorate a home.
- Termite damage: Very common in many parts of the world. This can easily be treated by pest control if caught in the right amount of time.
- Roof problems: This affects anyone living in the home long enough. The roof of your home is not meant to last forever and will eventually need to be replaced. If a leaky roof is ignored it can cause significant structural damage.
- Unattended electrical problems: Most electrical problems can easily be replaced. But it has been a long time since anything has been replaced, then a new system can be quite costly.
Some Facts to Ease Your Home Inspection Seller Anxiety
- The actual number of deals that are terminated during home inspection: According to Trulia, only 3.9% of homes fall through after the initial inspection process. Which means that if you’ve come this far then you have a 96.1% chance of closing this home. What accounts for the 3.9%? that includes the following: either party gets cold feet, the home can’t get funded, the house is overvalued and the home can’t clear title. This means that 3.9% would probably be even smaller.
- Home inspections are not meant to kill deals. It is a wide misconception that a home inspection will kill your real estate transaction, which causes most people’s home inspection seller anxiety. Home inspections are meant to be educational for all parties. They are meant to be non-bias and the inspection will not give their opinion if the buyer should move forward.
- No home is perfect. Even brand-new homes need an inspection done. There is always some sort of flaw with a home and if an inspector returns, saying that the house is in perfect condition, then you need to find yourself a new home inspector. Having those expectations before the inspection is important, and a good home inspector will let the buyer know this.
- You are in a seller’s market! There has never been a more forgiving time for a home inspection than now. With the real estate market bubble of 2021, buyers are more willing than ever to forgive the many flaws of a home. Though major work should still be considered, the general fixer upper has never been more valuable.
- There are plenty of other buyers out there and it only takes one. Looking at worst case scenario, a buyer doesn’t like the inspection report. They look over everything and think, I am way overpaying for this home and reduce their offer. Depending on the situation, it may not be a big deal at all. Just move forward and look at other offers. There are so many buyers out there and the inspection won’t cost you a thing!
- Put some trust in your real estate professional! One of the most important things you can armor yourself with when heading out to the unknow real estate market is to surround yourself with professionals. Your real estate professional does this for a living and will be working to make sure the whole process goes smoothly.
What Happens If There Are Unforeseeable Massive Issues with The Home? There Are Still Options!
What happens if your home doesn’t fall in the normal inspection categories. Maybe it’s a home you inherited, a vacant property, it suffered major damage, or unknown massive foundation issues. It’s best to consult with your real estate professionals as there may be more options available for you. You could sell your home to a real estate investor or restructure the deal to make it feasible for both parties. The point is that you always have options! Though you cannot prepare for every single mishap with your property, if you have trust in whoever you are working with then you can rest assured that you can get your home sold.
There you have it! Some facts to hopefully ease your home inspection seller anxiety. Now I want to hear from you. Did I miss anything? Was there something that eased your mind during the home selling process. Send me a message and let me know!