A Visual Inspection is an approach to documenting your property’s condition in an effort to identify problems that may need to be rectified or addressed prior to listing the property for sale or for lease. Please Note; this is not a ‘Building Inspection’ performed for a buyer or seller by a certified building inspector. Its a visual walkthrough the property by an experienced makeover specialist who focusses on how to present the property in the best way possible to attract a buyer or tenant.
Why Do I Need a Pre-Sale Inspection?
Selling your home or creating an investment property opportunity is not an easy process, there are a lot of things to do that ideally need to be done in a specific order. The sales agent or rental manager will help with the majority of that process and the activities involved, but what do you do if the property needs some maintenance or improvement? Do you know what maintenance or improvement activities are needed to maximise the sale price or rental return? It’s easy when you have lived in a property for a long time to lose sight or even not see the maintenance needs of your home viewed through fresh independent eye’s ; ours, or dare we say it, your buyers and renters! Quite often the sales and rental agencies can help with this too. They look through many properties every day visualising varying maintenance issues, home styling, colour palettes and generally knowing what works best. They also know trades that can do various aspects of work for you and can provide these contacts, but very few manage that process holistically, so you either ‘DIY’ it or you seek out help to manage it.
Ellis & Co have developed a visual inspection routine similar to a pre-sale or pre-purchase building and pest report. However our reports are unique and more client friendly in that not only do they identify visually any maintenance requirements, they also suggest improvements and potential costs (high level estimates) enabling you to make informed decisions where they can add value to your asset. These reports can then be discussed with the agent to ensure that any proposed work is in keeping with how both you and the agent wish to present the property for sale or rent.
The approach works best if we are brought in at the earliest stage of a sale listing in the same way the sales or rental agent will provide an appraisal we can provide a visual inspection report, together they will give you a greater sense of confidence about what you need to do to prepare the property (our visual inspection report) for sale or rent and what the property could sell for (agents appraisal).
Additionally its common knowledge that a property with a “Competitive asking price + Good presentation = A quick house sale” that’s a lesson learnt from over 20years experience personally buying and selling property and more recently working closely with clients and sales agents.
Summarising ‘Why’ you need a visual inspection.
When Should I Have a Pre-Sale Inspection?
If you have any reason to be uncertain about what a Pre-Purchase Inspection might reveal about the state of repair of your property because of its past history or age then don’t hesitate in organising your Pre-Sale Inspection prior to listing… better to be forewarned and forearmed than unpleasantly surprised.
What Happens if My Pre-Sale Inspection Finds Problems?
Then the decision is yours. Now that you’re aware of defects that may adversely affect your property’s market value, you can choose to undertake the necessary repairs or renovations prior to listing or you can simply reflect these in your price. You choose… so you sell your home faster for the price you want.
And If I Decide to Undertake Repair or Improvement Works Prior to Listing?
You should take professional advice from a number of experienced and fully licensed builders. Ensure that your works are properly specified with detailed written quotes by reputable, licensed, and insured professionals who come with references.
How Much Will a Pre-Sale Inspection Cost Me?
We hope fees are not your sole consideration. You might save many times the cost of your inspection by preventing your contract’s collapse.
Your inspector’s qualifications, including his experience, training and professional affiliations, should be your most important consideration.
Fees for all our services are competitive, especially when you consider you are getting the best possible service for a modest price. You can’t get better than that and really, would you want anything less?