From the Desk of Mike Weiss:

If you’re a seller, it’s usually the last thing you think of that will end up being the proverbial knife to the jugular of your home sale inspection.  People tell you they have fixed all the items in their house, but it always seems to only be the things that can be seen.

A seller will never run a cable down their sewer lateral to ensure its integrity or amount of clear space.  Nor will they seemingly ever get a chimney sweep, or inspect the tile within the fireplace to make sure it is not hazardous.  And what seller would actually check for gas leaks or electrical flaws?  In general, these are the type of issues people just don’t want to know about because they could be costly and feel that perhaps ignorance of a problem is in their best interest!

Time and time again, I have encountered hold ups and drama over the results of inspections as both a buyer’s and a seller’s agent.  Everyone has different expectations of how it should be handled and how to proceed.  I joke that it inevitably takes up more time and energy to argue over the last 1 percent of any given transaction than it does for the entire first 99 percent.  It is the hardest part of my job.  Yes, even harder than marketing, or negotiating the contract, by far!

Buyers are bringing an expensive private inspector to fully pick apart the house.  In almost every section of St. Louis, MO a municipal and gas inspection will also be required.  Consider having it inspected and having work done to the home prior to putting it onto the market – that way it won’t be such a hold-up and a surprise when it jumps up at you later and almost torpedoes your tenderly-developing real estate deal.

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