Hiring a home inspector right off can be worth it for sellers

When Linda Lehman decided to sell her 30-year old home, she worried that years of deferred maintenance would come back to haunt her.

"I was scared that when I got to the end, I'd have to make $10,000 to $20,000 in repairs," says Lehman, 51, a homeowner in Charlotte, N.C.

Her concerns were twofold: that trouble spots would knock down her asking price and that repairs to placate buyers would reduce her net proceeds. Like many suddenly single women, she found herself suddenly on her own to repair and sell a home that was maintained for years by her husband.

So Lehman hired a home inspector to go over her house with a fine-tooth comb.

Her thinking reflects a sound strategy to repair only the most critical items necessary to pass inspection muster. The usual approach is to wait for an offer before inspectors scope out a home. Once inspectors for buyers get involved, though, it opens a Pandora's box of costs and demands. Buyers push the envelope; sellers, sometimes panicked by lack of other offers, capitulate.

Lehman's path is a proactive course easily emulated by others who know little about the real-estate sales process. It's important for a basic, crucial reason: Lehman's inspector represented her interests, not the buyer's.

The National Association of Realtors says that 17 percent of home sellers in 2006 have been single women. That dwarfs the 6 percent of single men reported as home sellers.

Lehman says her heating-and-cooling system was "on its last legs"; the garage door, wavy and warped; the last termite inspection, a distant memory; and the basement, a disaster zone.

Her costs might have topped $20,000 or more.

But the 30-page inspection report said all systems were mechanically sound. Even if the components appeared cosmetically iffy, they worked.

On the other hand, inspectors for buyers can raise a red flag on the most nitpicky of items. By hiring her own inspector, Lehman eased pressure from sole reliance on the buyer's report. Problem areas became negotiable items.

According to home inspector Rob Kent of Pittsburgh Property Inspectors in Pennsylvania, a scant 1 to 2 percent of his business is for sellers.

"I find it amazing that a lot of these people think their house is in fantastic shape, then they find all these things wrong, and they wonder how this happened," Kent says.

But by then it's too late because the buyer is in the driver's seat in terms of repairs and, more importantly, repair costs. Kent says the time to spot problems is early. Then sellers can control the scope of work and the cost.

Kent charges $250 for a standard home, a typical inspection rate. Lehman paid $600 and considers it money well-spent.

"It was worth it to have the peace of mind that I don't have any major issues," she says.

Lehman says she may tack on a home warranty to further assure buyers that problems are covered.

Her advice to single women about to sell a home: Hire an inspector.

"Buyers tend to look at anything wrong as symptomatic that the house has problems, and it gives them the idea they can walk from the deal," she says. "I wanted things to be as right as they can so there are no surprises at the end."