Dawna Davies and her assistant Jodi Blanchard did an exceptional job in helping us sell our home in San Luis Obispo. Dawna’s intelligence and knowledge of the business made the whole complex process easy for us to understand and navigate. What seemed like counter-intuitive advice at the start—that we should be extremely thorough in discovering any possible problems with the forty year old house and present them in advance—turned out to streamline the final transaction by building trust in potential buyers and removing the possibility of unpleasant surprises and uncertainty for us. Her contacts with a wide range of local business people who carried out many preparatory operations quickly and economically offered another unique benefit. Her tact and amiability made our numerous interactions pleasant rather than wary. And Jodi’s work in converting the box full of documents from our files into a coherent house-maintenance-history binder meticulous and creative. From start to finish our involvement with Davies Company was personally as well as financially rewarding.
- Be present at the inspection. To get more out of the professional property inspection, we recommend that the buyer bring a list of concerns about the property. This can be specific to this property, or general about inspections. While at the inspection, have an open mind about the results. Inspections are not bad news or good news, they are only information.
- Inspector is not the buyer. He or she is knowledgeable about the property details, but they are not the one putting their savings into the property. Some buyers will naïvely ask, “Would you buy this home?” Or “Should we buy this home?” The better question is, “Is there anything that compromises the condition of this home.”
- Get a professional inspector. We recommend hiring a member of CREIA (California Real Estate Inspection Association, an organization of certified real estate inspectors). Check references, and make sure the inspector is well-qualified. The property inspector may recommend additional inspections for the property. While the property inspection is the usually the first inspection to obtain, it is advisable to get the additional inspections ASAP during your property evaluation period. These may include termite evaluations, plumbing scoping, electrical evaluation, mold evaluation, etc. Your professional real estate agent can be expected to have connections and resources for you to get additional reliable professional opinions about the property. A side note: REALTORS® in California also have the opportunity to complete a written property inspection during the transaction (Agent's Visual Inspection Disclosure), but this document should not be considered a substitute for a professional property inspection.
- Inspection information is more valuable than the inspection expense. The cost of the inspection (generally under $1000) is well worth spending to ensure that you are not buying the wrong property. As a seller, before you put the property on the market, take the opportunity to anticipate any concerns that a buyer may have. Unfortunately, if you accept an offer, you cannot expect to increase the price when you make agreed-upon repairs to the property during escrow. ‘AS-IS’ sale transactions need inspections too. Regardless of any possible agreement between the parties to sell in current condition, even without any repairs, it is strongly recommended to obtain a professional property inspection to avoid surprises.
- You will get a written inspection report. This may even include photos of property issues, along with recommended repairs. This should be reviewed with your agent to determine how it compares to your expectations of the property at purchase. All inspection reports must be given to the seller of the property, if you have an accepted purchase contract. Most purchase contracts in California obligate the buyer to provide seller copies of reports, even if it is after cancellation of the purchase contract.