“In some situations, pre-inspections can cause disputes,” says Toni Weidman, a Realtor from Florida. “Several pre-inspectors have found some things wrong, and the sellers went to the trouble and expense of having those items repaired. They thought that was the end of it. Then along came a buyer who had his own inspector and found several more items. Now, of course, the buyer wants them fixed. The seller is saying no, he’s not paying for any more fixes. He had a pre-inspection done, and the repairs were made. He may think the buyer is trying to rip him off.” Weidman says that cases like these are the reason not to complete a pre-listing inspection. “Why not wait to have the inspection done and covered by the contract?” Weidman asks. “Isn’t that what the contract is for?”

Others disagree. “The questions is, why should a seller pay for the expense of a home inspection when any smart buyer is probably going to hire their own inspector anyway?” asks Russell Spornberger, Georgia home inspector. “Preparation is the answer: ‘forewarned is forearmed’.” Spornberger says that having a pre-listing inspection can arm the seller with information they may not have had about their home. Few sellers, he says, will take the time to climb onto the roof or take a look at their electric panel. “By doing a pre-listing inspection,” he says, “a seller can learn the true condition of their home from an objective observer. Using the pre-listing inspection, and without the pressure of a pending sale, the seller, working with his or her listing agent, can develop a strategy that will ensure the house will be sold quickly and smoothly.”

“A pre-inspection catches what the buyer may find during their own inspection,” says Athina Boukas, broker and Realtor in North Carolina. Boukas is strongly in favor of pre-listing inspections, saying that they have many advantages: for example, the pre-listing inspection report can be presented to a potential buyer in order to reveal all information about the home immediately and start off with full confidence. “It is less likely that the buyer will renegotiate the offer after their own inspection,” Boukas adds, “because it is less likely they will find a surprise or a new deal breaker.” Although the decision about whether or not to have a pre-listing inspection ultimately falls on the seller, real estate agents should note both sides of the argument and decide for themselves which side they fall on.​