Why sellers need a home inspection

Q: I was wondering if you recommend hiring a home inspector before putting a home up for sale? This was recommended to us by a friend, but homebuyers are likely to hire their own inspector. So what good does it do us to pay for an additional home inspection?

A: There are four ways that sellers can benefit from a presale home inspection:

• Providing an inspection report to the people who buy your home demonstrates that you have nothing to hide as a seller. It establishes a basis of trust among the parties to the transaction and thereby increases the likelihood of closing the deal in an atmosphere of good relations.

• If an undisclosed defect is discovered after the sale of the property, it is less likely that you will be suspected of having deliberately concealed the problem, especially if the home inspector you hire is someone with a reputation for thoroughness.

• When you present an inspection report to buyers at the outset of the transaction, it eliminates the need to renegotiate the terms of the deal after the buyers hire their own home inspector (assuming, of course, that the home inspector you hired did a thorough job). In most transactions, sellers anxiously await the outcome of the buyers’ home inspection, hoping that some adverse revelation will not kill the deal. A presale home inspection eliminates this tense ordeal.

• A presale inspection enables you to conduct an as-is sale while still meeting your obligation to provide disclosure. You simply state that you are selling the property in its current condition, as you provide a full report of what that condition is.

Presale home inspections offer strong advantages for sellers, yet few sellers exercise this option or are even aware of it as a consideration. Realtors would do well to promote home inspections when listing properties for their clients.

Q: How can I find pre-1985 building codes online. I was told that conditions that were legal when my house was built are subject to the “grandfather” rule and need not be upgraded to newer building standards. Is this true, and if so, how can I verity it?

A: Copies of old building codes, such as the 1985 Uniform Building Code, are available online if you conduct a specific search. However, to the untrained reader, the codes are not easily understood due to the esoteric language in which they are written.

According to the so-called “grandfather” rule, a building is only required to comply with codes that were in effect at the time of construction, unless specific upgrade requirements have been enacted. For example, all homes must have smoke alarms, regardless of whether smoke alarms were required when the home was built, and fireplace chimneys must have spark arresters, regardless of older standards.

For specific answers to code questions, you don't need to read the code. Just contact your local building department. Hopefully, the building official can tell you what was and what is required and can translate the codes into comprehensible verbiage.

• Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. Questions to Barry Stone can be emailed to barry@housedetective.com.