We got our own inspection prior to selling my parents' house. We wanted to know if there was anything that would surprise us down the road and fix up anything before listing. Since we found nothing substantial, we told potential buyers they were free to do their own inspection or see ours. Since we sold without a real estate company, this was quite valuable. The buyer wanted us to give him a discount since the roof was about 15 yrs old, but the inspection said it was in good condition.

In what circumstances? In the event they are wanting to buy a home.

I'm sorry it was a long night.
If you'd like advice, and at this point , I'm leery of me.
I'd only do it:
As a selling incentive.
To address maintenance issues prior to disclosure agreement.
If you can afford to fix or are prepared to negotiate with any repairs.

I mentioned after our thorough inspection that we should invest in this service prior to placing home on market. My husband disagreed.

If you have a contingency deadline it might be a consideration so no suprises that would kill the deal show up. In our state it is up to the buyer to pay for this service (either out of pocket or at closing) our lender did not require it of the buyer though I can't imagine buying a home without my own inspection (even if the seller just had one done).

This post was edited by houseofsticks on Fri, Jul 25, 14 at 0:16

Think of it this way...
Either way, everything is going to be looked at. If you find it first, you have many more options and more time to decide what and how to handle the issues. If the buyer finds the issues, then you have to deal with the issues AND the buyer.

"In what circumstances? In the event they are wanting to buy a home."

I think you're referring to a buyer getting an inspection, which is a given. I'm asking about the seller getting a pre-listing inspection.

I'm wondering what the advantages and disadvantages might be.

Disadvantages are:
You have to disclose certain things on the disclosure form. If you don't have the pre-inspection, your buyers inspector will probably find it, but if not, it won't be your problem.

However, it is probably best to do it up front, fix what needs fixing (or disclose if it is too much to do) and have the buyers make their offer based on knowns instead of unknowns.

It's the norm in our market; usually the seller gets the inspection and fixes any major issues, and then it goes into the disclosure packet so that anybody bidding on the house can factor any remaining repairs into their offer. People do often get their own buyer's inspections too, but then any negotiations are around new issues that were missed in the seller's inspection. It's also not uncommon for a buyer to waive the inspection contingency based on the seller's inspection, since our area is a seller's market right now. Major disadvantage, as a PP noted, is that you have to disclose whatever's found in it, but assuming a potential buyer would get an inspection anyway, it can eliminate big surprises.

I would never sell without getting a home inspection first. If you get a reputable one, there should be no surprises even if the buyer desires their own inspection. It's a minimal expenditure with a larger payoff. You are now coming from a position of power in the negotiation for a nominal amount, if your inspection is clean. If there are major repairs required, you will have time to correct them or inform potential buyers without having major surprises that will impact the number that was originally negotiated upon. I think a seller's inspection is a no brainer whether you have a Realtor or not.

I just bought a house. It was built in 1994. The seller had owned the house for 10 years. I asked if they had a new home inspection, or the one from when they bought it. They didn't.
I did the home inspection myself. Besides the hot tub not working, and a screen door not closing, everything looked good, except....I looked at the plumbing, which had a nice looking manifold syaten, with shut offs to each branch. The sellers broker said it was PEX tubing, which is popular. I dug around the attic under insulation, and wrote down the numbers/letters on the tubing, and found out after net research, that it was Polybutylene tubing, that they stopped using in 1994. Class action suit against manfacturer paid to repipe peoples houses. Got a price of 3K to repipe with PEX with 25 year warranty.
I told the Broker I wanted 3K off the price, and after she researched it, convinced the seller, (relatives of hers) that they had to do it. They agreed.
They were pissed that the inspection by a "Pro" didn't show this defect.
Let the buyer beware.
I think home inspectors guarantee their work. But it only cover up to what the inspection cost! Great guaranty!
When I emailed the seller wanting 3k off the price, I mentioned if I did not buy the house, she and the seller would have to disclose the plumbing problem.

There's no way to enforce disclosures to the next buyer, is there?