Property Buying Tips
Why Darwin Sellers Should Inspect Before They List
A pre-sale inspection moves the surprise from the worst moment in a negotiation to the best one: before you have a buyer.
Most sellers wait. The buyer books an inspection, the report comes back, and whatever it found becomes a negotiation you did not choose to have, at the point in the process where you have the least leverage. Inspecting first inverts that.
The leverage argument
An issue you discover before listing is a job you can shop around, schedule at your convenience, and pay trade rates for. The same issue discovered by a buyer's inspector during a cooling-off period is a discount request, and the discount is rarely the cost of the repair. It is the cost of the repair plus the buyer's uncertainty about what else might be wrong.
Buyers do not price defects. They price doubt. A documented, already-fixed issue costs you the repair. An undocumented one costs you the repair and the doubt.
What it does to the sale
- Fewer renegotiations, because there is less left to find.
- Fewer failed contracts, which in a market the size of Darwin's matters — a property that comes back on after a fallen contract carries a question mark.
- Faster decisions from buyers, because a report they can read up front removes the reason to hesitate.
- A credible answer when an agent or buyer asks about the shed, the patio or the pool.
The Darwin-specific version
In the Top End there are three things worth resolving before you list rather than after. Pool barrier compliance, because the standard that applies can change when a property is sold. Approvals on any structure added over the years, because unapproved work transfers to the buyer and they will price it accordingly. And pest, because in this climate a buyer's pest report is the single most likely thing to derail a contract.
What it costs to go first
A pre-sale inspection starts from $260 including GST, with the report back within 72 hours. Set against the cost of one renegotiation, or one contract falling over and the property sitting on the market with a history, it is not a close call.
You can also hand the report to prospective buyers. A seller who volunteers an independent inspection report is making a statement about the property that no amount of listing copy achieves.
Common questions
- Should I get a building inspection before selling my house?
- Yes, if you want to control the timing. Issues found before listing can be fixed at trade rates on your schedule. The same issues found by a buyer's inspector become a discount request at the point where you have least leverage.
- What should Darwin sellers check before listing?
- Pool barrier compliance, approvals for any structure added over the years, and a pest inspection. Those three account for most contract renegotiations in the Top End.
- Can I show my inspection report to buyers?
- Yes, and it is worth doing. An independent report volunteered by the seller builds more confidence than any listing description.
Need an inspection in the Top End?
Flat rate from $260 incl. GST. Digital report within 72 hours.