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As a real estate agent, it’s your job to prepare your buyer for the stages of the home-buying process – one of them being the inspection phase.

While the home-buying process is no walk-in-the-park, you can make it easier on your client just by being open and honest with them through every stage. This way, they’ll know what to expect and what to get ready for.

The inspection phase is often thought of as a “simple” step, but it’s crucial to know what your buyer might have to navigate through towards the end of the transaction. Because this is one of the final steps before closing a deal, you [as the real estate agent] should make your buyer aware of what may come back in the results.

Check out some of our tips below to prepare your client for the inspection phase:

Define the Home Inspection Stage

Your client is looking to you for guidance and advice – especially if they are a first-time homebuyer.

Give your buyer a rundown of what to expect during the home inspection. Remind them that the home inspection will most likely come back with some issues to be fixed, which is very normal. Not every home is perfect.

Take Notes Beforehand

Be sure to tell your client what will and will not be checked during the home inspection – every inspector is different. Components that might be left out include:

• Trees and landscaping
• Lawn sprinklers
• Sewer line
• Swimming pool
• Fireplace
• Drainage
• Odors
• Internet Service
• Floors covered by carpet
• Roof or outdoor covered by snow
• Mice, rats, or other rodents
• Wood-destroying pests

If there are any items that are concerning for your buyer before the inspection stage, make sure to relay those to the inspector, as they may be able to explain their inspection process.

Suggest that they also be there on inspection day (if that is allowed by the inspector).

Review the Report

Before reviewing, tell them to take a deep breath. An inspector’s review can seem overwhelming, but as stated before: no home is perfect. This isn’t a pass or fail test, but rather, a future to-do list.

Reviewing the report ensures that you and the buyer understand any dates or repair schedules that might need to happen sooner rather than later.

The report can also give your buyer some negotiating power! While the seller technically doesn’t have to bring the home up to code if there is a problem, you and your buyer might have wiggle room if there aren’t many buyers on the table.

If they love the home, the location, and the price – the inspection report acts as a list that they can tackle as they see fit (if the issues brought up are not time sensitive). Overall, the inspection report is there to help your buyer make a sound investment.

Check out Alliance’s Blog for more real estate tips and guides!