Friend vs. . . Foe Not Friend
In the Twin Cities, ten municipalities require home sellers to have their home inspected prior to sale (in some cases, prior to listing).
Some of those cities (Bloomington, St. Louis Park) have their own city inspectors; others, like Minneapolis, outsource the job to an approved list of independent contractors.
What difference does it make to the home owner?
Inspector Discretion
If a city employee is doing the inspection, my advice to homeowners is to get their home (mostly) prepped for sale beforehand.
While the scope of the city inspection is generally limited to health and safety issues, a cluttered (if not derelict) home invites more scrutiny than a spruced-up one.
Enlisting an Ally
By contrast, if the city allows the homeowner to choose their own inspector (from an approved list), I recommend using an inspector I know and trust — and holding off on house prep till after they’ve been through.
Not only will such an inspector call only “in-bounds” repair-or-replace items (“R&R’s”), but they’ll give the homeowner (and their agent!) a “heads up” on any other issues that could be a problem during the later, more rigorous Buyer’s inspection.
“Ounce of Prevention”
In my experience, Sellers are much better off anticipating — and correcting — such issues before coming on the market, than dealing with them after the home is under contract, and they threaten to become “deal breakers.”
P.S.: It’s generally allowable for Sellers to assign responsbility for R&R’s to Buyers.
However, the related paperwork and required escrow account is a bureaucratic headache (trust me).
Plus, Buyers will typically deduct $3 – $5 off the sales price for every $1 in repairs they assume.
