What is "The Listing Advantage" ?

The Listing Advantage consists of a:

•  Pre-Listing Inspection
•  'No Denied Claims" home         warranty

The Listing Advantage is an approach to marketing Real Estate that gives the seller following powerful benefits:

• House sells 15% faster
• For 2.2% more
• 29% greater chance the house will sell at all !

In this, or any market, up or down, the home that stands head and shoulders above the crowd is the one that sells first.  

Buyers want to know that there will be no suprises. Houses in top notch conditon will sell first, and for top dollar. 

Sellers should want to give them that peace of mind. And they can with the Listing Advantage.  

The following testimonial is from a rookie Realtor in SC who listed and sold eight houses in 2.5 months this year, 2008.

He used the listing advantage, and even paid for the inspections himself, because he knew he had to differentiate his listings. He also had the homes inspected for termites.

The payment for the warranty wasn't required until closing, so the homeowner wasn't out of pocket.....

Here's what Matthew Thrift had to say:

Subject: Pre-Inspections Work!!!

From “Matthew Thrift” <Matthew Thrift@topproducer.com>     To: sonyaskidmore@advantageinspection.com>, commoncentspest@yahoo.com,

Hello All, I just had to tell you !..........19 Birkhall Circle – Received a ratified/accepted contract 20 days after listing!  This is incredible. Here is my testimonial…you have free will to use as much or as little as you would like:

After being in Real Estate for just over 15 months, I wanted to take my business to the next level.  As most businesses or self-employed people do I looked for anything that I could find that would set me apart from the other 2000 plus REALTORS in the Greenville market area.  I am happy to say that it did not take me long to find exactly what I was looking for.

With every listing I take I automatically order an Advantage Home Inspection.  These inspections are free to my clients and it has proven to be one of the best listing tools I have seen to sell a house.

For example: I listed a house on December 28, 2007 and between the 28^th of December and the 22^nd of January, I had 11 showings and no offers.

On Tuesday, January 22^nd, I had the house inspected by Advantage Home Inspection and Common Cents Pest Control, and I asked the sellers if they would purchase an Advantage Home Warranty for a buyer, which of course they agreed. 

I am happy to say that between Wednesday, January 23^rd and Sunday, January 27^th I had eight more showings and I received an offer TWO days after inspection and had it accepted FOUR days after inspections. And yes there is more:

On January 18^th, 2008 I listed a home in Bonnie Brae Subdivision where the average days on market are currently 83 days.  On Tuesday, January 29^th, I had the house inspected by Advantage Home Inspection and Common Cents Pest Control, and I asked the sellers if they would purchase and Advantage home Warranty for a buyer, which of course they agreed.  I am happy to report that on February 7^th, 2008 ( 19 days after listing and 9 days after inspections, I was able to inform my sellers that their home is under ratified contract.

Doing Real Estate a different way than everyone else has proven to be a key strategy.  In both examples above, I asked the buyer’s agent why buyers chose my listing over others and their answers were inevitably the same…” Because everything was already done.”

One agent even stated to me, “You took the hassle and frustration out of the transaction !”

Pre-Inspections JUST MAKE SENSE!

Thank you Advantage Inspection

Thank you Advantage Home Warranty

Thank you Common Cents Pest Control

Sincerely,   Matthew Thrift

* Reprinted with Permission

An Article from the Los Angeles Times:

A new selling tactic: the pre-listing inspection
Owners hope to head off trouble and speed sales by hiring their own inspectors.
 
By Frank Nelson
Los Angeles Times
August 26, 2007
 
JUDY MELLO wasn't looking forward to buying a new place to live, imagining a lengthy, complicated and perhaps stressful experience.

"I figured it was going to drag on for months and months," she says. "But it wasn't like that at all."

In fact, it took Mello, a retired registered nurse, a total of only 3 1/2 weeks to buy a $500,000 condominium in Carpinteria, a small coastal town a few miles south of Santa Barbara.

Although a number of factors smoothed the process, Mello says an inspection report commissioned in advance by the sellers played a large part in her decision to buy and helped speed the sale.

As housing sales continue to bog down -- last month Southern California sales were the slowest for any July since 1995, according to DataQuick Information Systems -- property owners are turning to new strategies.

One tactic increasingly bringing buyers and sellers closer together is a property inspection obtained by the seller before the home is even listed. A seller's inspection report is not in lieu of one commissioned by the buyer, but it often accomplishes the goal of signaling openness and good faith while at the same time unearthing any unpleasant surprises.

In some cases, a preemptive seller's inspection means repairs, such as leaks or faulty electrical wiring, will likely be completed in advance on the buyer's behalf; less pressing matters may be flagged and the asking price adjusted down accordingly. "To me, the report meant they were definitely interested in selling
and cared about selling to somebody who was going to be satisfied," Mello says. "I felt comfortable that they were thinking of my interests."

Colleen Badagliacco, president of the California Assn. of Realtors, says not so long ago, when sellers were being bombarded with multiple offers, they didn't have to worry that much about the shape of the home.

"Now, the seller has to go the extra mile," she says. For some, the downside means making sure the house is priced right, taking disclosure to the next level -- the more they know, the more they legally have to disclose -- and offering to fix things.

But on the upside, a pre-listing inspection that gives buyers a better idea of where they stand and what, if any, additional work is needed, can also help sellers fend off demands for unrealistic price reductions to cover repairs.

According to Dan Steward, president of Pillar to Post, a nationwide home inspection company, buyers typically expect a $2 to $3 price discount for every $1 worth of defects turned up by their inspector.

With their own report, sellers can choose, for example, to spend a few hundred dollars fixing a plumbing problem that might otherwise mushroom into a claim for more than $1,000 off the price and, in the process, spark further potentially prickly negotiations.

"It definitely makes sense," says Chuck Miller, a 16-year veteran of the real estate business and now associate manager and sales agent with Coldwell Banker in Studio City.

In his own and other real estate companies, he's seen a marked uptick in the number of pre-listing inspections, perhaps a rise of 10% to 15% in the last year, and believes the ploy is helping sales move faster and more smoothly.

"Most people want to turn the key and walk in," he says. "They don't want repairs, and they certainly don't want surprises. If they know they have to do some work, they can at least prepare for that."

The National Assn. of Certified Home Inspectors, based in Boulder, Colo., also has noted a rise in the number of inspections carried out for sellers, though founder Nick Gromicko says they do not have national statistics.

However, on a local level, Gromicko does have some figures: "Our Denver chapter went from doing less than 2% of their inspections for sellers last year to doing 28% for sellers in 2007."

When Jack Lucarelli and his wife, Jeannie Wilson, decided to put their Toluca Lake home on the market for $3.75 million, they followed agent Miller's suggestion and first had an inspection.

The way it turned out, they need hardly have bothered. As Bob Wood, senior inspector with Sunland-based LaRocca Inspection Associates, combed through their 3,700-square-foot, two-story home, he was hard-pressed to find anything wrong.

A little dry rot in one post in the backyard, two faulty sink stoppers, a loose faucet and a cracked tile in the driveway. "It cost us about $18 for repairs," Lucarelli says, adding that the clean bill of health did not surprise him. 
 
He says that he and his wife -- both of whom work in the entertainment industry -- have done a lot to the 1936 Spanish Mediterranean-style home and always kept the place in top shape. "But we thought the inspection and termite inspection
were important to alleviate any fears or anxieties about any internal, hidden problems," he says. "It's an added convenience to the purchaser."

Chris Wrightsman, co-owner of LaRocca Inspection, sees these types of inspections becoming more prevalent and estimates that the number of homeowners choosing this option has risen about 5% in the last year.

He says the practice is much more common in Northern California, especially in the Bay Area, and he expects the trend to continue to grow. "When homeowners know the condition of their property, they can avoid a lot of problems and price accordingly."

Lisa Endza, director of communications for the Boulder-based national home inspectors group, says the cost of inspections ranges from $300 to $600, depending on the size and age of the property.

Tom Valinote of Thousand Oaks, who inspected Mello's Carpinteria condo for the sellers, runs Pillar to Post franchise offices in Camarillo and Goleta. Armed with a digital camera, laptop and a 1,600-point checklist, he typically spends two to three hours working through a house for an average cost of $425.

Inspections give sellers options, he says. "They can say to the buyer: 'We found these problems. But we wanted to make sure
we sold the house in the best condition possible. So, we fixed things, here are the receipts and now you don't need to deal with this.' "

That approach certainly appealed to Robert and Judy Parkinson. Longtime Los Angeles residents before moving to Oregon two years ago, they are in the process of selling a Montrose house they've owned as a rental for about five years.

Robert Parkinson says it was because they had never lived in the property, which is almost 90 years old, that they opted for the pre-listing inspection. "We wanted to do the due diligence and know the condition of the house before we put it on the market," he says.

"We didn't want to get into escrow and have someone do their own report and have a bunch of surprises. We mostly wanted to know that the price we're asking, $615,000, is a good, fair, solid price. We wanted to have a real clear idea of the condition of the house and do any work that needed doing. We felt that put us in a stronger position."

The inspection brought to light a number of issues, he says, the main ones being some plumbing, electrical and roof caulking work. They have now fixed most things and feel that having the inspection and spending about $7,500 on repairs were good moves.

The Parkinsons' agent, Gena Pinkerton, with Richard Keilholtz Realtors in La Cañada Flintridge, says the feedback from potential buyers to the roughly 30-page pre-listing inspection report has been very positive.

People assume because the house is old that it must need a lot of work, she says. "But the report shows that it doesn't. It's a huge relief for people to know that."

Still need convincing ? Read on..........

Pre-Listing Inspections  Benefit the Seller and Offer a "Higher Level of Certainty" for Buyer...

     There is a lot of frustration associated with selling a   home in today's real estate market: the 'mortgage crunch', competitive pricing and a flooded market are all factors putting the seller at a disadvantage.  Home buyers are definitely in the 'driver's seat'. 

Think Outside the Box ...

     In order to get their house sold, sellers have to think outside the box and find ways to differentiate their home from the crowd. Would-be sellers should’nt overlook the power of a pre-listing inspection / warranty combination.

Faster, Easier, More Money...

    “People don’t realize that they can get their house sold quicker, with fewer problems and for more money if they get an inspection on the home before they list it for sale," 

said Philip LaMachio of Advantage Inspection Clear View. 

 “It's much better for the home seller to understand the issues with the house and deal  with them before the buyers arrive.”

     In fact, according to statistics gathered by Advantage Inspection, the benefits of a pre-listing/warranty combination are so powerful that it reduces the time required to sell by fifteen percent, increases average selling price by two percent and actually increases the odds of the house selling at all by twenty nine percent ! 

In and Out of Love...

     "Potential home buyers want a home that is in excellent shape, no matter the age of the home,"   LaMachio said. “Buyers make their home purchasing decisions based on emotion, but it is equally true that a home buyer can fall out of love with a home just as quickly as they fell in love with it.” 

    This often happens when the homebuyer must justify their emotional decision with logic, usually assisted by information from the home inspection.

     Without a pre-inspection, the seller allows a buyer’s inspector to develop a laundry list of issues with the home which can potentially jeopardize the sale of the property.

Switching Drivers....

     With a pre-inspection, backed up by a solid warranty, the seller is in the driver's seat, not at the mercy of a buyer's inspector's findings.

• The seller can then choose to sell the house either "as is' and price accordingly, or fix the problems and get top dollar. ( No need to re-negotiate at the closing table .)
• Gives the seller time to obtain multiple bids and select the best contractors at the best price.
• Makes the home more marketable and in better condition for viewing, thus helping the seller attain the maximum selling price.
• Adds value and certainty that the new owner will be compensated if any warranted items or components break.

Identifying Deal Breakers...Before They Break the Deal !

  "The intent of our pre-Listing Inspection is not only to find the $200 problems but to find the $2,000 problems. These are the things that affect people's decision to purchase," Philip LaMachio said. 

     These type of probems are generally unknown to the seller and can be deal-breakers.

     A home inspection done by a licensed professional home inspector is a thorough, visual examination of the structure and operating components of the home. 

     It includes such components as landscaping effects on the foundation, structural components, roofing, chimneys, gutters and downspouts, siding and trim, attics, plumbing, electrical, heating, interior rooms, and the condition of the basement or crawl space.

       "I understand that a seller doesn't want to hear any bad news," LaMachio said.  “But if you  wait for the buyer’s inspector to find out your home isn’t perfect, you are in a weak bargaining position.  And no home is perfect. As soon as sellers accept that, they are on the way to making their home more marketable, which should be their number one goal.”

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