Expert: Matt Heisler - 7/2/2007

Question
We are selling our 8 year old home and have the inspection tomorrow. As far as we know there are not any problems. We have maintained every system  annually and took very good care of the home. Are there any typical "surprise" that happen in homes  in this area?

Answer
Hello -

Well you didn't mention your area,  but I'll assume your local - it makes little difference anyway.  So a little information about home inspections and how they work in practice.
1) EVERY home has problems.  Even if you don't have "emergency " issues, you likely have maintenance issues that you didn't expect.  For example, it is very common for a 10 year-old home to have settling of the grade (the lot) near the foundation.  This creates a slope that runs water against the foundation.  Slight, but important!!  Home inspectors rarely miss it and point it out.  So you may feel that your house doesn't have any problems, but I assure you, a home inspector will.
2) Home Inspections should be about the buyer begining to learn about the house they are buying.  The potential issues, trouble spots, things to do, etc.  But this is different from the negotiation.
3) Home Inspections Negotiations are about MONEY.  Houses are very expensive.  Most realtors use Home Inspections to get a little back for their buyer.  It's very price range sensitive.  Most buyers are unhappy with an 800K home that has issuses with the facia boards, (the edge boards on the house that tend to rot often), but at 300K you basically expect some issues to be along with the house.  Part of this is that cheaper homes are older, and in general, have more issues.
4) So, whether you have significant issues or not, be prepared to negotiate.  Buyers can be hard to come by - don't lose this one over a few hundred dollars in fixes.
5) And YES there are a running list of 8 year issues.  Here are just a few:
A) Radon (cost to seller: $1000-1500).  I bet you bought your house new and never tested for Radon.  Oops! If the buyer finds Radon you'll be buying a mitigation system.
B) Grading issues as noted above!
C) Facia boards as noted above.  Most builders don't put enough paint on a house to last 8 years.  Unless you've repainted, I bet that you have rot somewhere, unless you have vinyl siding.
D) Foundation cracks.  Leaking water or not, many buyers today ask for vertical cracks in the foundation to be fixed. Especially in the higher price ranges.

There's many more!!!  Most homeowners only address items when its clear that its a problem.  So be prepared.  And in the future, if you're going to worry about it, have a pre-emptive home inspection.  For $500, you can let buyers know that your house is in good shape.