ed sales: a pre-listing inspection.

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ed sales: a pre-listing inspection.
By FRANK
NELSON
Special to The Times
and perhaps stressfhl experience.
"I figured it was going to drag
on for months and months," she
tered nurse, a total of only 3% 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
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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 t k
d s' ahng openness and
good f a i t h s % i ~ s a r n e time unearthing any unpleasant surprises.
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wi-
b@ a $508,000 condominium fn
t
e
a a small caa;stat town a few' miles.
south of S a Z a Barbara.
~lthougha number of @rs
giaoothed the process, W o says an fp@wtIon
report c o ~ o n e in
d advauce by the
sellers played a hug? part in her decision
to buy and helped speed the sale.
As l i w w sales continue to bog down
- last month Southern California sales
were the slowest fqr any July since 1995, ,
amording to DataQulck Infannation Systenp - pwperty owners are turning to
new stratenfes.
ers and sellem clos
ingly. "To me, the w r t meant they w
to the next level -
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n tax'' bill that'%BNld ... .wo@d,be
18 model homes
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n't want repairs, and they cer-
lply don't want surprises. If
ay know they have to do some
jfk, they can at least prepare
-that."
The National Assn. of Certi'd Home Inspectors, based in
lulder, Colo., also has noted a
;e in the number of inspections '
rried out for sellers, though
under Nick Gromicko says
ey do not have national statis:s
However, on a local level,
rornicko does have some fig-es: "Our Denver chapter went
om doing less than 2% of their
spectionsfor sellers last year to
ling 28% for sellers in 2007."
When Jack Lucarelli and his
ife, Jeannie Wilson, decided to A &TAILED CHECK: Home inspector Joseph Lang checks out
tit their Toluca Lake home on
ie market for $3.75 million, they mates that the number of home- here are the receipts and now
~llowed?gent Miller's sugges- owners choosing this option has you don't need to deal with
on and first had an inspection. risen about 5% in the last year.
this.' "
The way it turned out, they
He says the practice is much
That approach certainly apeed hardly have bothered. As more common in Northern Cali- pealed to Robert and Judy Par;obWood, senior inspector with fornia, especially in the Bay kinson. Longtime Los Angeles
Jurlland-basedLaRocca Inspec- Area, and he expectsthe trend to residents before moving to OreIon Associates, combed through continue to grow. When home- gon two years ago, they are in the
leir 3,700-square-foot, two- owners kn& the condition of process of selling a Montrose
was hard-pressed their property, they can avoid a house they've owned as a rental
gwrong.
lot of problems and price accord- for about five years.
A li e di;y rot in one post in ingly."
.
Robert Parkinson says it was
h e . w Q a r d , two faulty sink
Lisa Endza, director of com- because they had never lived in
toppers, a loose faucet and a -tiow
for the Boulder- the property, which is almost 90
racked tile in the driveway. Yt , based n&ional home inspectors years old, that they opted for the
ost us about $18 for repairs," group, says the cost of inspec- pre-listing insp
~ucarellisays, adding that the tions ranges from $300 to $600, wanted $0 do the
lean bill of health did not sur- depending on the size and age of and know the con&n of the
lrise him.
house before we put it on the
the property.
He saysthat he and his wife Tom Valinote of Thousand market," he says.
loth of whom work in the enter- Oaks, who inspected Mello's Car"We didn't want to get into esainment industry -have done a pinteria condo for the sellers, crow and have someone do their
ot to the 1936 Spanish Mediter- runs Pillar to Post franchise of- own report and have a bunch of
anepn-style home and always fices in Carnarillo and Goleta. surprises. We mostly wanted to
:epLthe place in top shape. "But Armed with a digital camera, know that the price we're as-,
ve Fought the inspection and laptop and a 1,600-point check- $615,000, is a good, fair, solid
ermite inspection were irnpor- list, he typically spends two to price. We wanted to have a real
*antto alleviate any fears or anx- three hours working through a clear idea of the condition of the
eties about any internal, hidden house for an average cost of $425. house and do any work that
~rol?lems,"he says. "It's an addInspections give sellers op- needed doing. We felt that put us
.convenience to the pur- tions, he says.
in a stronger position."
:baser."
"They can say to the buyer:
The inspection brought to
Chris rightsm man, co-owner 'We bund these problems. But light a number of issues, he says,
3f LaRocca Inspection, sees
we wanted to make sure we sold the main ones being some,
hese types of inspections be- tHe house in the best condition
:oming more prevalent and esti- possible. So; we fixed things,
CLEAN BILL:
An inspection of
Jack Lucarelli
and Jeannie
Wilson'shome
tuned up a few
issues, including
a little dry rot,
"Ztcost us
about $18for
repairer,"he says.
Zen.
Most common'proble&spots
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ARCHITECT'S VIEWPOINT
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problems that come to light
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- FRANKNELSON
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h a a g the inspection and
sqpding about W,500 on repaim
w@ good moves.
. '
&%!he Parkinsons' writ, Gem
Wnkerton, with Richard Keil-
holtz Realtors in La Cgdada
Flintridge, says the fixdback
,from potential buyers to the
roughly 30-page pre-listhg inspection report has been very
positive.'
,
People assume because the
house is old that it must need a
lot of work, she $iiys,,?~utthe report shows that it dbesn't. It's a
huge relief for people to know
that."