Pre-Listing Home Inspection in Metro Detroit
Identify concerns before buyers do and reduce surprises during negotiation.
15% off for active and retired military, first responders, nurses, and teachers. Any inspection — just mention it when you book.
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What It Is
What a pre-listing inspection covers.
A pre-listing inspection is the same comprehensive inspection, run before your home goes on the market. Sellers who do this control the narrative instead of reacting to it.
The advantage is simple: you find out what a buyer's inspector will find, on your timeline, with time to get competitive repair quotes instead of accepting whatever credit the buyer demands under deadline pressure. Deals fall apart at the inspection contingency more than almost any other point — a pre-listing inspection takes most of that surprise off the table before the buyer's inspector ever shows up.
It also builds trust. Providing a recent, independent inspection report signals confidence and often shortens negotiation considerably.
Same scope, same 24-hour photo report, same plain-English priorities.
Scope
Systems inspected
Who It's For
When a pre-listing inspection pays for itself.
Not every seller needs one. If you're selling as-is to an investor who's going to gut the place, skip it. For everyone else, these are the situations where a $399 inspection routinely saves a multiple of that at the negotiating table:
- Homes built before 1980. A buyer's inspector will find things. The only question is whether you learn about them on your schedule or theirs.
- You're pricing at the top of the market. Top-of-market pricing only holds if the inspection doesn't hand the buyer a reason to reopen it.
- Estate sales, vacant homes, and out-of-state sellers. Nobody currently knows the condition of the house. A report replaces guessing.
- Selling without an agent. You don't have someone managing the inspection contingency for you. Going in with your own report evens that out.
- A deal already fell apart at inspection. If it happened once, the same findings are waiting for the next buyer. Fix them or price them in before you relist.
- The house has been "updated." Finished basements, added bathrooms, and kitchen remodels done without permits are the most common source of late-stage renegotiation in this market. Better you know first.
What To Expect
What sellers usually hear from me.
Most pre-listing reports in Metro Detroit come back with the same handful of items, and most of them are cheap to fix compared with what a buyer will ask for them. Missing GFCI protection in kitchens, baths, and garages. Bath fans venting into the attic instead of outside. Double-tapped breakers. Water heaters and furnaces past their expected service life. Grading that slopes toward the foundation and downspouts that dump next to it. Roof flashing that's been caulked instead of repaired. Minor active leaks under sinks. Windows with failed seals.
None of that is a deal-killer. All of it becomes a deal-killer when a buyer discovers it under a ten-day contingency and starts asking for credits. The report lists each item with a photo and a plain-English note on whether it's a safety issue, a maintenance item, or something a buyer's inspector will flag but that you can reasonably leave alone. You decide what to fix, what to quote, and what to price in.
What you won't get from me is a padded report. I don't invent findings to look thorough, and I don't soften real ones because you're the one paying. The value of a pre-listing inspection is that it's the same report a buyer would get — that's the only reason it's worth anything to you.
Process & Pricing
How it works and what it costs.
1. Book 2–4 weeks out
Before listing photos, so there's time to get quotes and make repairs. Online or call 586-522-8733.
2. Inspection day
Two to four hours, same InterNACHI® scope as a buyer inspection. Drone roof documentation, attic camera and FLIR thermal scan included. Vacant homes are fine with a lockbox.
3. Report in 24 hours
Photo-documented Spectora report, prioritized. Yours to keep, share, or hand to your contractor.
4. Fix, quote, or price it in
Repair it with your own contractor at your price, get quotes and offer a credit up front, or adjust the list price. All three beat a buyer's demand under a deadline.
5. List with confidence
Many sellers post the report with the listing. A recent, independent inspection tells buyers there's nothing to find — and shortens negotiation.
$399 for a typical single-family home up to roughly 2,000 square feet, with modest steps up for larger homes. Larger, older, or more complex properties scale from there, and you get a firm price before anything is scheduled. Add a sewer scope ($199) if the home was built before 1980 or has mature trees near the sewer line — a failed lateral is the single most expensive late-stage surprise in this market, and knowing before you list takes it off the table. Radon testing ($175) is worth adding in Oakland County. Active and retired military, first responders, nurses, and teachers get a permanent 15% Heroes Discount.
One honest note: the InterNACHI® Buy-Back Guarantee and Inspection Warranty are buyer-inspection programs. They don't apply to pre-listing inspections.
See the full price list — every size tier, the older-home and distance adjustments, add-ons and the Heroes Discount.
Questions
Pre-listing inspection questions.
Do I have to disclose what the inspection finds?
Michigan sellers complete a Seller's Disclosure Statement covering the conditions they know about, so once a defect is in your report, it belongs on the statement. Most sellers see that as the whole point: fix it or price it, and there's no surprise waiting for the buyer's inspector. Your agent or attorney can advise on how to present specific items.
Will the buyer still get their own inspection?
Usually yes, and they should. A pre-listing inspection isn't meant to replace theirs. It means theirs finds nothing you didn't already know about and, ideally, nothing at all.
How far ahead of listing should I schedule?
Two to four weeks before photos. That's enough time to get competitive repair quotes and have the work done before the house goes live. If you're already listed, it's still worth doing before an offer comes in.
Is it the same as a buyer inspection?
Same scope, same InterNACHI® Standards of Practice, same 24-hour Spectora report. The only difference is who's paying and when. That's exactly what makes it useful.
Can I share the report with buyers?
Yes. It's your report. Many sellers post it with the listing or include it with their disclosures. It's a snapshot of the home on the inspection date, so if you make repairs afterward, keep the receipts with it.
What if you find something big?
I tell you what it is, what it typically costs to address, and whether it's urgent. Then it's your call: repair it with your own contractor at your price, get quotes and offer a credit, or price it in. Every one of those is cheaper than a buyer's repair demand under a contingency deadline.
Do I need to be there?
It helps but it isn't required. Vacant and occupied homes both work. If you attend, come for the last 45 minutes and I'll walk you through everything that matters.
Service Area
Available across Southeast Michigan
Schedule your inspection.
Most requests answered same day.
Or send the details and I’ll quote it.