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In almost every real estate sale I’ve witnessed over my last 25 years as a home inspector, buyers have negotiated away at least $1000.00 of the price of a home, for diddly stuff that could have been prevented, and in some cases more than $15,000.00 for somewhat important stuff, that could have been fixed before putting the home up for sale.

A home inspection performed prior to placing the home on the market is a no brainer, yet most sellers think this is a waste of money. Let me show you how wrong they are.

Lets say a seller invests a few hundred dollars in a pre-listing home inspection (typically anywhere from $325 for a condo or small home, to around $700) The inspector will spend approximately 3 hours checking every significant component and system in the home that is visible and accessible. Upon completion of checking your roof, crawling through your attic spaces, your basements and crawls, running your heating and cooling and looking at the plumbing, electrics and the structural aspects, he or she will write a detailed report that details any deficiencies and highlights areas of concern.

Once this investigation and the documentation is done, the owner can make decisions that can ultimately develop a pricing strategy that will help to accelerate the sale of this home.

By disclosing the needs of the home to future buyers you have in many cases taken these items off the bargaining table for future negotiations. More importantly armed with the knowledge that there are some areas of need… if you choose to address them you can reduce the items of contention to increase the desirability of the home.

Many times it is not the cost of a repair that upsets a buyer. It is the fear of the unknown. The money pit factor…that scares them.

The average buyer is not particularly house savvy. I don’t mean this to be rude, but few buyers really know what things cost. So when they see a home that needs a roof, they must also compute in the hassle of finding a roofer, dealing with the mess and not knowing how soon the guy will show up, if the job will be done right, and if indeed it will ever get done.

So a $5,000 roof in negotiation becomes $8,000 figuring some buffer for grief. Multiply this attitude time 5 items of contention and we can quickly see the price of the home whittled away, realtor commissions reduced, and more typically buyers walking away from a good house because of the fear of the unknown.

Smart realtors are beginning to offer staging advice to sellers. Deoderize, paint and unclutter are the buzz words but when it comes to telling a seller they should invest in their home before marketing it…most realtors are skittish about raising the discussion. They fear losing the listing if they recommend spending money to make the home sell.

Anyone who has successfully sold a car, knows that a good detailing, tune-up, oil change and lubrication will impress a buyer into feeling the car has been well maintained. Many a clunker has been sold just because the owner had the smarts to give it a new set of tires and a good washing.

Houses that are pre-inspected are an even better investment and the residuals will follow with careful and planned improvements.

Significant dollars can be made in freshening up the paint and carpets, but upgrading a leaky water heater, fixing a bad roof and getting rid of the asbestos will really help to sell the home faster and for more money. Removing the fear factor does work.

And don’t forget that the longer a home sits on the market the more it costs to carry that sale (typically about one grand a month). For realtors that is your commission slipping through your fingers, but for the seller it is a grim reminder that bad decisions like selling a home “as is” will often get you less than what you wanted to make on the home.

In every instance, that is, 100% of the homes we have pre-inspected, not only has the seller made back the inspection fee, but they have sold their home quicker and for more money. And the inspection has helped to market the home as being “pre-inspected”. Maybe you should re-read this paragraph.

If you truly want to sell that home while others around you are worrying about the real estate downturn, you’d better start thinking outside the box. Get your home pre-inspected.

Stephen Gladstone is the President/Owner of Stonehollow,Inc. Fine Home Inspections in Lower Fairfield County and was the National President of the American Society of Home Inspectors in 2004. His radio show… “Around the House with Steve Gladstone” can be heard Saturday Mornings on WSTC 1400 am and WNLK 1350 am from 8 am til 9 each week. For a free newsletter with important home safety tips check out www.stonehollow.com

So let’s talk about the basics…
Fire extinguishers should be minimally located in areas of greatest risk. These could be in your kitchen, in a family room where there is a fireplace, in a hobby area or workshop, in your garage, near your heating system and in your car. Your specific needs and the type of extinguisher to buy have to do with the potential fire risk. For most homes it’s more likely that the fire will be paper, fabric or wood… so an ABC type unit is most desirable. These discharge a dry powder that smothers the fire and is not a conductor of electricity. Special fire extinguishers should be used for grease and combustible fuel fires. For electrical fires there are other more effective units.
For most of us a five pound unit will be more than enough firepower for a small home accident.

Remember befor you try to put out a fire, call 911 first. Make sure help is responding and on the way. Secondly, get others out of the building. If the fire is small and the conditions are still appropriate to try to fight the fire, follow the following acronym PASS

P- Pull the pin. Most extinguishers have a pin that prevents the accidental discharge of the unit. Once the pin is pulled you can squeeze the handle.

A- Aim Make sure the nozzle is facing the fire and if there is a hose hold it in the direction of the base of the fire. Most fires should be fought by aiming the stream of the discharge at the base of the flames.

S- Squeeze. Squeeze the trigger or handle, once the pin is pulled this should be easy to do.

S- Sweep from Side to Side. Aim the powder discharge at the fire. Sweep side to side at the base of the flames til the fire is out. If you cannot get it to go out… you are done, get out and wait for help.

Some other tips:

When you buy a new extinguisher remember to place the purchase date on the unit. That way you will always know how old it is.

If you have antique fire extinguishers in your home (red or gray glass globes, or brass or copper pump type units, or cans that look like juice cans), remember that many of these contain carbon tetrachloride. These devices can harm you if use them. Dispose of them properly. As a home inspector I find these in older homes quite frequently. They can be very dangerous.

Teach everyone in your home where the extinguishers are. Make sure everyone knows they are not a toy and how to use them.

If you are older and concerned that you may not be able to pull the pin on the handle. Pre- cut the plastic so it will be easier for you to use in an emergency.

Develop an emergency meeting place just putside the home to assemble, to make sure everyone is out and accounted for.

Make sure your house is numbered and easy to locate. Minutes wasted by the EMS, Fire & Police searching for your home could be the difference between life and death.

Have fire drills and change smoke alarm and Carbon monoxide alarm batteries twice a year.

Teach your children and grandchildren. They may ultimately save you.

For more tips on safety download my newsletter at www.stonehollow.com

Steve Gladstone is the President of the Belltown Volunteer Fire Department in Stamford.
He is a firefighter for over thirty years and has been a deputy fire marshal and fire inspector. For many years he ran an anti-arson youth program in Stamford. The Belltown Fire Department is always looking for new Members (we will train You) call us at 203-327-6824 for more information. If you have a group interested in a free home safety presentation contact Steve directly at steve@stonehollow.com, or 203 327-6824