In the past, it has been the home buyer who arranges a home inspection. But now, some home sellers have their home inspected before putting it on the market. A licensed inspector is hired to inspect the home just as he/she would for a buyer after a contract is negotiated.

There are at least two advantages of a seller-initiated inspection. One, the seller learns of any serious defects in the house and can either fix them, or adjust the price accordingly. Two, a potential buyer may feel more comfortable buying a home which has already had an inspection, and which they can review, along with the invoices for work which took care of the problems.

True, some buyers may want to have the property inspected again by their own hired inspector, and the seller and the Realtors® involved will encourage them to do so. But being able to review an inspection of a house that they like, should give a buyer a better idea of which defects (and all houses have them) the buyer can live with and they ones which the CAN"T live with, and then be able to make an educated offer.