Matt and Garrett have been preaching the pre-listing home inspection for many, many years, and today they devote an entire episode to break down why. Pre-listing home inspections are an important step to make sure you’re putting people in safe homes. They also increase buyer confidence, raise your trustworthiness, protect both buyers and sellers, and decrease stress for all parties involved. They offer up all the knowledge you need to negotiate from a place of power, and to achieve the best possible offers for your clients. They prevent contracts from falling through during the transaction phase, since everything has already been disclosed, and help you avoid having to put a home back on the market - a huge red flag for potential buyers. Our hosts point out that top producers almost always have the pre-listing inspection built into their process, and even though you may uncover an issue or discover that your seller is unwilling to negotiate, Matt and Garrett explain that this will come out in the process no matter what. It’s better to find out before you’ve invested your time, energy, and marketing dollars into a property. You can fix the problem or simply disclose it to buyers so they know exactly what they are dealing with. In addition to offering clarity, confidence, and marketing appeal, pre-listing home inspections also give you peace of mind as an agent, knowing that all parties are completely informed about the property being purchased. And they serve as another opportunity to demonstrate your role as a trusted advisor, and raise the value level of the industry as a whole. Join the growing Ninja Selling Podcast group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/theninjasellingpodcast, where you can ask questions, give advice, and connect with other Ninjas. If you have not been accepted to the group yet, please check your messages for a follow-up from Matt. You can also leave a voicemail with your direct feedback at 208 MY-NINJA.    Episode Highlights: Matt and Garrett have been preaching pre-listing home inspections for many years This part of the process may not be necessary, but it is advisable and it will help your clients get better offers You may find something wrong with the property, but this is going to come up no matter what Part of the listing agent’s responsibility is helping sellers with whatever defects or issues come up Homeowners Disclosure is still required, but homeowners do not always know what they need to disclose Important to put people in safe homes It would be extremely unfair to skip pre-listing home inspection to the parties that rely on you to be their expert Garrett’s story of an inspector who discovered that homeowners had slapped a coat of paint over rotten material Matt loves pre-listing home inspections because it helps you avoid the second round of negotiations They allow you to negotiate everything upfront and have all the knowledge you need to achieve the best contract possible Even if you think buyers are getting higher offers than ever right now, completing pre-listing home inspections can help them do even better It also helps eliminate buyers’ fears that something is wrong with the house, and they’ll be that much more confident putting in a great offer It offers clarity and lets buyers know exactly what they’re dealing with Analogy of buying a used car versus a certified pre-owned car Having the home pre-inspected can also be used as a great marketing tool Helps avoid having the home go under contract, and then go back on the market - this is a huge red flag for potential buyers Gives you peace of mind knowing all parties were completely informed about what was purchased Makes you more trustworthy as an agent and protects your clients A seller who does not want to complete a pre-home inspection is also a red flag Pre-listing home inspections increase your trustworthiness, confidence with the buyers, and decrease stress for all parties It also adds a huge convenience factor, and consumer