When I bought my first Lexus it was a  pre-certified car. The dealer had  repaired all the items that needed to be repaired it even came with a six month warranty. In fact it looked and smelled just like a new car.Why did my Lexus  dealer market the car to me as a pre-certified car? The reason is because he knew I  would be willing to pay more for the car if it was fixed up and came with a warranty.

I always recommend  to my sellers that  it is  smart to start with a pre-home inspection   to eliminate  any unknown nasty surprises. Once we know what is wrong ,we can take our time and get these items repaired. This is a big advantage to the seller because he can choose  which contractor   he wants to use, and which and option is best to correct the problem. This can save the seller thousands of dollars by  choosing to get the roof certified  , for example  rather than having the roof replaced,  which  the buyer is  likely to demand  if  the buyer were to find out  about the roof during his home inspection. In a  real estate market favoring the buyer, the home inspection is often used  to negotiate the seller down in price.  Buy having a pre-home inspection , and showing all the prospective buyers  the home inspection  and how all the repairs were completed it eliminates this big bargaining chip that favors the buyer.Quite often we can even get the buyer to waive the home inspection which really makes the transaction more hassle – free.

I also ask the seller to include a one year home owner warranty which allows me to market my listing as a pre -certified home. My seller now has a real competitive   advantage over most other sellers. Buyers feel good about buying a house without problems ,and they love the home warranty.This is the best way to maximise the the seller’s profits, and getting the home sold more quickly.

You can contrast this method of marketing a home with the way banks are marketing their bank owned properties. They sell them for bottom dollar, they sell them in as in condition ,without a warranty of any kind. This kind of marketing leads to sinking real estate values and more foreclosures and a continuing depressed real estate market.

I understand there are many sellers that will not have the financial resources to market their home as a pre -certified home, but I think it is the best way to market a home for those sellers that do have the financial resources.