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July 9, 2025 14 mins

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Imagine finding your dream home, making an offer, and then watching the deal collapse after the inspection. This happens to nearly one-third of all real estate transactions nationwide—a statistic that should make every seller pay attention.

The inspection phase becomes a minefield where 40-50 issues typically emerge, regardless of how well-maintained the property appears. In today's increasingly cautious real estate market, these findings often trigger buyer anxiety that can derail even the most promising sales. We dive deep into the ten most common inspection deal-killers and provide practical, cost-effective solutions to address them before they become problems.

From roof concerns and aging HVAC systems to electrical panel problems and plumbing issues, we reveal why these particular items create such anxiety among buyers. More importantly, we explain how the Certified Pre-Owned approach transforms these potential obstacles into selling advantages. This strategic pre-inspection process reduces deal fallout risk from over 30% to just 7%—a dramatic improvement that directly impacts your bottom line and helps avoid the dreaded "stigmatized listing" syndrome when deals collapse.

We also explore special considerations for properties with wells (where 40-50% show E. coli contamination during inspections) and share why timing matters when addressing repairs. For approximately $500—the cost of a pre-listing inspection—sellers can identify and address issues before they become deal-breaking negotiation points, potentially saving thousands in reduced offers or failed transactions.

Ready to skip the stress of traditional selling? Discover how our Certified Pre-Owned approach helps properties sell faster for more money, or explore our cash offer option where you can close in as little as 14 days with no repairs or showings required. Remember: list smart, not hard!

www.CashCPO.com to find your agent - or get your full market value offer!

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Real Estate News Radio with Rowena
Patton.
That's me, and you can find allyou need at
realestatenewsradiocom.
We bring you straight talkabout real estate without the
fluff.
I'm Rowena Patton and youprobably guessed that, and today
we're diving into somethingthat can make or break your home

(00:23):
sale inspection reports.
We've shown that around 30%nationwide drop out at the
inspection.
This can also happen because ofthe appraisal.
There are two things there.
We talk about certifiedpre-owned homes all the time.
Remember there are over.
If you're buying a home oryou're selling a home and you're
waiting for that inspectionreport, 40, 50 items is not

(00:48):
uncommon.
A 40 to 50 report is notuncommon, and especially in a
more nervous real estate marketwhich is around the country
right now.
That's when buyers could walkaway because they get nervous.
So do it upfront, guys.
So, whether you're thinkingabout selling or you're already
on the market, these are themost 10 common issues inspectors

(01:09):
find and what you can do as theseller yes, the seller to avoid
delays, price cuts or buyerswalking away.
By the way, if you're selling,you don't have to wait for a
buyer's inspection to call theshots.
You can pre-inspect your homeand list it as certified
pre-owned, which helps your homesell faster for more money.

(01:30):
Head over to cashcpocom to geta full market value offer and
even take cash in as little as14 days.
If you don't want to do that,all of our agents are fully
trained in how to help you witha certified pre-owned
conventional listing.
There's a button there to findagents.
So go to cashcpocom and findthe agents that know what

(01:53):
they're doing.
So let's jump into the list.
Roof damage or the age of theroof, inspectors always check
the roof missing shingles, softspots, spots or just plain age
it all gets flagged.
Even if there's no leak, itraises red flags for buyers.
A CPO listing means you'vealready handled or disclosed.

(02:14):
You don't necessarily have tofix it or pay for it.
Roof concerns Visit cashcpocomand see your home's full market
offer or to find an agent thatknows what they're doing.
With certified pre-owned, youcan do a certified pre-owned
conventional listing.
You can even do if you'relisted already and your agent
didn't know about this a reverseCPO, which is basically where

(02:36):
you do the inspection quietly,take care of things.
In many states you don't haveto use a licensed contractor for
the nitpicky little things.
Of course we're not talkingabout the roof, probably there.
Number two, and stay tunedbecause we've got 10 coming for
you.
Hvac issues dirty filters, poormaintenance or just an aging

(02:57):
unit.
Hvac problems scare buyers.
They imagine these big ticketreplacements right away.
Number three electrical panelproblems.
Oh my gosh, I've bought a housebefore where it has the old
knob and tube in and completelyput new panels in.
Remember everything's solvablewith money and time.

(03:19):
Electrical panel problems,outdated panels or double tap
breakers are always flagged.
Buyers want safe, modernelectrical systems and if you've
got the old system in place,people are wondering oh gosh,

(03:39):
does it have that old wiring inplace?
Or the cloth covered wiringthat could be dangerous?
So go ahead and at least getthe panel switched out.
Plumbing leaks or drainageproblems this comes in at.
Number four.
Oh my gosh, this is such acommon one Leaks under sinks or
maybe a soft spot under yoursink where there used to be a
leak.
There's always around this,guys, and it doesn't cost a lot
to do it.
Slow drains or old piping arethe things that pop up in most

(04:05):
reports.
Or there's some piping that wasflagged years ago and these
minor issues can become major ifyou've got a drip going on
obviously can give buyers coldfeet.
Coming in at number five waterheater age.
These ones bug me.
They really bug me because backin the old days and you've

(04:27):
probably seen some refrigeratorsin garages that are still
harvest gold from the 60s yourealize that's 60 years ago and
they're still going strong.
However, these days if you'vegot something nowhere, like a
water heater, if it's over 10years old, it'll be flagged even
if it still works.
So buy a seat is an expensecoming their way.

(04:47):
And another way around this isto offer a home warranty.
A true trifecta for aconventional certified pre-owned
listing is to do the inspection, do the appraisal and also
offer a home warranty.
That is the full trifecta,especially if you're in an area
where houses are sitting longerand you see prices dropping,

(05:11):
which, by the way, most of thecountry.
It's July 9th 2025.
There's very few states leftwhere this is not happening and
obviously in some areas likeTexas, arizona and Florida, it's
happening more rapidly.
Coming in at number six gradingand drainage.
This is a huge one and I see italmost every time.

(05:31):
If you've got land that isgoing downwards towards your
house, you need to create alittle berm area all the way
around or you can do a Frenchdrain.
Dig out a trench and put somegravel in.
Make sure where your HVAC pipeis coming out and it's dripping
there, it isn't dripping downthe wall and you've got all that
moss and everything around.
Buy one of those $10 littlethings that you put underneath.

(05:54):
There's some really basicthings you can do here.
You don't want water poolingnear the foundation or gutters
dumping water too close to thehouse.
These show up all the time andthey talk about foundation
concerns, which really scarespeople.
On that note, and it's a littledifferent.
But don't leave any wood.

(06:15):
Maybe you've got a fire pit oryou've got a wood burning fire
or something like that insidethe home and you're leaving a
pile of wood right next to thehouse.
Don't do that.
That's a termite risk.
It's encouraging termites.
That's what will come up on theinspection report.
What else have we got?
So, coming in at number seven,windows that don't open, lock or

(06:36):
seal.
If I had a dollar for everytime, one of my sellers said, oh
well, the window's fogged.
But it was that way when webought it 20 years ago.
It's very common Fogged glass,broken locks or windows painted.
Another really common one areall inspection notations.
They're often small issues.
However, they can chip away ata buyer's trust.

(06:59):
Not only that, if you've got abedroom with one of those
windows or other windows in thehouse, especially if it's a
government loan or VA loan, thatcould easily be flagged as a
safety risk Number eight.
Gfci outlets missing or brokenoh my gosh, this is so common.

(07:19):
Any wet areas kitchens, baths,garages require a ground fault
circuit interrupter, that'sthose annoying little plugs
where the red button pops outand it closes everything down.
They're there for safety.
It's an easy fix even to putone in most of the time and it

(07:40):
doesn't cost that much.
However, it's another thingthat makes buyers very wary when
it comes up as a safety issue.
And again, on some types ofinspections for some types of
loans and most people aregetting loans these days still
then that comes up and makesthem scared.
You can skip the stress.
Get in front of them with acertified pre-owned listing.

(08:00):
Now you can do a conventionalcertified pre-owned listing and
find your agent at cashcpocom orlet us handle everything.
Cashcpocom to learn how you canwalk away with cash in 14 days,
or you can choose to stay for90 if you want to.
No showings, no repairs andoften a better net than a
traditional sale.
All you've got to do is putyour house in at cashcpocom.

(08:23):
Cashcpocom to get a full netsheet back.
And these things are awesome,guys.
It's free, there's noobligation, and it will show you
what you'll walk away with.
And these are all projected.
Of course we can't, you know,make it perfect, but it will
show you apples to apples.
It will show you four optionsNumber one, the cash offer.
Number two, conventional CPOwhat you'd walk away from that.

(08:46):
And number three, aconventional, listing what you'd
walk away with from that.
And a for sale by owner,listing what you would walk away
from that.
They're all projections,however.
At least it's apples to apples.
So, if you like knowing whatmoney you're going to put in
your pocket and isn't that whywe're selling, after all?
After all, make sure, even ifyou don't want the cash offer or

(09:06):
you don't want to certifypre-owned it, pre-own it, just
go get your free net sheetcashcpocom and we'll send it out
to you, coming in at numbernine.
We're almost there.
The penultimate issue atticventilation or insulation issues
.
I have suffered with this somany times myself.
In older, older houses theyused to put this is the most

(09:27):
common one.
The bathroom used to vent outinto the attic.
That's not permitted anymorebecause poor ventilation leads
to mold and moisture.
These are sneaky but seriousflags that often are known until
an inspection.
What they do is they can justvent from the attic space, from
where your fan's coming out outof the bathroom out to the

(09:49):
exterior of the house.
You're going to see it verycommonly.
And the last one, but by nomeans do you only get 10 issues
coming up.
I have to tell you that You'regoing to have 40 to 50 items
come up on the inspection report.
I want you to listen to this asa buyer.
It doesn't mean it's a badhouse, it's going to be.
I've never seen one less than30 issues, unless they're

(10:12):
certified pre-owned, becausewe've already done the
inspection upfront for thelisting.
We may even have it listedcoming soon or we may have it
listed in a slower marketbecause we're doing the
inspection and we're puttingthings right fast.

(10:33):
Many times in the deal you'regoing to have to use a
contractor, a licensedcontractor, and they're going to
see licenses.
Imagine what happens when acontractor turns up and there's
a sign outside.
Do you think you're going topay more or pay less?
So go ahead and take care of itup front.
In most places in the countryit'll cost you about 500 bucks.
Might cost you a little bitmore if you have a well, if
you've got a septic.
By the way, guys, if you have awell, get it tested.

(10:53):
40, 50% of the time they comeup with E coli.
There's easy kits you canpurchase for not very much money
at all to put that right.
If you wait until it's undercontract, and with the
inspection to put that right, ifyou wait until it's under
contract and with the inspection, how would you feel as a buyer,
even if it's minor, seeing thatthere's an eco lie in the well
and yet it's so common you cantake care of it up front.

(11:14):
It's going to cost you probablyover $500 is what I've seen to
take care of it after the eventand you might scare the buyers
away.
Buyers are nervous right nowespecially.
Think about it.
Most markets 40 to 60% of thepeople buying a house are coming
in from somewhere else.
They've got a nervous checklist.
The nervous checklist is oh,are we going to like the area?

(11:36):
Oh, we've been there forvacation.
Is it going to be great?
Oh, are we going to find newfriends.
Oh my gosh, this actualneighborhood we're buying in or
area we're buying in is it goingto be okay?
Don't give them a wholechecklist of concerns by not
doing your inspection.
They don't have to be a dealkiller.
In fact, you can literally flipthe script entirely.

(11:58):
I've been teaching this since2007.
I have a bestselling book on it.
When you pre-inspect and listyour home as a certified
pre-owned property, you givebuyers peace of mind.
You reduce your fallout risk,by the way, from over 30% to 7%.
Yes, agents don't tell you this, I'm sorry.
And if it does fall out, you'vegot what's called a stigmatized

(12:19):
listing.
Everybody calls us from allover the country and locally and
says what's wrong with it?
Why didn't they buy it?
You don't want that.
It drives down the price evenmore.
This is 500 bucks as aninspection for you guys.
Or, if you're just ready to skipthe chaos and get a full market
value offer, visit cashcpocom.
You can also find your agentsthere that are fully versed in

(12:42):
how to list a certifiedpre-owned property even without
a cash offer.
It's going to give you thosetwo options and you'll get that
great net sheet showing whatyour net from a conventional
listing a for sale by ownerlisting.
A conventional CPO listingthat's where you pay the 500
upfront, or a full cash CPOoffer where you can get your

(13:03):
money in as little as 14 days,up to 90 days, your choice.
This is Rowena Patson with theReal Estate News Radio.
You can catch us anytime, 24, 7at 8 to 8 333-4483.
We can help you all around thecountry, or visit
realestatenewsradiocom for moreways to connect.
Until next time you guys listsmart, not hard.

(13:25):
See you on the radio very soon.
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