Resale certification smooths out closing bumps

Resale homes can get hung up during the final inspection stages of a sale, creating headaches for everyone involved – including brokers; but one company is now certifying that process to ensure a smooth transition.

Resale homes can get hung up during the final inspection stages of a sale, creating headaches for everyone involved – including brokers; but one company is now certifying that process to ensure a smooth transition.

The Certified Resale Home, the first product of its kind in Canada, takes an innovative approach to the pre-listing inspection, providing a comprehensive, third party inspection covered by warranty on the larger, anxiety-inducing blind spots on the roof, foundation, heating and air conditioning for 18 months from the date of the inspection.

“It was launched in the spring in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, so that it could be attached to a listing to make people feel comfortable that a home they were looking at has been properly inspected,” says Wendy Rinella, the vice president for corporate affairs at FCT. “And we would put in coverage on some of the blind spots, like underwriting up to $1,500 on a roof, $2,500 on heating, and another $2,500 on the cooling system and $5,000 on the foundation.”

It removes that sense of unknown that may be present when buying a home, says Rinella, and ultimately smooths out the process, as home inspections are often a condition placed on the sale of the home. A pre-listing inspection, coupled with the warranty coverage helps to avoid these conditions and could potentially shorten the time your home is on the market and even increase its selling price.

Should an issue arise with something covered by the inspection warranty while you are preparing to sell your home or while it is on the market, you can submit a claim to have it fixed or corrected prior to selling the home.

“It will speed up the closing process, and it is beneficial to all the parties in the transaction, brokers included,” she told MBN. “A lot of times you will have multiple inspections taking place from different buyers. It is creating some standards, which is along the lines of what is happening in the home inspection industry.”

Once the home has been purchased, the warranty is transferred to the buyer; providing them protection in the early stages of ownership - a distinct advantage giving your home even more appeal to prospective buyers.