Should you get a pre-listing home inspection
By Dan Jones ·
Bottom line: a pre-listing inspection moves the discovery of problems to before you set your price, which is the only point at which you still control what happens next. Found then, a problem is your decision: fix it, price for it, or disclose it and let the market weigh it. Found during a buyer’s subject removal period, the same problem becomes the buyer’s leverage on a deal you have already committed to emotionally, and sometimes on a purchase you have already made. The catch is real and worth saying first: what you learn, you generally have to disclose. That is not a reason to avoid the inspection. It is the mechanism working. On most of the South Okanagan’s older housing stock I lean toward getting one, and I would make sure the inspector is licensed, which in BC you can check.
I am Dan Jones, a REALTOR with Royal LePage Locations West in Penticton, licence number 1118346. I was a Red Seal journeyman carpenter from 1980 and built houses for twenty-four years before I was licensed in 2004, so I can usually see from a walk-through what an inspector is going to write up. Usually is not always, which is why I still recommend the inspection.
I am not a home inspector. I look, I say what I see, and I tell you when something needs someone qualified to assess it.
The case for it is timing
Every house has a list. On a forty year old house, something will be on it.
The question is not whether the list exists. It is when you find out, and who finds out first.
Before listing, a finding is information. You have weeks. You can get quotes, fix what is worth fixing, and set a price that already accounts for the rest. Buyers who read your disclosure see a seller who knows their house.
During subject removal, the same finding is leverage. The buyer has days. Their contractor gives them a number, usually a cautious one, and you are negotiating down from a price you have already announced while your own plans depend on the sale holding.
The inspection costs the same either way. What changes is who controls the conversation.
Inspectors are licensed in BC
This is worth knowing, because it is how you separate a professional from someone with a flashlight and a clipboard.
Home inspectors in BC must be licensed by Consumer Protection BC. BC was the first jurisdiction in Canada to require it, in 2009.
To be licensed, an inspector completes an approved education program, including at least 150 hours covering roofing, flashing, chimneys, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical and structural systems, passes a recognised exam, and completes practical experience with licensed inspectors.
Licensed inspectors must carry professional and general liability insurance, and must show their licence number on contracts and marketing.
So ask for the licence number, and check it before you book.
What an inspection is, and is not
A standard home inspection is visual and non-invasive. The inspector looks at what can be seen and safely reached.
It does not involve opening walls, lifting flooring, or moving your stored belongings to see behind them. It is not a building code or permit compliance review. It does not tell you whether the basement suite was permitted or whether the deck was built to code in 1994.
And it is not a guarantee. It is a professional’s opinion of the visible condition on the day.
That is not a criticism. It is the scope, and understanding it stops people from expecting a report to answer questions it was never designed to answer.
Where the general inspection leads
A good inspector flags. A specialist confirms. On older South Okanagan houses the common next steps are:
- A sewer line camera scope, particularly on older clay tile lines where roots and collapses are invisible until they back up
- A WETT inspection for a wood stove or fireplace, which insurers commonly ask about
- An electrician, on anything like a 60 amp service or aluminium branch wiring
- A roofer, for an opinion on remaining life rather than a general impression
- A scan for a buried oil tank, on any house that may once have heated with oil, because that is the single most expensive surprise an older house can carry
- A licensed asbestos contractor to sample suspect material, since in BC even sampling is licensed work
You do not need all of these on every house. You need the ones your house actually points to.
The disclosure catch
What you know, you generally have to disclose. An inspection report is something you know.
So do not order a pre-listing inspection expecting to keep the results to yourself. That is not how it works, and trying to make it work that way creates a larger problem than anything in the report.
How findings should be reflected on your Property Disclosure Statement is a question for your conveyancer or a lawyer. Ask. The wording matters.
The better way to think about it: you are choosing to price a known issue in at a fair rate, rather than have it negotiated out at a worse one by a buyer holding a deadline.
Share the report, or not
Some sellers make the report available to buyers. It can build confidence and shorten negotiations, because the major items are already on the table.
It is a strategic choice, and there are two things to keep in mind. Buyers should still get their own inspection, and should not rely on one the seller commissioned. And whether sharing a report creates any legal exposure for you is worth a short conversation with a lawyer before you do it.
Either way, the buyer’s inspection changes character. It stops being a hunt for leverage and becomes a confirmation of what you have already disclosed.
When it is not worth it
- A newer home in good order, with documentation
- Recent inspection and service records that already answer the questions
- A property selling for its land value to someone who plans to rebuild
In those cases the money is better spent elsewhere.
What to do with the report
Sort the findings into three groups, and handle them in this order:
- Things that end deals. Water where it should not be, a failing roof, electrical or plumbing that affects insurability, an oil tank. Fix these or price them honestly. What to fix before you list sets out that order.
- Things a buyer will negotiate on. Get quotes so the number in the conversation is real rather than imagined.
- Ordinary wear. Every house has it. Note it, and do not spend money chasing it.
Older houses carry their own list, and it is worth reading before you book the inspector so you know what to ask about: what to check in an older South Okanagan home.
What I do
I walk the property before we talk about price and tell you whether I think a pre-listing inspection is worth it for your house, and which specialists, if any, I would call. Then I help you decide what to do with what comes back.
Licensing requirements above come from Consumer Protection BC and are current as of October 2026. Disclosure questions are for a conveyancer or lawyer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.
If you are thinking about listing and want to talk about it, email me at dano007@shaw.ca or call 250.488.0226.