A pre-sale inspection is the owner’s responsibility and is usually in conjunction with the agency that will manage the sale. This inspection is conducted to ensure that the agent knows of the potential hurdles that may arise during negotiation. They can then rectify the faults detected before putting up the property on the market. This inspection serves to sell and not safeguard the home. As a result, as a prudent buyer, you should not rely on this report. The inspection focuses more on benefiting the real estate agency, and putting down your deposit based on this report will be a dangerous move, whether for your home or for an investment property.
On the other hand, a pre-purchase inspection is in the buyer’s interest. As an interested buyer, you will undertake this responsibility, to get an inspection report that is detailed with photographic series outlining everything about the property. This document gives you proof that you should negotiate or renegotiate the price to reflect the actual property value. You will pay for the pre-purchase inspection, but this payment is worthy, given the return on investment. In the worst cases, you can use this report to terminate a contract and receive your full refund, should you find extreme deterioration or issues you are unwilling to live with. Then, the difference between the presale and pre-purchase inspection boils down to who the report is meant to benefit.