A new marketing tool for selling a home - a home inspection at the time of the listing - is gaining momentum as the residential real estate market grows less driven by demand, and more driven by the prospect of realistic prices.

While professional home inspection is not a new concept, the idea that sellers can benefit by them is beginning to gain acceptance as the number of homes listed for sale continues to grow, making for a fiercely competitive selling market.

"Home sellers need to become educated about the process of selling in the particular market area they live in," says Kenneth T. Austin, chairman of HouseMaster, the premier home inspection franchise organization. "Sellers have to become as smart as buyers," he adds. "In today's market, that means making fewer assumptions and having a more realistic attitude."

Austin says that 20 years ago, professional pre-purchase home inspections were virtually unheard of in most parts of the country. Today, in many markets they are considered routine, as the home-buying public has grown increasingly educated about the process, and, as a consumerist mind-set has become the norm, rather than the exception.

Most real estate professionals have also come to the conclusion that home inspections make good sense, for all the parties involved. Many even recommend them to their home buyer customers. In many regions, standard real estate contracts now include an inspection contingency clause that outlines how the inspection results affect the agreement. Specifically, the clause outlines what the options are (for buyer and seller) in the event that major costly defects are uncovered during the inspection.

"If professional home inspection makes good sense for buyers, think of what it can mean for a seller to have one done at listing time," Austin says. "Many home owners cannot be completely objective about their homes. After all, your home is your castle, your personal place. There is often a great deal of emotional history tied to it."

Hiring qualified real estate professionals is the first step toward gaining objectivity when selling a home. "But getting more involved in the process yourself, learning as much as you can, and providing that extra effort of your own can make the difference in this highly competitive selling period," he adds.

One of the biggest benefits to a seller of a professional home inspection at listing time, says Austin, is to help set a realistic selling price. "The market analysis prepared by your real estate agent can help in determining a fair selling price for the home, but such a comparison doesn't usually reflect the true physical condition of the home and its systems. This is something that only a professional home inspector can do."

For example, if the house has been well maintained and upgraded over the years, a higher listing price would be justified by the inspection report, and not just the word of the owner.

"On the other hand, if the house has deficiencies, the listing price should reflect these deficiencies and be lower. The combination of a professional inspection report and a listing price that reflects the true condition of the house, could help minimize any re-negotiation of the sales price and possibly even speed up the selling process."

Austin says there is another important rationale for a seller to have an inspection at the time of listing.

"In our society, real estate, as with many other practices, has become increasingly litigious, so it's become almost a necessity to disclose - at the beginning - any problems that buyers will most likely find out on their own, either through a pre-purchase inspection or after moving in."

He adds that the new rule of law in real estate transactions is becoming "caveat vendor," or "seller beware," as more and more court decisions and legislation call for full disclosure to the buyer of defects in a house.

And, sellers shouldn't wait for - or rely on - the buyer's inspection report to keep them in the clear legally, he advises. "Practically speaking, the home owner has the most intimate knowledge of the home and can be held liable for misrepresenting its condition. Yet in reality, the majority of home owners know little about the absolute condition of the structural and mechanical systems in their homes."

This is understandable, he adds, since most people lack the technical knowledge to evaluate the life expectancy of heating or cooling systems, the seriousness of wall cracks, the cause of a plumbing leak or the condition of the roof and its framing, for example.

"Any inadvertently inaccurate representations about the condition of a home by an owner could be construed as a fraudulent act by an aggrieved home buyer," he says. "An unbiased, professional home inspection at the time of listing can prove to be beneficial to the seller and demonstrates a clear-cut attempt at disclosure."

Austin says that as more and more courts impose strict disclosure requirements on the sellers of residential properties, it is in the seller's best interest to pass much of this legal liability on to a third party, such as the professional home inspector - whose business is disclosure.

"But if you really want to keep yourself distant from any financial liability, pick your inspector carefully. Remember, your credibility goes hand-in-hand with the home inspection service's credibility. It should be a recognized, experienced company with an impeccable reputation," he adds.

Choose a home inspection service that carries insurance, Austin says, particularly "errors and omissions or E & O" - the equivalent of malpractice insurance. "This could provide the seller with a buffer in the event of a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled home buyer."

An inspection service without this important liability insurance is likely to vanish should a lawsuit be filed against them, Austin warns. "In such an event, the full liability could well revert to the home seller."

Unlike the growth of pre-purchase inspections, which took some two decades to gain widespread acceptance, Austin believes that seller inspections will make much quicker in-roads in the home-selling process.

"As more and more sellers take advantage of inspections to actively help market their homes, those who don't will be at a considerable disadvantage in the selling game," he says. "Having an inspection report from a recognized company will aid and protect the seller, while at the same time, provide immediate pre-purchase information to the buyer. The by-words for the new century will not be 'location, location, location,' but rather 'location, location, condition'."

Alan Hoffman is the area director of HouseMaster, a national home inspection company. For a free "Home Buyer's Kit," including a video on the home inspection process, call the local MD Eastern Shore HouseMaster office at 410-208-9656 or 1-888-296-9656.