What does your state disclosure look like? You'd have to disclose finds as they are now known to you if you do not repair them in many states. Are you willing to fix everything the home inspector finds? And, regardless of how good the inspector you hire is s/he can only find so much without combing through your house for a week. There is no guarantee that the next inspector will not find other items.

Fix what you think/know would be a detriment to selling and/or add to the bottom line. Do not get a pre-home inspection done.

Do a search on this forum for a similar thread. It may have fallen off because it was quite a while ago (like a year or two) but if it is still available it may have good input.

I don't know what your neighborhood is like in terms of how quickly buyers jump to put in their offers, but I'll tell you our experience.
We're in the Philadelphia suburbs about 15 minutes from the city on a popular, desirable street in a good township with great schools. Even in the slowing market houses on our street sell quickly. We just sold in 10 days. Before we went on the market we were thinking of having our own inspection done just to pre-emptively fix anything that might come up in a buyer's home inspection. What our realtor told us was this: Don't have the inspection. Right now you don't know if anything is wrong, and you don't want to know, because then if you can't/don't want to fix whatever it is, you'll have to disclose it, which will scare more potential buyers off than anything else. Wait for them to love the house and offer and have their own inspection, and then we'll deal with any issues as they come up.
What we did do on her advice was purchase a 1-year home warranty for the buyers...we also advertised this in the listing. This way buyers know that should anything break (furnace, water heater, appliances, etc.) they are covered by the warranty. I know I've heard that when push comes to shove some warranties aren't worth the paper they're printed on, but the fact that one exists can be very reassuring for buyers.
As a result of us paying for a home warranty, our buyer waived all inspections! SO I'm glad we took our realtor's advice on not having our own inspection done.

A buyer is going to do their own inspection anyway. I think a home warranty is more assurance to a buyer than someone elses inspection. (I think the cost is about the same)

I'm in New York City, and here's an interesting thing I learned through a Realtor I interviewed: She told me seller disclosures aren't done in NYC. Instead, you pay an attorney a fee ($500, she said) to finagle some legalese so as the seller, you don't have to disclose anything, nor be responsible for anything you didn't disclose. She referred to this as a "property condition disclosure fee."

Honestly I'd almost rather do the seller's disclosure than pay an attorney an extra $500. Anyone else in NYC or other states hear of this?

In New Jersey, where we've been househunting, some homeowners leave copies of the seller's disclosure out for the taking. This realtor here in NY simply told me, "We don't do seller's disclosures in New York."

I'll skip the pre-market inspection. Thanks, everyone.

I too live in NYS. Yes, there is a disclosure form, yes there is a $500 credit given to the buyer at closing if you chose not to disclose.

Copy of NYS disclosure form

Are you selling a house? If so, read the disclosure for yourself and decide whether or not you'd like to fill it out, or ask your attorney for advice. If you live in a condo or coop, it may not be required.

"This realtor here in NY simply told me, "We don't do seller's disclosures in New York."

See "Purpose of Statement"
"In the event a seller fails to perform the duty prescribed in this article to deliver a Disclosure
Statement prior to the signing by the buyer of a binding contract of sale, the buyer shall receive upon the transfer of title a credit of $500 against the agreed upon purchase price of the residential real property."

Here is a link that might be useful: NY Property Condition Disclosure Statement

A seasoned buyer isn't going to be impressed by a home warranty.
A pre-sale home inspection is a waste of money.
A serious buyer is going to want their own inspection by their choice of inspectors.
Do not let someone tell you that your windows need replacing just cause they are old. Replacement windows are just that replacements. Many times what needs to be done is some old fashion upkeep. Unless seals have been damaged.
Just as buyers need to do their homework so do sellers on what is or isn't a valid complaint.

Carol from NY, I agree with you about the windows. I told the potential buyer I didn't have the heart to replace the original windows and that I loved the wavy glass. However I can't tell you how many times relatives and others have asked us whether we are going to get new energy-efficient windows. In this market it's not fun trying to find folks who appreciate original windows. I'm not touching them though.

As far as choosing not to disclose in NY, the way this realtor put it is that's what everyone does, at least in this area of NYC: just pay the $500 and not disclose.

You have an old roof, old windows, old furnace, etc. You get that house pre-inspected the report's going to scare the HELL out of buyers, especially first timers.

We're using our inspection on this house as a sort of "punch list". When we're ready to sell again, we'll use the same inspector to do another inspection for us and then use it to help sell the house.

I'd only do this after having repaired EVERYTHING on his original list, and belive me, it's a mile long.

First time buyers freak out about everything.

Pre-listing inspections can mean more $$$'s in the sellers pocket, if items are repaired prior to the house going on the market. Obvious cosmetic defects, replacing/repairing broken or non-functioning items show, that the seller has maintained the property.
If the funds are available to fix things and show the property off in the best condition possible, the seller will most likely get a quicker offer, at a higher price, compared to properties that have not been repaired.
Also, the buyer will have less ammunition using his inspection as a tool for further price concessions by the seller.