JUDY MELLO wasn't looking forward to buying a new place to live, imagining a lengthy, complicated and perhaps stressful experience.

"I figured it was going to drag on for months and months," she says. "But it wasn't like that at all."

In fact, it took Mello, a retired registered nurse, a total of only 3 1/2 weeks to buy a $500,000 condominium in Carpinteria, a small coastal town a few miles south of Santa Barbara.

Although a number of factors smoothed the process, Mello says an inspection report commissioned in advance by the sellers played a large part in her decision to buy and helped speed the sale.

As housing sales continue to bog down -- last month Southern California sales were the slowest for any July since 1995, according to DataQuick Information Systems -- property owners are turning to new strategies.

One tactic increasingly bringing buyers and sellers closer together is a property inspection obtained by the seller before the home is even listed. A seller's inspection report is not in lieu of one commissioned by the buyer, but it often accomplishes the goal of signaling openness and good faith while at the same time unearthing any unpleasant surprises.

In some cases, a preemptive seller's inspection means repairs, such as leaks or faulty electrical wiring, will likely be completed in advance on the buyer's behalf; less pressing matters may be flagged and the asking price adjusted down accordingly. "To me, the report meant they were definitely interested in selling and cared about selling to somebody who was going to be satisfied," Mello says. "I felt comfortable that they were thinking of my interests."

Colleen Badagliacco, president of the California Assn. of Realtors, says not so long ago, when sellers were being bombarded with multiple offers, they didn't have to worry that much about the shape of the home.

"Now, the seller has to go the extra mile," she says. For some, the downside means making sure the house is priced right, taking disclosure to the next level -- the more they know, the more they legally have to disclose -- and offering to fix things.

But on the upside, a pre-listing inspection that gives buyers a better idea of where they stand and what, if any, additional work is needed, can also help sellers fend off demands for unrealistic price reductions to cover repairs.

Article Courtesy of Los Angeles Times