{UPDATE: Effective Jan. 14, 2021, City of Hopkins no longer requires home sellers to complete Truth-in-Housing evaluations prior to selling.}

If you're planning to list your home soon you most likely have a list of projects to complete before hitting the market. One thing you may be required to do, depending on your city and type of home, is a pre-sale inspection. In the Twin Cities metro, currently 12 municipalities require home sellers to do some type of inspection prior to listing a home for sale. These inspections are to be completed by a third-party professional, chosen from an approved list of evaluators in most cases. 

Pre-sale inspection reports are paid for by the home seller and must be made available to any potential buyer. In addition to a Seller's Disclosure (more on that here), they provide buyers with a bit more insight into the condition of the home prior to making an offer. Typically 1-2 hours in length, a pre-sale evaluation is like a mini buyer's inspection and should never be used as a substitute for a full inspection prior to purchase.

Be aware that some cities, like Minneapolis, may require repairs and follow-up re-inspections to comply. Others might not. Some may require only minimal fixes. For example, in St. Paul hard-wired smoke detectors must be present or installed to satisfy the Fire and Safety code, but repairing items marked "hazardous" is not required.

If you're not sure what type of inspection, if any, is required, call your city offices to find out in advance of listing your home. Depending on the time of year and market activity, you may be able to schedule your inspection within a week or so. Reports may take 1-2 days to generate and are usually good for one year (check with your city to be sure.) Leave adequate time to address issues that may come up and to make repairs if need be. 

Below is a list of the 12 metro cities currently requiring a pre-sale inspection. Laws may change, so call your city to confirm before checking this off your to-do list.

Metro Cities Requiring Pre-sale Inspections

Click on the city name to link directly to city's pre-sale inspection requirements.

Bloomington

•Single Family
•Two Family
•Multiple Family (condo, townhouse, mobile home)

Golden Valley

•All properties, residential & commercial (sewer inspection)

Hopkins (Not required after Jan. 14, 2021)

•All 1-4 unit dwellings, including condos & townhouses

Maplewood

•All dwellings

Minneapolis

•Single Family
•Two Family
•First-time condo conversions

New Hope

•All dwellings

Richfield

•All dwellings

Robbinsdale

•Single Family
•Two Family
•Condos & townhouses

St. LoUis Park

•Single Family
•Two Family
•Condos, townhouses & co-ops

St. Paul

•Single Family
•Two Family
•Condos, townhouses & co-ops

South Saint Paul

•Single Family
•Two Family
•Multiple Family
•Mobile Homes

West Saint Paul

•All dwellings (sewer inspection)

Heidi Swanson is a Realtor® based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She writes a blog to share information on a variety of real estate related topics including buying and selling, market conditions, homeownership trends and more. Reach her at heidi@lyndenrealty.com or 651-503-1540.