Don't Just List Your Home - It - CPO it!

A deal can feel “done” the moment you go under contract, then an inspection report drops and everything changes. We sit down with Utah agent Deanna Allen to talk through the two forces that blow up more real estate transactions than most buyers and sellers expect: the home inspection and the appraisal. If you’ve ever watched a happy handshake turn into tense repair negotiations, you’ll recognize the pattern immediately.

We dig into why non-certified listings can see dropout rates as high as 33%, and what that failure really costs both sides: inspection money, appraisal fees, weeks of lost market time, delayed moving plans, and the emotional whiplash of starting over. Then we walk through our certified pre-owned home approach, built to move the biggest surprises to the front of the timeline. A pre-inspection before listing creates clearer disclosure, calmer negotiations, and stronger offers. We also talk about when an appraisal can help pricing confidence and how a home warranty can add peace of mind, similar to a dealership warranty.

The analogy that makes it stick: certified pre-owned cars come with a detailed checklist and a value baseline, so why wouldn’t a home listing do the same? If you want a real estate listing strategy that improves trust, reduces contract fallout, and helps you get to the closing table with fewer shocks, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s about to list, and leave us a review with your biggest inspection surprise.

Transcript

Welcome And The CPO Idea

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Hey, it's Rowena Patton here on the Real Estate News Radio. You can see all the episodes at realestate newsradio.com. And today we're on with Deanna Allen in Utah. Good morning, Deanna.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Good morning, Rose. So happy to be with you today.

The Two Biggest Deal Busters

SPEAKER_00 0:33

I am so happy you are here. And we're going to talk about certified pre-owned. We've been doing this since 2007, back in the day where I started out in real estate and said, what on earth is going on here? I cried every third day, and I'm not a crier. And uh deals just kept falling apart. I thought it was because I was a new agent. And then I found out there's two key things that attack a deal. Deanna, you you have done so many contracts and working with clients now out in Utah. What are those two key things when it goes under contract that are the deal busters?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

It's usually related to the inspection and the appraisal.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Mm-hmm. What so what happens? All right, so we're all excited. Bob and Sue, yay, we're finding a house. You've got a Hawaii company, cup uh couple you're helping right now, and they're really excited to be putting a do they have that contract in, or are they all excited to put the contract in?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

We are under contract.

Inspection Surprises And Renegotiation

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Under contract, that's fantastic. So everybody's happy. Sellers are happy, buyers are happy, Sienna's happy, I'm happy. The whole world is happy for our clients that they're under contract. Now, here's what happens. So you get towards the inspection, and then the inspection happens. I'm guessing that the listing that you put this up in on was not certified pre-owned, am I right?

SPEAKER_01 2:06

It was not, yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Okay, so unfortunately, listings that are not certified pre-owned, the statistic is um up to 33%. So about a third drop out when they're under contract. Which is amazing, right? Can you believe this?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

No, it's interesting to see. And it's oftentimes why deals, like you said, like they fall out. Yeah. Because there are negotiations that take place, you know, once that inspection report comes back and there's, you know, 40-50 items on the report, and buyers get concerned and they start to question whether or not they should move forward with the purchase once they're absolutely, absolutely.

CPO Listings And Lower Dropout Rates

SPEAKER_00 2:48

So, and we're back in negotiation then. You you've put money down for the inspection. You've usually put earnest money, due diligence money, depending on what state you are, wherever you are in the country, we can help you. Different states have different rules, of course, but you've put some money in the game at this point. And now you're back into negotiation because the seller had no idea about these things. Obviously, you had no idea about these things. Sometimes the sellers did know about these things and just didn't choose to say anything. But how would you know? Most sellers, when we go on a listing appointment, say, oh no, my home's great, it's very well maintained. And that is maybe. However, inspectors have got to earn their money, right? And you're gonna come up with 30, 40, 50, 60 items on the inspector report, even a new home. So if you're buying on your own, maybe you're buying an off-market deal, always have that inspection, always have the appraisal too. Really, really important. I'm actually showing you here the certified pre-owned page on our website. If you're listening on a podcast and not watching this on YouTube, you can see this at allstarpowerhouse.com. Allstarpowerhouse.com, and just click on certified pre-owned at the top. It will take you to this page. There's frequently asked questions, it's all about CPO. Excuse me, this is not the cash offer, by the way. This is nothing to do with the cash offer. This is about listing your home the right way. So the dropout rate drops to 7%. Deanna, you've always done it this way. Can you so we both work with buyers as well? Doesn't your heart sink when the home isn't certified pre-owned?

The Certified Pre-Owned Car Comparison

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Oh, it does. Absolutely. Because even the most diligent homeowners that, you know, take care of everything as they should regularly throughout the year, you you still don't know what's essentially under the hood. You know, you just, for those of you who couldn't see the screen, she just scrolled past a picture of a car that is certified pre-owned. And maybe we can talk a little bit about that row so that people understand the comparison.

Why Dropouts Hurt Everyone

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Good idea. Yes. Most of you have heard of certified pre-owned car. Um, are allergies really bad over there right now? It's just the season. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I know so many people are suffering with it. So many of you have heard of a CPO car. Every dealership has them, Carvana, Carmax, that is their model, certified pre-owned. And that's where the idea came from back in 2006 when we launched this for homes. So why would we put uh a car uh on a CPO program and not a house? So the card has a 156-point inspection check and also a black book value and also a dealership warranty. And I thought, what if we do this with homes? So we pre-inspect your home, and sometimes you get an appraisal, not always, but at the very least, pre-inspect. You don't have to pay for the home warranty until it actually closes if you want to do the home warranty as well. That's like the dealership warranty. Um, the obviously the black book value, that's the appraisal, should you choose to get it. That one's really for grabs. It's up to you. And then you get a much stronger listing. They sell faster, they sell for more money. The dropout rate goes down to 7%. Why is the dropout? Why do we talk about dropout rate and why is that important, Deanna?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Well, it's important because, you know, people trust that when they're going under contract, that they're going to get to that closing table, right? But what people don't often understand is the negotiations back and forth can sometimes end the deal. And you can walk away already investing money, like as you said, you know, the buyer's going to do their inspection, um, you know, appraisal's gonna come into play. And then they ultimately might not end up purchasing the home. So it's a loss for both sides. You know, there's time involved in the contract, right? The seller is hoping to be closing within 30 to 45 days. The buyer's hoping the same thing. And when it all falls apart, everyone loses.

Where To Learn More And Offers

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And that's why it's so important. Did we cover everything today, Deanna?

SPEAKER_01 6:58

I think so. I think, yeah. If anyone would like to learn more about the the CPO offer and the way that we help you get your home sold, we, you know, reach out to us and uh find more information at cachecpo.com and at allstarpowerhouse.com.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yep, cashcpo.com is where you put it in if you're thinking about that uh cash out version of certified pre-owned, or you can do your regular listing, talk to your agent about it or talk to us about it. We'll get that going on for you. A lot of agents don't know how to do it. We've written a best-selling book on it, and we have a certification program on it as well. And you may as well get your offer. You can also see that at allstarpowerhouse.com. I'll do it with you for those of you on uh uh who are watching on uh YouTube and or Facebook or Instagram or whether wherever you're at. So allstarpowerhouse.com. Do you want to say it, Deanna? Because apparently I talk funny.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah, sure. It's allstarpowerhouse.com, and we love your funny accent, Ralph.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

And then you click right here on certified pre-owned, and that takes you to this page right here. There's lots of information on certified pre-owned. And again, you don't necessarily have to get your offer, but there's the offer button right here. Um, you may as well. The great thing about that is it gives you the four different versions. Um, sorry, YouTube. Uh something happened there because we're on Zoom recording this, so no. But yeah, and we'll show you the offer, we'll show you four different ways right here. Cash CPO, so that's where you take the cash out option. This is conventional CPO. That's where you do what we've been talking about today, which is pre inspecting your home. This is a conventional listing or grandma's listing, and this is a for sale by owner. You will get this sheet when you put your home in for an offer at cashcpo.com. We'll see you on the radio next week.