Prodded by the competitive real estate market, more and more sellers are hiring inspectors to check for problems before putting their homes on the market.

That allows sellers to identify and perhaps fix defects before listing. It can help ensure that everything is in working order, and eliminate surprises for nervous - but demanding - buyers.

Traditionally, it's been buyers who hired inspectors before closing deals. Now, agents and others say, perhaps 25 to 50 percent of sellers are hiring inspectors.

It clearly can be a good idea, but it does raise one obvious question: If you have an inspection, are you legally obliged to reveal any problem it turns up to potential buyers? Is that a reason to think twice? We'll get to that in just a moment.

Maren Brisson, an agent with CottinghamChalkHayes, has long advocated pre-listing inspections. She says more of her fellow agents are doing the same.

"I try to convince all sellers ... to have an inspection," she said. "More are saying yes."

She tells sellers that pre-listing inspections help reduce buyers' "skittishness." "And buyers are skittish right now, more than ever." If the seller provides the inspection information early during the process, she said, buyers are less likely to walk away.

She estimates that half her sellers arrange inspections by licensed inspectors before putting their homes on the market.

After the inspection, sellers can either make needed repairs - saving work invoices to give to potential buyers - or they can factor the cost of repairs in as they negotiate the price of the home.

Sellers generally make some types of repairs, she said. For instance, fogged up double-pane windows should be replaced.

But other types of repairs might not matter as much to buyers.

One of her listing clients discovered during an inspection that a pool heater wasn't working. The family didn't use the heater, so they didn't realize it wasn't functioning. The owners decided to hold off until negotiating, and learning whether the potential buyer wanted the repair money spent there or on something else.

There's another reason sellers might not want to make lots of expensive repairs before putting their homes on the market, according to Brisson and inspector Bob Scott of Diamond Home Inspection: Buyers might want to hire their own contractors.

"The buyer is never satisfied with the owner's repairs," Brisson said. "I can't tell you how many times repairs are argued about at the last minute."

Said Scott: "The buyer might say, 'OK, you hired Joe down the street (to make repairs). I don't know you, and I don't know Joe.' "

Scott is a longtime leader in the N.C. Licensed Home Inspector Association. He's immediate past president of the Charlotte regional group. Scott agrees that he and his colleagues are tackling more pre-listing inspections in this tough housing market.

Services that inspectors provide are outlined in the state licensing law.

They survey for structural issues, look for water intrusion and plumbing leaks, check heating and cooling systems. The typical is $250 to $300, Scott said.

Any time you hire an inspector, Scott said, accompany him as he pokes about your house. Some things that might look bad in a report aren't serious, and other issues you'll want to address might not be included in the standard report. The inspector can advise as he goes.

Which finally brings us to that obvious question:

As a seller, are you legally obligated to disclose problems uncovered during an inspection?

No. As a seller, you can check "no representation" on the standard disclosure forms. In effect, you're saying you make no claims on the condition of the plumbing, heating and other parts of the home. Some sellers leave copies of reports out on counters during showings, but you don't have to disclose.

The listing agent, on the other hand, can't do that. Listing agents must disclose material facts, according to real estate licensing law. That means some agents carefully avoid knowing what's in inspection reports.

The question is on the state licensing exam, said Bill Gallagher of the Superior School of Real Estate.

Checking "no representation" raises red flags, of course. "The buyer," Gallagher said, "will wonder, 'OK - what's wrong?' "

Also, the buyer is still likely to hire his own inspector. If that turns up something the seller hasn't disclosed, the same red flags will go up.

The entire process, along with North Carolina's new "due diligence" purchase procedure, has become so convoluted that Gallagher, Brisson and others say that most homes will someday be sold "as is." The process will be streamlined, with less back and forth. Repairs and who will pay for them will simply become part of the bottom-line price.