Are you hoping to get an inspection on your future home but aren’t sure what to do with the information from the report?
In this blog I will be covering the DO’s & DON’Ts for buyers after the inspection has been completed so that you don’t kill the deal by asking for too much or too little.
In my previous blog, I covered the different types of inspections that you can choose to have completed as a buyer. After a general inspection, you will receive a FULL report detailing the home that is anywhere between 20-40 pages. It can be very overwhelming, but no need to fret. You have professionals to help guide you through it.
DO's of Home inspections:
- Every situation is different and every home is in different shape, but as a general rule of thumb, here are some of the DO’s when asking for seller repairs:
- DO ask for safety repairs, such as missing smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors.
- They are inexpensive items and most sellers will be willing to fix them before closing.
- DO ask the seller to repair broken appliances (if they weren’t already disclosed).
- DO read the inspection report with an open mind, and prepare yourself for your options when negotiating with a seller
- Option #1 – assume the repair item
- Option #2 – ask the seller to repair the issue or escrow funds for it to be fixed later
- Option #3 – renegotiate with the seller to reduce the purchase price to balance the price to repair
- Option #4 – cancel the purchase agreement
- DO ask the seller to repair small maintenance items, such as a leaky faucet or a dead outlet.
- DO find balance in the repair requests that you submit. If you submit a laundry list of items that aren’t necessary repairs and extremely expensive, the seller will outright say no and you will have a hard time negotiating smaller repairs afterwards.
DON'Ts when handling requests:
- DON’T copy and paste every single item from the inspection report and expect the seller to fix them. There is no such thing as a perfect home and there are some items that you will have to assume as a homeowner.
- DON’T ask for repairs if the seller specifically noted that they wouldn’t make repairs in the original listing and you agreed to those terms when you submitted an offer.
- DON’T negotiate repairs with a “my way or the highway” attitude. Both you and the seller will have to meet in the middle on most items.
You should now have a clear picture on the DOs and DONTs of repairs and requests from your inspection. The trick to finding balance in what you want vs what you will have to assume comes with the help of a skilled negotiator. Make sure that you have a realtor that has your back 🙂
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