How Do You Handle the Home Inspection Request for Repairs?

I have a home inspector I trust impletely!  I have him go over the findings, recommend what is important and what is not, then let the buyer decide what we request.  It leaves me out of the decision making process and just into the negotiating phase, perfect for my job description!

With a buyer we do review the report together. The home inspector has been paid to discover defects about the home as well as provide them with an education on the home they are about to purchase. The addendum that is prepared for the seller is broken up into two parts. (I use the specific GCAR addendum) The first part addresses items that fall under paragraph 21 in the MAR contract. The 2nd part are items that the buyer would LIKE to the seller to fix. Generally the first part is taken care of.

as a non agent/non inspector, it does seem to me that you need to be choiceful abt what is requested.  It seems to me, the top prioirty ones woiuld be safety. It also seems that if either the list is too long or too expensive that they will kill the negotiations.

In today's market, buyers know they're in the drivers' seat.  Home sellers know a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. What a buyer asks for, a buyer usually gets,  That's why they call this a buyer's market.  Sure, I have my home inspection strategies, based on years of experience, but it all goes back to timing.  In a seller's market, the seller can refuse to repair; in a buyer's market, the buyer can demand (and expect to get) almost anything.

Margaret, I think the buyer needs to be speciffic in spelling out exactly what they want. When discussing inspections with my clients (buyers or sellers) I try to make them fully aware of the pros and cons of their decision. A buyer asking for perfection in a 30 year old home may have the same affect as offering a ridiculously low price, which is to possibly cause the seller to dig in their heels and not give an inch. A seller refusing to take care of all items could cause the buyer to walk. In other words "do what you want" but here is what can happen if the other side does not agree.

Margaret,

It sounds like the Buyer has never been informed that no home will be perfect even a new one. 

We have had to draw up repair addendum's for our listings in the past to deal only with safely and clearly broken items (windows and locks). 

You are on the right track it is just time consuming.

I always tell the Buyers up front that we are looking for mechanical and structural issues, and not cosmetic issues! Then, I have a very good home inspector handle the inspection. He knows what to do, and provides all parties a copy of the report via email no later than the next day. He goes over the report with the buyer, then I find out which items are of most importance to them to have repaired/fixed/replaced. I really prefer all parties to attend, since small non-significant issues can be shown on the spot, and they are usually a non-issue. The parties seem to think in terms of worst case scenario, if they are not present to see what it is the inspector is talking about. My inspector uses photos with arrows to show exactly what he is talking about - it sure helps!    

Margaret, I've found a laundry list of items including walk-thru items often upsets the sellers. I would include repairs in an addendum and notify the seller of the walk-thru items separately that require repair per the contract.

Margaret. When agents do that to me we just have the sellers send it back and ask for an addendum signed by the buyer with their repair requests. In my opinion that is the only way to ask for repairs. It's not my job or my sellers job to interpret an inspection report.

Put it in writing and be specific.

I, too, have recently had a buyer ask for the entire candy-store list on the inspection report.  They basically handed us the inspection and said "fix it".   We, too, had a two-word response.

Most contracts down here right now are 'as is' contracts. That said, buyers still want major repairs taken care of and if the seller wants to sell, they get gone. Naturally, they need to be major things, not cleaning the gutters or repairing minor things.

When I am the listing agent, I let my seller know that even an 'as is' contract isn't really 'as is' unless it is an REO!

Margaret -- As a listing agent, I ask for any inspection issues they want resolved presented in writing. I don't accept a copy of the report. I do, however, ask for excerpts from the report proving the issues that were identified or just a reference to those issues in the report if they want to provide me with the whole copy. Nevertheless, just giving me the whole report and telling my clients to address almost everything is not acceptable. 

As a buyer's agent, I always ask for any health and safety issues to be rectified BEFORE closing. I present the issues on a separate report with the report excerpt included. I always tell my buyers they are buying a used home and the inspection report is not meant to be a laundry list of items presented to the seller that needs to be addressed.

It depends. Sometimes fixing a lot of stuff, will keep the deal together for the seller. Sometimes, the buyer just wants to know there is nothing major facing them down the road. I think motivation plays a big role here, too.

Hi Margaret,

I enjoyed your article.  I explain to my buyers, they need to know BEFORE we walk into the home Inspection what the major issues they see in the home....we base their offer on UPDATES the home needs; and I explain this to the listing agent.  I explain, my buyer's offer is this price, based on current values, and condition of the home,  (i.e.) the home needs a new roof.  

In NY we take into account aesthic updates, kitchen, bath, carpet....and roll that into the offering price.  However, if the seller accepts their offer, and we go to Inspetion; we can only ask for issues unseen, such as, radon, termites, leaks not present during previous visits....

Sellers appreciate our straight forward offer....instead of a buyer that offers HIGH, then back tracks $10k, wasting everyone's time.  Which only results in offer lost. Seller Mad, Buyer Defeated. Listing Agent's moved on....and I'm out showing more houses to an upset buyer, that let the "right one" get away.

Better to  fully inform your buyer about being realistic in what they ask for ahead of time!

Look, you can ask for anything.... but don't be obnoxious. Every house needs something, but usually these things are taken into account in the price. If there is something  that was unknown, and signficant, then yes you should bring it up. But if you knew that the roof was shot when made your offer, don't expect to renegotiate it after the home inspection.

Hmmm, just depends. The buyers vary with requests. If it's something that they are going to replace anyway, probably let it slide. But if it's something that will stay, and should be repaied by a licensed contractor, it will go on their request list usually.

 Some buyers don't want to nit pick and ask for minor repairs. They just want the house, and want a the closing to go as smooth as possible. But any requests that they do make should be specific and clearly understood by everyone involved.

 Many times a seller will just offer to fix this or that from the inspectors report, but again, those should be spelled out, and also specify that repairs are going to be done by a licensed contractor with all receipts to be provided to buyer and agent.

Lots of very good comments. I typically will spend lots of time with my clients going over all the different options available and clearly spell out what they want fixed, repaired, replaced or what the seller will do and by whom. 

thanks