Is it a Repair or an Improvement?

Repairs vs Improvements!

Home Inspectors need to clarify so Buyers Know the Difference!  

So it begins again.  An accepted offer and we’re off on another week of agonizing over the results of an Inspection report.   As seems to be the case more often than not, the inevitable happens, a difference of opinion between the Home Buyer and the Home Seller regarding the report. 

Home Inspection Reports generally include an “Items of Concern” list of repairs, and an “Items of Notation” for suggested improvements.  The purpose of the reports is to provide the Buyers with a list of deficiencies in the home so they know what they are buying.  There are certain items that our Arizona Purchase Contract includes at the time the offer is made that the seller agrees will be in working order at closing.  The list is limited to primarily health and safety concerns.  The inspection reports the buyers are provided is far more extensive.  Buyers depend on these reports to give them a clear picture of the condition of the home they are buying.   When I review these reports I often question whether the home inspector really knows the difference between deficiencies and repair items and improvements.  In my opinion the first one should be called “Items that Need Repair” and the second, “Suggested Improvements”.  There is a huge difference between the two.  

Most times the buyer reviews the report and determines that those “Items of Concern” are necessary to assure the safety of the home and that list becomes a punch list of repairs for the seller.   The line between repairs and improvements gets pretty blurry at that point.   The seller sees that list of repairs and goes through the roof.  They are insulted that someone tore their castle apart to begin with, and they usually see what the buyer doesn’t want to see, that list is a wish list for the Home Inspector.  

My real dilemma here has to do with our responsibilities when we get these reports.  It isn’t our place as Real Estate Agents to try and explain to a buyer that many of those repairs are actually improvements and are not necessary.  After all, that Buyer just paid someone a good deal of money to check the house for them to determine the condition of the home.  All we can do is remind them that the only items the seller is required to address are those listed under the Seller Warranties in the contract and hope they see reason.  If they don’t, we have no choice but to write up the list of repairs and submit it to the seller.

Our job as agents is to try to facilitate things so everyone is satisfied with the terms of the sale.  We do our best to make things a ”Win Win” for everyone.  In the case of repairs our ability to do that are pretty limited. We can suggest but we can’t recommend, and in the end we must follow the dictates of our client whether they are the buyer or the seller.  All we can do is pray that everyone is reasonable and that ultimately things work out to everyone’s satisfaction.     

Sandra Paulow