“I’m Selling My Home As-Is… Why is the Buyer Now Asking For Repairs?”
Ironic, huh? You tell your real estate agent that you want to sell as-is. I mean you really tell them that you are not interested in doing any repairs or alterations to the home you are selling. You want the buyer to take care of anything that is needed to be done, as you are ready to move on. The buyer has to take it or leave it!
Your agent recommended that you get some inspections, so that the buyer will know what they are buying… So the buyer will have a chance to review those reports, and make an offer based on the current condition of the property as opposed to going in blind. They said you should get a property, chimney, roof, and pest inspection BEFORE you put it on the market.
You declined doing any of those, and reminded your agent you were selling as-is.
A buyer presents an offer, and your agent shares it with you. They have a loan and property condition contingency. It is the price you want, and the terms are good as long as they agree to it being an as-is sale. You accept.
After the contract is ratified, the buyer must do his due diligence. I mean, inspect the property. The buyer’s agent recommends a property, chimney, roof and pest inspection. The buyer agrees, and gets the inspections completed during their property condition contingency time period.
The buyer discovers over $10,000 in damages…
The seller is selling as-is, and said they do not want to fix anything. Buyer has a contingency that allows him to back out of the contract. The buyer is not comfortable with that much damage that was not known to him prior to writing the offer. So, the buyer asks the seller to fix the damages, or give him a credit so they can fix it after the close of escrow.
Seller can accept the request (or negotiate a lower amount), or the seller can say no and risk the buyer walking… And if the seller is that close to closing on their house, and moving on, do you think theywill say no?
So is an as-is sale ever really as-is? Well, sometimes… I mean maybe…
Moral of the story. As a seller, order all of your inspections up front… AND require the buyer to review and sign all disclosures when they present the offer. That way, the buyer knows everything about the home, and you’re less likely to have the buyer negotiate repairs or ask for credits during the closing period. The biggest reason why sales go sour, is because buyers often discover something during the escrow period that they did not know about when they made an offer.
Comments (12)Subscribe to CommentsComment