Home inspection negotiations can often be fraught with discord and disagreement, especially when the current owner has substantially different standards when it comes to home maintenance. Or doesn't apparently believe in home maintenance at all.
When a Seller, though, is in complete denial about an issue when the proof is staring him in the face, well, I feel as if my head is going to explode.
Imagine submitting a home inspection report with a clear photo of a moisture meter reading 100%, along with a thermal image clearly outlining an active leak.
Seems pretty clear to me.
Imagine, if you will, receiving a response from the Seller, which essentially says, "There is no leak. No further inspection necessary."
Hmmm...no leak. He's denying there is a leak despite pretty clear evidence to the contrary. I don't get that.
Finally, after going back and forth a few times, his agent came back to us and said, well, the seller knew there was a leak, but had been unsuccessful in finding it, so he just said there was no leak. Because he could not find it.
Oh, okay. I guess. Progress? Well, maybe, but rest assured, the Seller's request to do some of the other requested repairs is absolutely denied. We don't want you so much as repairing a hose bib; we do not trust you now.
It did not have to be this way.
The Seller merely had to acknowledge there was a leak and allow us to bring in a roofer to investigate the cause and pose a solution. We weren't even asking for a fix - yet - we were only asking for an extension for further investigation because unknown water issues are not issues with which our Buyer wishes to deal.
When you're selling your home and a home inspection brings up issues with which you would rather not deal, rest assured, the Buyer is not going to be happy to take on unknown issues. But I can promise you, the transaction will go much smoother if you do not attempt to ignore a problem or pretend it does not exist.
At best, the truth will be uncovered and the transaction possibly irrevocably harmed.
At worst, the Buyer will walk away. And the next Buyer will not only undoubtedly uncover the same issues but it could be weeks (or months) later, after your house has been on the market for a while, so you may be looking at a lower net sale and a larger number of days on market.
And the problems are still there.
It doesn't pay - figuratively or literally - to deny the existence of problems. Best to confront them head on and see what the damage is. At the end of the day, our imaginations are often worse than reality and you may unnecessarily tank a transaction before you even know what the fix is.
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