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Inspection Repairs - Who Knew? UPDATE

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Network Realty BK 3030920

I have the buyer's side on a transaction which included $1000 in repairs. The only item that came back from the home inspectors' report was the A/C needed to be serviced, and the seller declined having this done on his dime.

I was stumped and talked to other Realtors on AR as well as in my local area, and the overwhelming response was to take care of it, which I did.

I wanted my buyer to be completely happy with her new home, and called a reliable AC company who came out, checked everything, cleaned it, and my total time invested was 30 minutes, total dollars $80, and I now have another reliable, well priced, courteous AC company to add to my list.

There were some Realtors locally who stated I should arrange for it, and put it on the HUD to come out at closing, however, that would have made for a stressful closing, and I didn't like the idea.

I'm getting a great commission on a great house for a great buyer, and it was worth an investment of $80 for this transaction to stay together, especially given the fact this buyer only looked at 4 houses!

Posted by

Carol Zingone is a full service Broker Associate proudly affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty in Atlantic Beach, FL.  I help buyers and sellers locally, regionally, and internationally.  With hundreds of happy buyers and sellers over the course of my career, I'm thrilled to help first time buyers, military buyers, seniors, investors, 1031 exchange properties, short sales and REO's.  I have spent hours honing my expertise, including the designations of: Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI), Loss Mitigation Certification (LMC) , Short Sales, Foreclosures, REO's, (SFR), and Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES).  I pride myself on providing excellent expertise to all buyers and sellers. Search the MLS via www.carolzingone.com  for Jacksonville and area listings!

 

Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

Smart agent. 

Our inspection contingency doesn't cover maintenance.  The only time I write it for seller to do is when the home inspector wrote that the unit had not been maintained and serviced, in which case, the life of the unit is seriously shortened. 

This is something I make a condition of the contract and not a home inspection item.

Good luck.

Oct 03, 2007 08:02 AM
Amanda McCumber
DRM Residential Properties, Inc. - Cypress, TX
ABR,CRS,AHWD,CHMS,SFR,SMP

I can't tell you how many times I have done something similar to you to get a deal closed.  Was it the right thing to do?  Yes.  Did it stink to have to make that kind of decision? Yes.  Kudos to you for taking care of your client.  Make sure that your client remembers how you took care of them.

In the future I would recommend that the seller carry sellers coverage on their Home Warranty policy.  It is good for 180 days until closing.  It will only cost the seller an additional $50.00 to the policy taken out at closing.  This is a great tool to use when you have a house listed.  It really stinks for the seller to have to make any major repairs to their house before closing if they do not have too.  I suggest all my sellers use this policy, I have also recommend that the sellers that my buyers are working with use this kind of policy as well.

 

 

Oct 03, 2007 08:04 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos
Sounds like a pretty easy decision to make.  You saved big time by not having to fight over the $80 repair.
Oct 03, 2007 08:17 AM
James Gordon
Sibcy Cline Realtors® - Cincinnati, OH
REALTOR, PBD SFR SRS
Glad to see you got it done and did not make a major event out of it.
Oct 03, 2007 08:18 AM
Diane Velikis
Coldwell & Banker Busch Real Estate - Luzerne, PA
Luzerne County Real Estate

For $80 I'm am sure you have a client for life! Great job!

Thanks for commenting on my blog

Oct 05, 2007 02:16 AM