This may not look like much of an issue, but left unchecked, can become a delay which can cause a buyer to lose a loan lock if not taken care of before the bank loan underwriting department demands that it be fiixed before closing. If the buyer does not ask that it be repaired before releasing contingencies, the buyers lender may see it very late in the transaction after the appraisal and inspection period, causing delays.
If the weather is rainy or icy, with 1 or 2 days to get it fixed, a problem like this can become a big issue, especially on a bank owned property which requires repair approval and extra days to send someone out to fix it.
This particular gutter was on the back side of an REO property and caused the above problem for a fellow agent, with 2 days to close, in frozen weather with no contractors available to fix it. They got an extension on the loan, but it cost the buyers extra money and an additional month of rent in the house they were living in. They were lucky that the landlord let them stay, as their house had not yet been rented out. I asked the agent why they did not ask the seller to have it fixed. The agent replied, "This is an REO property to be sold as-is, so we did not ask for repairs." As you can see, this delay could have been avoided had it been addressed at the start of the transaction.
Common sense will tell you that this may be a lender required repair, which most REO companies will do if you make it a condition of the contract.
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