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Repair requests

By
Real Estate Agent with Atlanta Communities 303302

In Georgia, buyers who are under contract with a seller usually have home inspections done. They pick a home inspector who then goes in and performs an inspection on the home. This usually takes 2-4 hours and costs in the neighborhood of $325-$400. A nice report comes back from the inspector to the buyer, who then decides what on the report needs to be taken care of by the seller.

I have two of these reports I am working on right now for two different sellers. The first, for a small home, ran 2 pages and was word for word lifted from the report. It looks like to me that the agent did not even discuss this with her client and just cut and pasted everything into the repair request.

The second report was for a larger home and had less items, but still asked for everything on the report. Why is this a problem you ask? Shouldn't the buyer ask for everything in the home to be fixed repaired? Well, maybe, but we still need to realize that these homes are 14-18 years old. They are not now perfect nor will they ever be. By asking for a laundry list of small maintenance issues to be attended to, the buyers are risking the seller saying no to them all, as opposed to asking for those things that are safety issues (None of the items on either report are) and those things that could damage the home if left.

There will always be things about any home that needs maintenance, but my feeling is that if the home is in generally really good shape as these two are, asking for the moon may cause more problems than dealing with a few items after you move in. Just my humble opinion.

Posted by

Peter den Boer, Associate Broker, Realtor

Atlanta Communities Real estate Brokerage

 

Ph. 770.713.1545

www.denboerhomes.com

 

I write about daily life as a Realtor in the Towne Lake Community in Woodstock Georgia.

Comments(3)

Pat McCormick
Long and Foster Manassas - Manassas, VA

Peter - I agree.  I try to keep my clients focused on repairs that are necessary for health and safety, or that could be really expensive if left unaddressed.  The little things will just annoy or frustrate the seller and possibly make other negotiations more difficult later.

Apr 08, 2014 11:53 PM
Harold Smith
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices - Acworth, GA

I agree. Do the deal breakers, the rest usually doesn't amount to much. Seems like the ones asking for the moon are usually first time buyers.

Apr 10, 2014 12:13 AM
Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

Peter, I would also have to agree with you and the other comments. I just had a buyer do the same exact thing as yours; down to changing light bulbs because they were burned out, and putting a battery in a smoke detector, as well as other very small things. I couldn't believe it; they wanted a licensed contractor to change a light bulb and put in a battery?

Apr 10, 2014 03:11 PM