What Buyers Should and Should Not Request to Be Fixed
Unreasonable buyer requests after an inspection happen all the time.
When you find a home you want, it is crucial to pick your battles regarding repairs requested from a home inspection.
Some requests are unreasonable, and others are not.
While it would be nice for the seller to fix every little home inspection issue before you put your money down, there are only so many repairs most sellers are willing to commit to – especially in a seller’s market.
Electrical, plumbing, roof, HVAC – these are repairs that you can reasonably expect a seller to take care of under most circumstances, as long as the problems are significant enough to negatively impact your use of the house.
But there are some repairs that sellers will push back on in many cases, which you should avoid asking for if you want to close.
The Purpose of a Home Inspection
Unfortunately, some buyers occasionally lose sight of the home inspection’s purpose.
For those who don’t buy and sell homes every day, a home inspection aims to determine if there are severe structural or mechanical defects.
The issues should be large enough that they could significantly impact the use and enjoyment of the home now and in the future.
A home inspection should not be to create a punch list that itemizes every minor defect with the home you expect the seller to fix. Remember, you are not buying a new home!
The home inspection should not be explicitly used for renegotiating the offer to purchase with the seller either. In other words, if you have noticed defects before making an offer, don’t expect the seller to fix them.
An excellent buyer’s agent should be able to counsel you on what is worth focusing on and what should be considered trivial.
What Happens After The Inspection?
After an inspection, the professional home inspector you hired should provide a detailed inspection report. The document will outline all of the defects discovered, both large and small.
Your home inspection contingency allows you to cancel the sale. On most occasions, the deal will not fall through unless there are significant issues.
Instead, there will be negotiations after the inspection. Depending on the real estate market, it is customary for buyers to make home inspection requests.
You may have to forgo making inspection requests if it is a strong seller’s market. You’ll have a much better chance of getting some seller’s concessions in a buyer’s market or one that is balanced.
What is a Home Inspection Request?
A home inspection request asks the seller to either make a specific repair, reduce the price, or give a monetary credit towards repairs.
One of the most asked questions from home buyers is what is a reasonable home inspection request.
There is no standard for what is reasonable and what isn’t regarding home inspections. However, I can give you some perspective from thirty-seven years of experience selling homes.
If the real estate agent you have hired submits your requests to the seller or their agent without giving you any advice, there may be a problem. This is not the kind of agent you want representing you. A “yes” man or woman is not a good thing. You want someone who will give you an informed opinion.
This is a primary reason the listing and selling agent should represent their respective clients at the home inspection. Over the years, I have seen unreasonable home inspection requests and not even based on what the inspector said.
If you have found a home that meets all your needs, consider being a reasonable buyer for home inspection requests.
The best real estate agents understand how to negotiate home inspection problems. There is usually a give-and-take where both parties feel the conclusion is reasonable.
Below you will find some of the more common home inspection repair requests that a buyer should not make.
Use common sense and focus on the repairs or improvements that matter to you and your family.
Unreasonable Buyer Requests After Inspection
The following would be considered unreasonable buyer requests after a home inspection. They are examples of inspection repair requests to avoid.
1. Avoid Requesting Cosmetic issues
Cosmetic problems like a deck that needs staining, touching up the paint, or repairing a cracked tile may catch your eye and bother you a bit, but they are not the problems that need to be dealt with immediately.
Cosmetic issues are at the top of the list to avoid asking a seller to correct.
Many of these problems are relatively easy to handle and can be taken care of without spending too much money.
Frankly, real estate agents often advise owners what to fix before selling a home, which usually boils down to what makes a property more salable. This puts more money in their pocket, but some sellers don’t listen or don’t have the budget to do it.
Even if the repairs are somewhat expensive, if they are the kind of issues that other buyers may be willing to overlook, you will need to be flexible if you want to get the house and beat out the competition.
A Test of Reason
When I advise my seller clients on what they should agree to fix and what they shouldn’t, there is one line of thinking when determining what’s reasonable.
If the sale fell apart and the home went back on the market, would it be sensible to assume the next buyer would also have the same request?
Would the problem with the home stop the customer from getting financing?
These are two tried and true methods for determining what is reasonable and what is not. There is, of course, the possibility that there are things that should be repaired that don’t fall under either of these categories. These things can be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
2. Anything under $100
Minor issues under a hundred dollars to fix are home inspection repair requests a buyer shouldn’t make! Problems that arise from repair requests are not always about the financial cost. However, this is taking being nit-picky to the extreme.
There may be a hundred little things that need to be fixed on a home, but you and the seller only have so much time to close a deal. When you hit a seller with multiple little repair requests, they may feel overwhelmed simply due to the time required to make the repairs.
The seller’s agent may encourage them to reject your offer if the requests become ridiculous. If the repair costs around $100 or less, plan to take care of it yourself after buying the home.
If you are purchasing a home in a seller’s market, be especially careful not to piss a homeowner off to the point that they look to cancel the deal and go with a different buyer.
Over the years, there have been plenty of occasions where a seller has terminated the contract and moved on to a backup offer due to a buyer being completely unreasonable.
3. A Window With a Failed Seal
Failed window seals are pretty common in homes. Glass that has become fogged is almost always visible when viewing a home unless you are not paying attention. This falls into the category you should be aware of when viewing properties.
Most home inspectors will tell you that a failed window seal is purely cosmetic. The is very little energy lost through a failed window seal. The insulating value loss is extremely minimal.
Keep this in mind when making your offer. If many windows need replacement, account for that in your offer upfront.
Explain to the agent that the window failure is why you have made the bid at your number. Don’t ask for something to be fixed that you noticed before making your offer or was disclosed upfront.
4. Renovations You Are Planning
You may look over the house and imagine some improvements that will make it perfect for you and your lifestyle.
However, it is essential to remember that the seller is not responsible for preparing your dream home. They want to sell the house for the best possible price and be done with it.
Avoid asking for repairs that relate to your planned renovations.
Doing so will put the sale at risk, which is unnecessary since you are just going to renovate anyway. This is the kind of home inspection request a buyer should never make and will piss off everyone involved in the transaction.
5. Cracks in a Basement Floor
Concrete, by nature, is a very porous substance. It absorbs water and naturally settles.
Cracks in concrete floors are entirely expected and not a structural problem.
A concrete floor does nothing to hold up a structure. The cracks are purely aesthetic.
You’re lucky if you are purchasing a home that doesn’t have a few cracks. Cracks in the basement walls, however, are a different story altogether.
If you are purchasing a home with cracks in the cellar wall, it is critical to determine whether they are structural. Most of the time, they are not a concern unless the wall has shifted or the size of the crack has opened up a significant amount.
Typical “spider” cracks should not be anything to worry about. If you find that either type of crack is letting water into the building, it would be reasonable to ask for a repair.
Some companies can seal a crack with an epoxy injection that is pretty reasonable in price.
6. Loose Fixtures, Railings, and Similar issues
A loose doorknob, light fixture, or railing on a deck or stairwell may be annoying or potentially unsafe, but these problems are often fixable with essential hand tools and a little effort.
If you can’t tighten the screws yourself – such as if they are stripped out or if the material is old and worn out – you can hire a contractor to fix the problem for a reasonable price.
If there are vast areas of rot or decay or significant safety concerns, the inspector will say so, and you can demand a repair. But if the issue is minor, avoid stressing about it.
7. Minor Water Damage
Water can look pretty bad when it saturates interior building materials like drywall. You are unlikely to miss such damage as you wander through the house.
Fortunately, the home inspector will not miss the signs of water damage either, and they can tell you the severity of the problem.
If the water has caused significant damage, the inspector will let you know, and you can request appropriate repairs. But if the water damage is cosmetic, don’t stress about it. You can fix cosmetic stuff later.
One of the more common water stains you will see in a home is on the ceiling over a bathroom. This condition is often caused by either a toilet overflowing at some point or a kid who left a shower curtain open.
Water stains are usually easy to discern whether they are ongoing or still an issue.
The exception to the rule is water stains from ice dams. This kind of problem should be investigated entirely, and do what is necessary to prevent the ice dams from reoccurring.
If the seller has already fixed the ice dam problem, but there are just stains left in the ceiling, don’t worry about it. You can remove ice dam staining by bleaching that ceiling area, avoiding a complete paint job.
8. Non-Functional Light Switches and Sockets
Avoid requesting repairs for minor electrical issues. The electrical system in a house can be pretty finicky.
It may no longer function if wires come loose or a part wears out, like a switch or a socket.
Flipping a switch that fails to turn on or off a light can be annoying, as can dead outlets, but they are not necessarily signs of significant electrical problems.
Your inspector will inform you if the electrical system in the home is safe to use and up to code.
One of my big pet peeves is buyers who make a big deal about older homes not having GFCI outlets in kitchens and baths. Relax, people; we have lived in homes for decades without this being a big issue.
The chance you will drop your blender in the sink and electrocute yourself is minimal. You have a greater chance of getting hit by a car crossing the street!
9. External Buildings – Sheds, Garages, etc.
If you are in a competitive market, you are going to have to be able to let some things go when it comes to other buildings on the property.
Sheds are prone to rot; garages tend to get dirty. Owners are inclined to let external buildings get run down more often than they are the main house.
If there are serious issues, it may be reasonable to ask for a fix, but if the shed or the garage looks like every other shed or garage in the neighborhood – that is, less than perfect – it may just be something you are going to have to deal with yourself.
It is also likely you were aware of the shed’s general condition before submitting your offer to purchase.
10. Cosmetic Landscaping or Minor Yard Problems
You can’t expect the seller to plant the flower beds and install a fountain just for you. The seller won’t be too keen on making minor landscaping repairs that you can do yourself after buying the home.
A missing rock from the border of a flower bed, leveling a few bricks in a walkway, trimming the tree in the backyard – other buyers may not care about these things, buyers the seller will be happy to work with if you insist on minor landscaping repairs.
What Fixes Are Mandatory After a Home Inspection?
Zero. Zilch. None. There are no mandatory seller fixes after a home inspection. Sellers are never required to make repairs or modifications to their property. They can tell you to pound sand if they choose to.
While a buyer’s repair requests aren’t mandatory, some should be considered reasonable. It also could be good business for a seller to address these concerns, especially if other buyers feel the same way.
What Inspection Items Should Be Fixed?
As mentioned previously, the issues a buyer should focus on asking a seller to repair or replace are significant structural, mechanical, or environmental defects.
These are substantial home inspection problems. It is reasonable to assume that any buyer would want these items fixed if discovered after a home inspection has taken place.
These are some of the reasonable requests after a home inspection:
- Termites or other wood-destroying insects.
- Wildlife infestation like bats or squirrels in the attic.
- Major drainage or ongoing water problems.
- Mold problems.
- Elevated Radon levels above EPA suggested levels.
- Major electrical defects that cause safety issues.
- Significant plumbing problems that interfere with the use of the home.
- Lead paint. It should be noted that it is a federal requirement for sellers to disclose the known presence of lead paint in a property.
- Problems with a well including a lack of pressure or volume of water.
- Major structural issues such as a leaking roof or substandard building violations.
The above items are a condensed list of possible issues worth asking a seller to address. There certainly could be others, but these are, without question, reasonable repair requests that any buyer would have.
If you are concerned about whether the seller will make these repairs adequately, then it may be advisable to ask for a seller’s concession instead. This is often referred to in the contract as a closing cost credit. You can then take these funds and make the repairs/modifications yourself.
Do Sellers Get a Copy of The Home Inspection?
Yes. It is customary for a seller to get a copy of the home inspection report. Providing the home inspection report validates the issues and allows the seller to understand the noted problems.
Typically, home inspection reports are very detailed, with photography identifying the indicated problems. Quite often, sellers don’t even realize many of the issues exist.
The home inspection report helps buyers make requests for repairs after the inspection. The report can also be used to help verify the repairs were completed.
How Long Does a Seller Have to Respond to a Repair Request?
There is no time frame for a seller to respond to a repair request. Typically, there is an ongoing dialog between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent to negotiate issues.
You should expect the negotiations to last no more than a few days unless an estimate is needed for the cost of repairs.
The Seller Isn’t Willing to Negotiate After Inspection
It is quite possible a seller isn’t willing to negotiate after a home inspection. When real estate markets heavily favor sellers, you may not get any concessions.
The market could be so good that many buyers waive inspections. It can be pretty standard when there are many bidding wars on homes.
On the other hand, in a buyer’s market, you can find a small number of sellers who fail to negotiate. Some sellers won’t make repairs after a home inspection.
Usually, when this is the case, they have made it clear they are selling as-is.
When to Walk Away After a Home Inspection
When to walk away from a home is a personal decision. If you and the seller do not have a meeting of the minds, it may be necessary to terminate the sale.
You’ll need to decide how badly you want the home. Can you live with the problems? Are you willing to take on the issues from a financial standpoint?
There is no right or wrong answer. For various reasons, some buyers are willing to take on substantial issues when they love a property.
For others, there could be deal breakers they are unwilling to accept. There could be many reasons not to buy a house after a home inspection. Only you can decide.
Final Thoughts
If you are a buyer negotiating a home inspection, above all else, be reasonable, especially if you want the home.
If you are a homeowner, understand how a seller should prepare for a home inspection. By taking care of most of the issues mentioned, you won’t have to worry about having a stressful home inspection negotiation with your buyer.
Sellers will often ask if they should get a pre-listing home inspection. If you have an older home and know you have some defects needing attention, it might be worth the money! Anytime you can prevent a home inspection from causing your sale to go down the tubes is a good thing.
Home inspections are one of real estate transactions’ most significant stumbling blocks.
Additional Helpful Home Buying Articles Worth Reading
- Watch for problems sellers try to conceal – unfortunately, a percentage of sellers will try to conceal problems with their property. Find out what they are via Xavier De Buck.
- Info-graphic on real estate inspection issues – check out the excellent graphic via Paul Sian on common home inspection issues.
- Home inspection issues that may not be discovered – some home inspection issues are often missed. Find out what they are via Maximum Real Estate Exposure.
Use these additional home inspection resources to make intelligent and informed decisions when purchasing a home.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on unreasonable buyer requests after an inspection was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 36+ Years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton and Uxbridge MA.
Right on point Bill! This is good not just for buyers, but mostly for the buyers agents. Sometimes they do not look at the big picture…
George unreasonable buyer requests from a home inspection is one of my biggest pet peeves in real estate.
Mine as well! In fact I’m dealing with some at the moment… basement window screens are missing – keep in mind the buyer has been living in the home for nearly two years, and it hasn’t bothered them until they decided to buy it. And repairs to a telephone jack for internet use in a 1920’s home (to name a few nitpick requests). Years ago a buyer sued me, the seller and the broker because – get this – the original bathtub in a 1950’s home didn’t drain fully without swishing the water down manually with her hand. She wanted a brand new tub, but waited until after closing to bring it up. It’s a love/hate relationship.
I feel your pain Geri. Home inspections are my least favorite part of the job. Some buyers are unrealistic and quite often their agents don’t have the backbone to tell them so.
I just had a sale fall out of escrow do to a buyer being unreasonable in their home inspection requests to the seller. We as Realtors need to be very active in this stage of the deal so that no bad information is being provided.
Erika – more home sales fall apart than at any other point in a real estate transaction due to a home inspection. Sometimes a buyer is just totally unreasonable in what they are requesting of the seller. Of course I have seen just the opposite as well where the seller does not agree to things they should. Lastly some real estate agents don’t advise their clients property on what should be important and what shouldn’t.
I will use this list upfront to educate my buyers. The is will be helpful in eliminating some of the Unreasonableness that comes with home inspection repair requests! Otherwise, it is harder to do after the inspection report comes back.
Thanks.
Hi Bill
This is an excellent article with some great advice especially for buyers agents who do not advise their clients of obvious issues before the offer is presented. Home inspectors do point out every little flaw, defect and code violation as part of their job. Buyers and their agents need to realize they should not negotiate themselves out of the home they want. Representation has to be tempered with common sense and intelligent compromise. Buyers really need to be educated on what are reasonable requests from the results of an inspection.
Thanks Larry. One of my biggest frustrations as an agent over the years has been buyers not understanding the purpose behind an inspection. So many of them actually plan to renegotiate the sale right from the get go. A good buyers agent should counsel the buyer on what is reasonable and what is not when it comes to repair requests.
Great post, Bill. You are certainly a highly respected agent whose knowledge and experience is well known in the area. As an inpection company, though, it’s frustrating for us when an agent, or the buyer’s parent who may work in a closely related industry, believes they have more knowledge about the home inpection than we do. They follow us around which is fine, in and of itself, but in some cases , have they contradict us in front of the buyer! We’ve seen it all though and, yeah, even though and we’ve learned not to engage when it happens. It’s a risky business. Even when we do everything right, the buyer can just pick up the phone and call our insurance company before they even call us to try to resolve “the problem!” Risk and liability- that’s what our job is about- to reduce it in everything way say and do. A good inspector handles these situations with great care and finesse. On the other hand, some inspectors do not communicate the purpose and scope of an inspection to the buyer or have a short fuse, which is very dangerous. And, please keep in mind, by license law, the home inspector is NOT in the business of quoting code compliance. A good inspector who has been in the trenches can guide, educate and present defects without blowing their findings all out of proportion. The fact is, like Bill said, the majority of homes for sale are not new and the degree to which they have been maintained is going to vary widely. All homes are going to need upkeep, maintenance and repair at some point. So, a sale is sort of like passing the baton. If you’ve ever seen a home that hasn’t been lived in for even as little as a year, you can understand how quickly it can fall into disrepair. The buyer agent and buyer need to understand the nuances and context of a home inspection before they attend their first inspection and they need to understand the point Bill makes here. It’s a delicate balance. We understand from the buyer’s perspective too, however. There’s a lot of money at stake – a lot of cash for the down payment and closing costs and then another chunk to move and then repair, replace or have serviced whatever is necessary.
Cheryl I see it all when it comes to home inspections. As you mention a great home inspector is also an excellent communicator as well. Poor communication skills is where I find the difference with most thorough home inspectors. A home inspector holds quite a bit of power in the transaction and when they are not able to communicate to a buyer what is really a big issue and what isn’t it can really make our job as agents much harder.
Of course you get buyer’s agents as well who do very little counseling of their clients when it comes time to negotiate issues.
This is some great information, and I appreciate your suggestion to avoid requesting that a homeowner fix failed window seals. My husband and I are going to be buying our first home, and we weren’t sure what the proper procedures were for requests like this. We’ll definitely follow your advice, and we won’t request that windows be fixed if the seal isn’t working. Thanks for the great post!
I have a buyer who wants the seller to replace the AC condenser only because it is 15 years old. The condenser tests fine… Fun fun.
This is a great article to provide to both buyers and sellers. It truly explains what is important when writing an offer or request for repairs.
Thanks Jane. It is very important that a Realtor educate their clients on what home inspection repair requests are reasonable and what are not.
Great article as always, Bill. I try to start laying the groundwork with buyers on this subject at the time we’re preparing an offer or even before. I tell them to think of the inspection as insurance. We want to ask the seller to repair any big expensive “showstopper” issues, but think of the smaller issues as being under the “deductible” amount and take care of them yourself. My speech sometimes still falls on deaf ears though, haha.
Darren – we are clearly on the same page, as I like to counsel my buyers in advance of the home inspection to explain what are reasonable repair requests and what are not.
Since the onset of the due diligence period here in North Carolina being part of the contracts, buyers, and some agents have become more empowered with repair requests. With 22+ years in this industry, I see items requested to be fixed that I never did in the past. This was well written and with your permission, I would like to retype it into a format that I can hand to my buyers at our first meeting. When I talk about the due diligence and home inspection process this will be a great resource to give them.
Ernie thanks for the compliments on what home inspection requests a buyer should not make. You can make a copy of the article as long as you give me credit for writing it. This article cannot be copied and posted online!
Thank you for addressing what home inspection requests are not considered reasonable.
There’s a saying that goes like this: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Buyers need to be reminded of this when looking at a house with an older roof or furnace or even appliances. These things frequently last a lot longer than the “projected lifespan” that inspectors or manufacturers quote.
Nadine that is so true. The other thing I have observed over the years is each home inspector quotes a different life expectancy for the exact same product. I don’t know how many times I have heard one home inspector say the life expectancy of a Burnam heating system is 30 years while another says 20 years. Obviously, ten years is a huge difference!
Great article, Bill. Mirrors much of what I have told my team for some time. Basically–1. Tell your buyers they are not buying a new home. They need to focus on structural, safety and mechanical issues that are critical to use of the home. They need to forget the minor and cosmetic issues. 2. Tell your sellers to go ahead and repair those major things they know are wrong before you start showing. Advise them to resist cosmetic repairs, taste related issues and upgrade items.
One great point, though, is the point about adjusting the initial offer for obvious faults you know are there and communicate that with the offer.
Thanks for allowing the article to be used and you will assuredly be credited. It is a great teaching tool; especially for Buyers, but Sellers as well. I loved your GFCI comment – this issue comes up in almost every inspection. Either there are none or they don’t work! I do counsel my Buyers to only ask for safety issues and other major items.
As a Home inspector and Builder in Florida, I see all the time people asking me how much will it be to remodel the kitchen or bathroom, and I have to tell them that I am not a contractor right now. I am your inspector, move on. I get it that someone wants to know how much to replace a switch, but I am looking for bad wiring, that could cause damage or injure somebody.
One of the all time Best stories I have is a client contacted me about doing a home inspection. They were very much concerned about the underground sprinkling system. Upon starting my inspection I was in the attic first. Once in the attic, I could see that the house had been rewired to a outbuilding in the back of the property. Also I could see that the water lines had been re-piped. Moving downstairs, I found that all the GFI’s we’re not wired properly and many of the outlets we’re not wired properly as well.
I’m sure you want to know about the irrigation system that they asked me about? Well the underground sprinkler system was a hose connected to an hose bib with a timer buried in the ground. And by the way there was no permits pulled for the re-piping or electrical that was a safety hazard running to that back building. The buyer had no idea that the plumbing or electrical was that bad.
It is funny sometimes the home inspection items the buyers focus on.
I would recommend any plumbing or electrical be fixed by a licensed professional. If there is a small issue noted by the inspector a licensed professional may find its bigger and buyers shouldn’t have after the fact electrical or plumbing surprises.
I disagree with your assessment Gina. If the problem is identified by the inspector as being minor, why should it be a requirement for the seller to fix it? The problem is either minor or it isn’t. For example, I don’t consider a marginally loose toilet as being as big issue.
It truly depends on the definition of “minor”. Different people (especially the people involved in a real estate transaction) have varying opinions on what is considered “minor”. Many times a “minor” condition is the sign of a much larger condition somewhere else.
Mike that is where the problem lies. Many buyers think they should be buying perfection. Homes are not perfect. You know from being an inspector that even new homes have issues. Many people have lost site of the purpose of a home inspection. It is not too make the home perfect for the buyer which many of them expect.
Thanks for the thought provoking article! I published a new book in July called The Confident House Hunter. As a home inspector I am constantly frustrated by clients who don’t really understand houses. If you think about it, a house is the most expensive and complicated thing most of us ever buy; yet there are no classes to teach people about houses, and many homebuyers go into homebuying with just a cosmetic understanding of what they want and what they are looking at. The purpose of the book was to help get clients expectations in alignment with the typical types of repairs that are needed in buildings. Anyway I think this is a helpful resource that you might look into thanks again for a great article. Best, Dylan Chalk
Dylan you are right on the money. Far too many buyers do not even understand the concept of a home inspection. Lots of agents do a very poor job of educating their clients. This leads to buyers thinking that the house should be perfect for them. Many have lost sight of the purpose of a home inspection.
Thanks for putting together this great article Bill! I’m planning to use it as our home inspection “bible”.
When working as buyer’s agents we always attend the home inspection with the buyer. We arrange to meet the inspector towards the end of the inspection so that they can review the report and do a quick walk-through to point out any issues and to clarify areas of concern. I now plan to make it a rule to attend every home inspection even as the listing agent (apparently unheard of in my area). I recently asked some local agents what they thought about listing agents attending the home inspection and got a variety of responses from “It’s the buyer’s private time to look through the home, you would be intruding” and “The buyer is paying for it so you don’t have the right to be there.” to “If you attend you will have to disclose everything you hear or see”. I’ve also had a home inspection company tell me that it’s their policy not to allow the seller’s agent or the homeowner to be present at the inspection. Interested to hear what other agents think about the listing agent attending the home inspection.
Holly I totally disagree that a home inspection is a “buyers time” and the sellers agent should not be allowed there. The buyer does not have the right to dictate who enters or leaves a home they are purchasing it until they own it! The seller deserves just as much representation at a home inspection. I attend everyone of mine. Trust me when I tell you if I did not buyers would be getting away with far more on their home inspection repair requests. Buyer exaggerate issues all the time from home inspections. I think it is smart you plan on attending your inspections. Be a leader not a follower. It will take you far in this business. It has worked for me over my thirty years in the real estate industry. In regards to liability from being at the inspection – this again a bunch of hogwash. Liability is created when you speak about things you shouldn’t. Don’t try to be the inspector or interfere with what they are doing. Being an good observer is how you represent your client whether it is a buyer or a seller.
Great article. But I have a few thoughts; In Arizona where I practice real estate it is a sellers market and values are steadily going up. Since sellers are holding out to get top dollar, buyers feel that homes should be in good condition without a lot of deferred maintenance. This can be a sign of home owner laziness in thinking they can get top dollar but have a list of items left to the buyer after the purchase to repair. Buyers are certainly willing to pay market value but they want a home they feel has been maintained and cared for by the seller.
A good listing agent does his best to educate his or her client to spend a few hundred dollars to repair windows and screens before listing. It may be wise for a seller to repair electrical issues discovered by a home inspector, as electrical issues scare buyers more then any other issue besides water intrusion. Deferred exterior maintenance such as old peeling paint, rotting wood due to moisture exposure, unkempt yard space and faulty grade around the home are a real concern for many buyers.
Thanks Chad. Of course buyers want the home to be in the best shape possible. The question is what is reasonable and what is not when it comes to home inspection repair requests? While there is some grey area for sure, buyers should not expect the home to be perfect. They should not expect sellers to repair items the buyer could see with their own eyes before making an offer. Your example of peeling paint comes to mind. It is unreasonable for a buyer to expect a seller to paint the home for example when they clearly could see it needed to be painted. That is called trying to re-negotiate the agreed upon offer. This kind of thing creates needless tension in a sale.
You are right about major electrical issues being addressed. Homes should meet standard safety requirements. Buyers, however need to understand if something costs $50 dollars to fix – like a GFCI they should not bother making a federal case out of it with a seller. So many times both buyers and sellers lose sight of what is important and what isn’t.
Great points! We suggest the buyers do not major in the minors but they do not follow our advice. I really liked your comment on the GFCI’s, this is always an issue. Fogged Windows is another common issue along with loose toilets. Buyers feel that they are overpaying and the inspection issues are a way to get back. They forget they are buying a used home. All you can give your best advice on what is reasonable and what isn’t.
Recently I had a prospective buyer suggest that even if the home’s septic systems passed all inspections, he still wanted to have them replaced. NOT!!!
Should a seller replace an interior door that has a cutout for their cat? I didn’t think about it when I was looking through the house, but after research, a new door will probably cost about $200. Not sure if it will come up during the inspection, but something that I don’t think the buyer should be responsible since they offered above asking on the property.
Jim replacing the door would not be a reasonable request for a few reasons. The door was that way before you made your offer. Additionally, it is not a structural or mechanical defect.
Thanks Bill. Funny thing is we had the inspection today and as I was looking through the house again I noticed that every single door in the house was pretty badly scratched about 2 feet off the ground. I noticed it on a lot of their other furniture too so it must be from a pet of some sort. Obviously nobody noticed it when we were looking through the house initially, but it is to the point where at least 4 or 5 doors had deep scratches that ran about 6-8 inches long and the only way to fix them would be replacing the whole door.
Is this something you have ever run into? Our realtor is going to ask the sellers what it is from, but even though it is cosmetic, it is frustrating that we are going to have to spend a good amount of money just to get doors that aren’t all scratched up.
I understand we shouldn’t expect things to be brand new, but I also hate spending more money (maybe $500 to $1000) on doors that are all scratched when we thought we were buying a move in ready house. I understand your point about things being that way when we offered, but it is impossible to notice everything before you make an offer on a house.
I would ask to take the cost out of what you were paying for the house. if the doors needed to just be repainted it wouldn’t be a big deal or replacing 1 or 2 doors, but having to replace multiple doors can be costly and time-consuming. I am currently selling my house and a perspective buyer had a home inspection done and they want everything done like they are buying a brand new house. I just laughed and told my wife if they try to renegotiate just too low ball us then we will find a different buyer. We are paying the closing cost and already took $10,000 off of what we were asking.
Same here. Took $10,000 less than the listing price and now the buyer is asking for a new stove, lot of AC work which is working fine. Asking $7500 to repairs.
I thought this was extremely helpful! I’m in the process of purchasing a home now and had to submit a request for remedy. I did not care about the ugly cabinets or cracks in the ceiling. What I did ask for were the major items and all cosmetic stuff I just overlooked. It’s an older house so I know it needs TLC. The major items are all things that are on the list you had indicated were things to ask for.
First, termite treatment. Second, I asked for electrical. I even offered to split the cost! The listing indicated the house had 100 amp service. Well it had 60 amp with glass fuses. Everything from the weather head down needs to be replaced (still has cloth wiring!!). Third, I asked for plumbing to be redone with PEX instead of copper to save time and money.
The listing agent did NOT disclose they had cut the water line and drained the water in the basement to winterize. Also the morning of my inspection (mind you this is AFTER the purchase and sales agreement was fully executed) the selling agent notified us they had already repaired at least 8 leaks in the plumbing. That would have been helpful to know before hand!
Lastly, I asked for them to address the wood rot. It is advanced and the small deck is 100% rotten through, is a safety hazard as well as blocking a means of egress. I asked for the seller to remove and replace. I offered to split the cost of this as well if they did the demo and removal of the deck and associated wood rot, I would take care of rebuilding it.
Finally, I asked for seller concession if they were unwilling to do any of the requests for remedy. I tried to be flexible and only address the major mechanical/structural issues that currently prevent the house from being habitable. Currently waiting on a reply from the sellers. Also, just an FYI, they were offered list price for the house too.
I remind people when we are making an offer, the time to request obvious repairs you see prior to an offer show be at the time of the offer. Keep in mind that before a seller or buyer requests home inspection items that you are now renegotiating with the seller. The seller can accept, reject, or counter and will in many cases call in a professional contractor to evaluate, repair and or estimate if an improvement is necessary or not or in there budget. Sellers that tell you they don’t want to do repairs may do just that. They may also be getting other offers. In a tight inventory sellers market, buyers need to remember this. Offers may have come in with better terms or backup buyers with offers maybe waiting to step into your shoes The rule of thumb is never insult the seller if you want a house…
This is great advice. I’m going through this issue now. Me and my wife decided to sell our house to get a bigger one. Someone made an offer on the house almost 10 days ago and just had an inspector come look at the home and they want every little thing the home inspector found fixed. Our realtor is currently working on negotiating things but I think either the buyer is a first time buyer and think they are getting a brand new house or the buyers agent has not explained what is reasonable. The house was built in 1989 and the buyer wants everything in the house brought up to code. I don’t know if its a tactic to try and lower the price but at this point I am ready to tell them no thank you if they can’t be reasonable. The funny part is that none of it is a safety hazard except for smoke detectors not being in every room.
Thank you for this information
This is a great list, what about the picky gov loans? We’re in love with this house and one set of stairs inside doesn’t have a railing and some spots of the exterior needs to be painted and sealed. Fortunately, we don’t care about these things, but I’m sure the appraiser does and will report it to our va lender. So should we wait to see what the appraiser says and pay more money to have him come out to see if these things will be an issue?
Chelsea – if a problem was flagged by an appraiser due to in being an FHA or VA loan the item would need to be fixed. You should just wait to see what comes back and deal with it then.
I am looking to buy a home but the inspection shows an unsafe foundation. Is the seller responsible to fix this before selling?
Sue a seller is never required to fix anything from an inspection. If it makes good business sense to do so, however, most of the time a seller will repair large items or make a concession for same.
We are dealing with this insanity now, we just got the list. We did a reno on the 118 year old home an priced it to sell. We had multiple offers on day 5 in January. I felt the price was to low but, hey, we were tired and wanted done. We offered a home warrant as well.
They want GFIs through out the entire house, every outlet. They want a new water heater. They want the brand new furnace and AC inspected and certified at our expense. They even want us to hire an electrician to replace the electric meter and update the wiring. It belongs to the electric company and is newer?
Everything they want done by certified pros of one sort or another, and proof. So I have to hire an electrician to install these GFIs, not a general contractor?
We are saying good bye to these buyers. We also had our own inspection done and corrected every item on his list already. It’s not worth the headache I got from reading this list.
Even if they back off, I don’t want to deal with them AT ALL!!!! It will be back on the market and I won’t entertain them as buyers again. The buyers agent should have counseled them better, I hope they didn’t LOVE the home! Because I am pissed off!
Marilyn I feel your pain. As real estate agents we often are in the middle of trying to deal with the unreasonable demands of making a home perfect.
It looks like most of the comments come from sellers or agents which mean they get a profit or want to maximize their profit. I am wondering how they reacted when they bought their own houses. A different point of view comes up when your money or savings are a stake.
Jose if they listen to my sound advice provided they would not be asking for the home to be perfect. They would forgo asking the seller to fix knit picky things. Unfortunately, many buyers have lost perspective on the purpose of a home inspection. It’s to find major defects in the home not to provide a home free of imperfections.
Very informative! I’m in process of selling a house. The buyers submitted a long to do list or want me to pay $1500 towards closing costs. This was after they had an inspection done. A few things I agree with but most of it is ridiculous! I looked at my inspection I had done when I bought the house. There were lots of the repairs suggested on my inspection report but I chose not to have them fixed because they were minor.
Terri a buyer asking for things to be fixed after a home inspection is all too common. What you need to figure out is what’s reasonable and what isn’t. If every buyer will have a problem with the issues then it’s worth correcting.
As buyers we just did an inspection and found a rotted out swamp cooler duct and a federal pacific stab lock electrical box. The seller doesn’t want to fix anything including some minor roofing issues and venting problems. I’m willing to do all cosmetic repairs except the roofing problem. Am I being unreasonable?
Carl what are the roofing and venting issues that you are referring to?
Wow. Buyer this, buyer that … buyers are so IGNORANT. Um, yeah the sellers can be well off base too you know. Find a big problem no one knew about? You guessed it … seller will do anything and everything to tank the deal and hope for a cash buyer who will look the other way. That, or a miracle. Sellers can be just as unreasonable and irrational.
Craig you are correct that at times a seller can be difficult on making repairs that should be done. Rarely, however, do you see sellers trying to hide problems or find a cash buyer. Doing these things would make a property much harder to sell and put less money in their pocket.