Aren't repairs after home inspection covered by seller??? (house, buying)

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

I thought this was what the 10 day "option" period was for here in Texas. At least that's what our realtor told us, we got our inspection done right away and the sellers had to tell us what they would do before the option ran out. Our realtor said during the option we could walk away for any reason, but after the option we pretty much were stuck.

What pissed us off was the sellers took until the day the option expired to acknowledge the inspection items and sign the contract...and what ended up happening is our realtor wasn't quite specific enough in her language on addressing the AC unit (having someone "service" it in the end meant nothing) so we pretty much had to live with it. On the other hand, there have been delays in fixing the sidewalk they promised to fix and if they don't get it done by Wed we will demand a credit or hold up settlement...that would be them not holding up their end of the contract.

It is only an option if you put it in your contract and as you found out, you need to be specific. This is not something that is automatically in a contract.
I purchased my house (an estate property) AS IS w/ only a cancellation clause on the inspection...no repairs negotiable or for that matter possible.

[hammer2000]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

What pissed us off was the sellers took until the day the option expired to acknowledge the inspection items and sign the contract...

It's possible your realtor didn't serve you too well here. I looked at the TREC site just now- the pertinent paragraph is #23. The way the terms are written, buyer must give "notice of termination to Seller within ____ days after the effective date of this contract." That's the date it is signed. The seller should not be able to "start the clock" until they sign something.

I'm not an expert in this field, so I could be wrong. But that's how I understand it.

Anyway, I hope it works out well for you.

[sunny57]

[quote=hammer2000;4905766]
That allows you to pay a nominal fee (say, $100) that the seller gets to keep NO MATTER WHAT.



Actually, the buyer can elect to have the option fee credited back to them upon closing and funding. You just select the option in your contract. If you choose to "opt out".... you surrender the option fee to the seller for this privilege. Sunny

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by marykate1

Hi,

Originally Posted by marykate1

I was wondering whether repairs that may come to the surface after the home inspection takes place, are covered by seller alone.

OR

are the expenses of covering repairs usually negotiated by both seller and buyer??? What should be the strategy here, if lets say, major faults are found in the property and cost a whole lot??

The repairs are a negotiable item; when the person representing the buyer in the transaction writes the original offer sheet/contract there is a place on it for an "option period", the spirit of the option period is for the buyers to do their inspections during that time and negotiate any repairs if needed. If after the inspections are done there are items that concern the buyer they are handled in many different ways. The buyer can ask the seller to fix the items or for a price reduction for the cost to do so. The seller is not obligated to do either, rather can tell the buyers agent that the inspections were an "fyi" for the buyers. The buyer at that point has the right to terminate the contrract and get their earnest $ back as long as they're still in their option period. The buyer would be out the nominal option period money and what ever it cost them for the inspection, usually the two items end up costing the buyers anywhere from $400 to $500 so they are really the ones trying to salvage the deal at that point unless the sellers are really desperate. Really a chess game at that point; the seller wants to sell, the buyers don't want to lose their investment and the Realtors and mortgage brokers want to get paid.

[sunny57]

Originally Posted by Lake Conroe resident

The repairs are a negotiable item; when the person representing the buyer in the transaction writes the original offer sheet/contract there is a place on it for an "option period", the spirit of the option period is for the buyers to do their inspections during that time and negotiate any repairs if needed. If after the inspections are done there are items that concern the buyer they are handled in many different ways. The buyer can ask the seller to fix the items or for a price reduction for the cost to do so. The seller is not obligated to do either, rather can tell the buyers agent that the inspections were an "fyi" for the buyers. The buyer at that point has the right to terminate the contrract and get their earnest $ back as long as they're still in their option period. The buyer would be out the nominal option period money and what ever it cost them for the inspection, usually the two items end up costing the buyers anywhere from $400 to $500 so they are really the ones trying to salvage the deal at that point unless the sellers are really desperate. Really a chess game at that point; the seller wants to sell, the buyers don't want to lose their investment and the Realtors and mortgage brokers want to get paid.

Very good points... but, I think buyers are in a better position.... as long as they are reasonable with their requests. The sellers having a copy of the inspection report.... will be adding it to their sellers disclosure. The next buyers will review the updated disclosures & expect issues fixed or offer a reduced sales price. Can't see an upside for the sellers. Sunny

[EasilyAmused]

geez. It's a buyers market in the exburbs. They should at least pay half.
I expect that close to the loop.

[sunny57]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

geez. It's a buyers market in the exburbs. They should at least pay half.
I expect that close to the loop.

yeah...it's all good.... when both parties play nice. Sunny

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by sunny57

Very good points... but, I think buyers are in a better position.... as long as they are reasonable with their requests. The sellers having a copy of the inspection report.... will be adding it to their sellers disclosure. The next buyers will review the updated disclosures & expect issues fixed or offer a reduced sales price. Can't see an upside for the sellers. Sunny

Yes; the sellers would have to disclose any latent defects to future buyers if the deal fell apart and they saw the actual inspection report from the previous buyers. Either way if the buyers bail out they are still going to lose at least 4 to 500 bucks in option and inspection $ though. Unless the house had major issues like foundation, serious electrical, plumbing or HVAC issues the realtors should be able to make the deal work. It's when the buyers start asking for rubber door stops and light bulbs after already chopping the sellers head off on the price where the problems begin. Bottom line is this; there is a skill set to negotiating, and there are certainly people out there who have excellent negotiating skills, but at the end of the day the price or "deal" the buyer gets on a property is always predicated on what the sellers checking acct looks like

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by marykate1

Hi,

I was wondering whether repairs that may come to the surface after the home inspection takes place, are covered by seller alone.

OR

are the expenses of covering repairs usually negotiated by both seller and buyer??? What should be the strategy here, if lets say, major faults are found in the property and cost a whole lot??

There isn't really a rule book on this. It just depends on what you can work out with the seller.

[latetotheparty]

Originally Posted by marykate1

Georgiagirl2,

I haven't signed the contract yet. The contract does not specify that the seller will cover all the costs. I talked to the seller, and according to the seller we'll end up negotiating about the cost of repairs.

Does that usually work out smoothly between the two parties or is it a big pain to deal with? From what I know and people tell me, the home inspector will definitely find faults within the property since thats his job. My concern however, is that hopefully the faults wont be too MAJOR and expensive for us.

the inspector's job is to review and report on the conditions of the major systems and components as they are at the time of the inspection.... the good, the bad and the just plain informational ..... not to "find faults"

sorry .... not trying to be obnoxious, but i owned a building inspection company here in st. louis for 15 years, and that perception of an inspector's "job" makes everything more difficult and contentious for everyone involved.