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So we had our townhome inspected by the buyers yesterday and they've come up with a list of things they want repaired. Our TH is only 2 years old, in a competitive neighborhood, and we have already bought a home warranty for them. Are we required to complete the repairs on the list? Can they walk as long as it's under the contigency repair dollar amt they stated on the contract?
I'd pick the "real" items to repair and reject any nonsense. If they are being unreasonable, hopefully their realtor will talk some sense into them. Home inspections are supposed to be about structural or mechanical issues, not nitpicking every little thing in a house. I once had a seller try to make me responsible for crickets under the crawlspace of the building - it was a condo, and the crawlspace was common area. Things like that just make me dread home inspections as a seller, especially when I've spent lots of money upgrading an older home.
yeah, they metioned things like a step creaks, there are two screws in a panel on something that should have 3, the microwave light doesn't work (the light underneath the microwave-it's burnt out! just yesterday!), and outlet covers that are not secure (the screws are loose!)
I'm just nervous b/c these buyers are kind of over the top about everything.
So we had our townhome inspected by the buyers yesterday and they've come up with a list of things they want repaired. Our TH is only 2 years old, in a competitive neighborhood, and we have already bought a home warranty for them. Are we required to complete the repairs on the list? Can they walk as long as it's under the contigency repair dollar amt they stated on the contract?
You should re read your offer to purchase from the buyer, it is very clear in the document. The repairs, generally, are another negotiation. Your buyer's have said we would like to have X number of items repaired, now you have to decide if you are willing to do those things.
Here is an example from my history: I listed a detached townhouse (I had helped the seller's purchase it the year before and we had an inspection done and repairs done as well), so we get an offer on their house. The inspection happens and this inspector found 35 items he wanted repaired. Some of the items were so tiny and insignificant it was silly. Anyhow, the seller's said, well, we will do these 10 things, and the buyer's said no, do them all or we walk. So, they walked. 10 days later, we had another offer on the property, another inspection, and there were 10 items that needed to be repaired, the new buyer's asked for 4. We accepted.
So, talk to your agent, get their feedback on the process. Are there items on there that will not be a big deal to fix? Are there things you can fix yourself? It is a negotiation, bottom line.
I'd pick the "real" items to repair and reject any nonsense. If they are being unreasonable, hopefully their realtor will talk some sense into them. Home inspections are supposed to be about structural or mechanical issues, not nitpicking every little thing in a house. I once had a seller try to make me responsible for crickets under the crawlspace of the building - it was a condo, and the crawlspace was common area. Things like that just make me dread home inspections as a seller, especially when I've spent lots of money upgrading an older home.
Yes, we most certainly do have to nitpick everything in the house because if we don't, guess who gets called to fix it after closing? Certainly not the seller.
The licensure board is very clear on what we have to report on. Are some of the items extraneous? Yes, but required.
With that said, an insignificant item to me may be important to someone else so we disclose absolutely everything.
More often than not, sellers call us to inspect their new house after they see everything we found with their previous home. Why would anyone want to pay us for only part of the story?
I hope this doesn't sound harsh as it is nothing personal, but I wanted to give our side of the equation. I will also say that not all inspectors are created equal and sometimes BS makes it onto a report.
aaa0628 you are only required to fix things that are not functioning as intended (basically do all your systems, HVAC, electrical, plumbing etc function?). Minor issues are up for negotiation. If you have a realtor they can give you further insight.
yeah, they metioned things like a step creaks, there are two screws in a panel on something that should have 3, the microwave light doesn't work (the light underneath the microwave-it's burnt out! just yesterday!), and outlet covers that are not secure (the screws are loose!)
I'm just nervous b/c these buyers are kind of over the top about everything.
well, aside from the creak in the step, you can fix all those in the same time you logged on and made your post
Unscrew the outlet cover plate, tighten the screws on the junction box which olds the outlet.
Change the bulb
add the extra screw to the panel that is lacking
creak in the stairs is in just about every house that is not brand new. Wood expands and contracts at different rates and the nails holding the stair tread back out. The squeak is the wood rubbing on the backed out nail, or on another piece of wood. They make a tool (sold at home depot, etc) that will insert a screw into the tread through the carpet without damaging your carpet. It costs about $10. 5 minute fix plus drive time to get the tool.
that issue is NOT structurally significant and is nothing but an annoyance.
In the current market, it would be a shame to lose a buyer over anything at all.
My recent buyer was the most difficult my agent had ever seen as far as inspection nonsense, but I looked at it this way-
If I have to replace a light bulb, tighten a few screws on switch plates, get a replacement screw for a panel, and nail a step down to stop a creak, my total cost is about 5 bucks for materials and 1/2 hour or so of my time. They might be really nitpicky things, but so what? When is the next buyer going to come along?
Where I was forced to draw the line was when the buyer thought she had the right to reinspect after repairs were performed and then come back with "round 2" of nitpicky stuff. The inspector gets one shot, not unlimited visits. There are things that I was aware of that the buyer's inspector missed that would have cost more time and money to fix than a few of the niggly things he did find, so in the end I came out fine.
This thread brings up a good point. If you are the seller, make sure you look at EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb before you list. Divorce yourself from the fact that it's your house and be as critical as you can. There are too many properties available right now to give any buyer any reason to go look at the next home on their list.
We are doing our inspection on the house we are buying on Monday, and I intend to be there with the inspector. I am hopeful that the guy is thorough and identifies everything. Then I'll look at the list and identify anything I think is significant and needs to be repaired. I am not going to expect the seller to fix every little thing that is out of whack... its not a new house, and so of course there are going to be a few things here and there that aren't perfect.
The last two houses that I sold in NY, I was lucky enough to have the buyers both hire the local inspector that all the realtors called the 'deal buster'. The guy is nuts and has everyone running out of the house in fear of their lives before the inspection is done. For example, anything he can't visibly see, he assumes is bad. He looked at the masonry fireplace that was 25 years old and in perfect condition and said that he couldn't be sure that proper fireplace bricks were used inside the chimney, so the whole thing had to be re-done. Mind you, this was in a development of about 500 houses. He looked at the shingles on the roof that were in good shape and about 5 years old, and came up with some internet story about a company that made defective shingles 5 years earlier, and so it was possible these shingles were in that group (no records of who made the shingles on the house), and so he concluded the roof needed to be replaced. We were listing the house for $169K, and he came up with about $75K worth of repairs... while the house had zero problems that we were aware of. The buyer, however, told me that he knew the guys reputation and would not expect me to fix all the stuff he came up with. In the end, I had to repair some wood rot on a balcony (it was rotted, and we weren't aware of it before), and re-run a wire to a sub-panel that was undersized. Total cost was $1500 for both repairs.
The house we own now, I chose the home inspector because they offered a nice warranty in case anything was found after the fact. Great. What I didn't know, was that everything they couldn't see, they excluded from the warranty. Worse, the limits to the warranty were the value they placed on each item they identified. The stucco/parging on the foundation of the walkout basement was popping off and the house was a year old. They estimated this at $1500, and the seller refused to fix it. So we went ahead with the purchase anyway. The real cost to repair it was $10,000.
So get as much information as you can if you are the buyer, but be reasonable with teh seller on getting repairs. If either the buyer or seller wants to be a jerk, then there isn't anything you can do about it. I am hopeful that whoever buys our house will be reasonable when they do the inspections.
Wow, that inspector in NY should be run out of business! It sounds as if he is afraid to be knowledgeable about anything.
Warranty companies in general heavily lean towards worthless. Our inspection warranty is simple; If we miss something that I should of seen, we fix it.
It doesn't matter to me if I have the buyer or the seller, I want the Home Inspector to do his job and tell us what is wrong!
There are certain things that I explain to my sellers that they must fix. There are certain things that I explain to my buyers that we should ask for and those that aren't worth the time or trouble.
Its part of the Realtors' jobs to educate the buyers and the sellers and then do the best you can with what your clients want. Be reasonable.
Some buyers will ask for the outlet covers to be tightened because they have never owned a home before and have no idea what needs to be done. Most sellers can do that in 2 minutes. The time it takes to argue over some of the little things, it could have been repaired!
If there are no Agents involved in this transaction, I will tell you that the Home Inspection can lead to buyers and sellers getting very upset and breaking their contract. Agents deal with these issues every day and take the emotion out of it for you.
Vicki
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