Aren't repairs after home inspection covered by seller???

[Supermac34]

Remeber also, you are usually buying a USED house AS IS. There may be important repairs that reasonable people would expect to be fixed before purchasing a home found by an inspector (a leak, roof repair, etc). I have also seen MANY inspection reports that have items that are either cosmetic (paint damage) or just plain incorrect.

Also, remember that inspectors cover themselves as well as the buyer. If there is a crack in the drywall, the inspection will say: "Crack in dry wall in kitchen. MAY BE CAUSED BY MASSIVE STRUCTURAL FAILURE IN SLAB." Well, sure, a crack can indicate some kind of structural failure, but in 99.999999% of cases, it is a cosmetic crack caused by heating and cooling of the house over the years and simple paint touch up would take care of it.

I have also seen many inspection reports that put in "suggested" upgrades for fixing things that weren't in building code when the acutal house was built. A great example is the dishwasher air gap fixture. About 5 years ago, nobody had them in any house. Now they are in code. Well, if you are buying a 15 year old house there won't be an air gap fixture, but I bet you that it'll show up on the inpsection. Now what happens? Does anybody want to spend the money on something that isn't really required? Do you want to hold up closing? Is it the sellers responsibility at all since that was not in the codes when they purchased the house?

Inspections get tricky. Many repairs aren't needed off inpsections. Many are cosmetic and shouldn't be covered anyways since a USED house is being purchased. I agree that major structural stuff should be watched out for, but be very careful. The best part is when money is negotiated for repairs, closing is made, and 99% of the time the repairs are NEVER made by the buyer because once they move in, they figure out it was never needed.

I'm just saying be careful and reasonable in everything that has to do with inspections.

[marykate1]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the help! I had home inspection done just recently. There are a couple of minor repairs required to the house. When sending the copy of the report to the seller, here's what the seller said:

"Items that need a licensed professional, I will send you the receipt. All other items, you can come by prior to closing to view."

By sending us the receipt, does that mean that we as the buyer will have to paY?

[Poltracker]

That means she is letting you know (proof) that the work was correctly completed by a professional.

[marykate1]

But that does not mean that I will have to pay her back, right?

[Supermac34]

Originally Posted by marykate1

But that does not mean that I will have to pay her back, right?

Only if you agreed to help cover the costs.

[diggity101]

Well, if you are buying a 15 year old house there won't be an air gap fixture, but I bet you that it'll show up on the inpsection.

It definitely should show up in the inspection report, because the inspector is required to inspect according to the current codes. They should also note in the inspection that certain items are grandfathered if the home was built before the applicable code existed.

A rational buyer will usually understand that the seller isn't required (nor expected) to have their house up to every modern code. Some things are silly (air gap) while other things can be dangerous if not repaired/updated (aluminum wiring). Whether or not the seller will agree to pay for them varies from deal to deal.