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The requested list of repairs after a home inspection is my LEAST favorite part of the home selling process. Back in VA I had a buyer ask that something be done about crickets in the crawlspace under a multi-unit condominium building. Really? At some point it just gets insulting. As a result I'm probably TOO reasonable about repair requests when I'm buying.
Exactly, adIn. We're also not filled with confidence in this inspection because a number of "repair" items were incorrectly listed and even more are crazy ridiculous. A light works that he has listed as non-operational. The inspector wanted to know why the microwave didn't have a metal rack in it, since most microwaves in that line have metal racks in them. It was listed as a repair item, and the buyer wants it addressed.
Yes, if the Buyer expects all of these things to be addressed--in the context of the expedited closing HE asked for and we agreed to and us covering closing costs AND us adding in a few addendum items he wanted left--he's going to be one disappointed puppy.
So, you get a contract at $400,000.
And you do a home inspection and appraisal.
The home inspection shows about $2000 in repairs.
The appraisal opinion is $415,000, which you and your agent supported via CMA when writing the offer.
As a buyer, does it matter a great deal if you get money or repairs?
For 2k? Probably not. If it was more? Money.
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I've had inspectors make a huge list of nit-picky "repairs" on a home I was selling. It was several pages long, about 80% of it was ridiculous enough that I walked around with the list in my hand and completed the "repairs" in a matter of minutes. Some as simple as hammering in a nail sticking up in a shingle on the roof. Several of the items I just laughed at. I sent the list back to the realtor having checked off nearly 90% of it, and the rest I said were either non-existing or things I simply wasn't going to address. One "big one" was the deck board closest to the house was too close to the siding, or something, and they suggested it be taken up and shifted or cut. The deck flooring ran the length of the back of the house. This particular board was 16' long, and there was no way to get it up without taking up other boards. I don't remember the exact details now, but I told them it wasn't going to happen. It never came up again.
On the other hand, if something "major" comes up, I feel it does become a bargaining point. Big ticket repairs should affect the final price if the seller isn't willing to fix them. The house I currently live in, the inspector made a comment about there needing to be a support under the house, near the front porch. The seller made a big fuss about it but did fix it. Even went on about it, complaining during the closing. I think he spent about $100 on the repair. It was one of two or three things we asked for, the other being to replace the skylight covers, which were cracked.
I understand the inspector's job is to point out all issues, whether big or small.
I don't understand the buyer wanting to ask for EVERY LITTLE ITEM on the list.
I just had an agent send me a repair request. One of the items is to "clean out the drain in the hall bathroom because the water isn't draining quickly enough".
another was to "nail down the ONE DECK BOARD that isn't nailed down.
I blame this on inexperienced agents that don't explain things to buyers and sellers.
I just had an agent "suggest" that my seller pay the home inspector a trip charge because the inspector could not get the door to the storage room open and therefore could not inspect the hot water heater. Really? If I hired an inspector that couldn't open a door, using the right key, I might not use him a 2nd time!
But wait...what am I thinking! This was the same agent that called me 3 times yesterday because he couldn't find where on the MLS page that the HOA contact information was listed!!!
My last house had a little dryer lint stuck in the flap/door to the outside. Not a garbage bag full, not even a grocery bag full. More like what you could wipe up on a damp paper towel.
The buyer noted it. Had a contractor price out taking care of it ($75), with a picture no less. Requested it as one of their contractor items for us to have done. I, of course, took the minute to wipe it away myself.
No problem, and I also gave in to a lot of petty stuff like replacing faucets that weren't really faulty, replacing failed seal window glass and a few justifiable requests. Out waited them when they failed to respond to our repairs reply until they were past their deadline. Didn't make a big deal, just showed them that we had reached our line in the sand. She wanted the roof swept off -- we took care of it before her inspection. But then she wanted it swept off again right before the sale. We (or rather, my husband) did it, a little steam rolling out of his ears.
But when her financing failed to finalize on a busy Friday, and she begged to move in anyway while she had help that weekend? No way. Not worth the liability to be 'nice' when she had shown us so little respect in return and we didn't have a check to take to the bank.
Karma.
(We tend to ask for things like fixing electrical or structural issues and ignore most of the petty stuff so it irked us to have to repair things we hadn't made a big deal about a decade earlier.)
I paid $2200 to deal with a standing water issue in the crawl space of our last home. Upon completion of the job, the buyer insisted on being present with her agent when the repair company signed off on the job and collected payment. As I handed the check to the repair guy the buyer looked at me and said with a chuckle "I hope that clears". She had thought all along that we were selling because we couldn't afford to stay in the house anymore. She had run us up and down for weeks, demanding that our 4 year old siding be inspected by a "certified hardiplank expert" (a term that she just made up).
A few days later at the closing the HUD was passed out and she saw what we were clearing on the sale. I held out the HUD, pointed at the settlement number, and said with a chuckle "I hope that clears".
But that will save them $50 on a $20,000 job. Slightly better door pulls FTW!
LOL
That's the ticket!
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