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I share the inspection report if there is something critical items my Buyer(s) want repaired by the Seller(s).
However, if I am the Listing Agent and the Buyer(s) come back with a laundry list of repairs that I know my Seller(s) won't take care of, I don't want my Seller(s) to see the report as we would have to disclose that there has been an inspection on the property and now know of defects.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
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I typcially just share the pages showing the items that the buyer has asked to be fixed. I have good inspectors in my area that their reports not only describe the problem, but also hae pictures.
I share the inspection report if there is something critical items my Buyer(s) want repaired by the Seller(s).
However, if I am the Listing Agent and the Buyer(s) come back with a laundry list of repairs that I know my Seller(s) won't take care of, I don't want my Seller(s) to see the report as we would have to disclose that there has been an inspection on the property and now know of defects.
Excellent points.
Just a question though: Once that laundry list of repair requests are submitted, you(as a Realtor) still have the disclosure issue, don't you?
Some sales (distress) have addendums and verbage that says if requested, the buyer shall provide the seller with any inspection information - usually when a deal dies. If that's the case, ya gotta.
Our standard contract requires that the buyer give the seller and their broker copies of inspection reports. They contain material information regarding the home, and as such need to be disclosed to all parties.
Interesting to see the various approaches differ so much by state. In Illinois the "king" is not consumers / regular voters, but lobbyists. Here lawmakers tend to write laws that respond to those lobbysists. So far, that means that we have weak disclosure laws that tend to be designed mostly for the protection of real estate agents, and thus information in an inspection report is not required to be disclosed.
On the rare occasion where a major issue has been uncovered and I have represented buyers the sellers have generally preferred just to make a cash concession. If the issue has been the kind of thing that could prevent FHA financing the contract addenum I try to craft for sellers is basically designed to recoup the costs of the repair from earnest money should the buyer get cold feet. I have had sellers ask for the inspection report, but as it is something paid for by the buyer and the work product is part of the confidential information the buyer uses in determing to either go forward with the deal or call things off there is nothing the seller can do compel it's disclosure in IL....
Most sellers are not happy to be completely caught off guard by reported items. The "laundry list" of semi- nit picky items can sour a deal much faster than a quick addenum for "$510 for items that could effect safety and / or current code compliance, details available on request" of similar communication. I try to work with buyers to educate them BEFORE they make an offer when there are things like an obviously worn out roof or other signs of deferred maintenance. I have even gone so far as to have buyers prepare a sort of "punch list" of chips and dents before making an offer. Really helps both sides realize there is nothing "perfect"...
The inspection report then serves to confirm those things. Buyers' original offer needs to be "in the ballpark" unless major major problems pop up. The trick is that some seller feel like they have priced the place ton reflect current status while others price it as if the repairs were done. Thus agent to agent communication is one of those key areas that mentally prepares both seller and buyer to have a true "meeting of the minds" and move forward. Even then I have had probably 1 out of every 25 deals die when either buyer or seller has a bad "feeling" about inspection / items asked for concession. Sadly, for most of those "stickler" sellers they eventually do sell for price and/or time frame that ends up costing them more AND SIMILARLY most of those "fraidy cat" buyers end up with houses that are either in even poorer condition OR more costly.
I guess the moral of the story is that once an inspection finds something the smart thing is to NOT let it kill a deal for EITHER side...
Last edited by chet everett; 05-25-2011 at 06:03 AM..
In Virginia a full inspection report is required when asking for repairs due to the Home Inspection contingency.
I recently had a buyer withdraw on my listing based on a Radon inspection (which has been remediated). The buyer was gracious to forward the home inspection, which had minor observations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergio M
Just wondering, as a buyer's agent, do you favor sharing the report with the seller side? Or prefer not to share the info?
As a listing agent, I prefer not to get them, as once I do, that creates a disclosure situation for my seller. Especially should the deal not go through. If there are dangerous items, we absolutely want to know about those, but you shouldn't assume the seller or listing agent wants the report. Talk to them first.
Upon looking at a home recently, I was given a Seller's Disclosure statement to read. Now I'm sure the owner may not have been aware of several things that were glaringly obvious during the walk thru, but some will definitely affect my offer. I'd like to make my offer based on those repairs and property cleanup but don't want to ***** the deal with nitpicking sounding items. I do want those things taken care of via my offer since this seller is elderly and is unable to see they get done before the sale.
Any general ideas on what to avoid (things that can be considered acceptable and handled later after occupancy) or how to word an offer that doesn't appear too critical of the Seller's Disclosure statement?
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