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As far as recommending a professional do things, you pretty much have to. You have no idea of what a sellers handyman skills are and many activities such as plumbing, HVAC, electrical and more are licensed activities. I can’t go saying in writing to have the seller replace the GFCIs. (Though in my state it is legal for a homeowner to do most electrical work, most buyers agents won’t accept that and I don’t blame them). Even things like caulk, you can mess things up badly if done wrong so you can’t assume.
All these needed to be done by a professional and need to submit the receipts before closing.
We did not any of these brought up by our inspector when we got the home. We are selling the property without an agent but the buyers have an agent.
Our buyers are first time home owners and we already agreed to be around 5k for closing costs. I do not want to make any changes ( except the ones we thought initially ) and feel like they are using this as leverage to negotiate the price.
Maybe, but since they want to see receipts, it is likely they just want to be sure the work has been completed.
As a prospective buyer, the one thing that would cause me to back out of the deal altogether is a yard that is not properly graded so that all water drains away from the house. I don't expect the entire yard to be perfect, but I don't want water problems that could impact the foundation and/or the basement. I would want that work completed and subsequently reinspected before closing.
Some of the items you mentioned are safety issues: carbon monoxide detector, and GFCI outlets. In my opinion one should always repair safety issues.
I'd also replace the sump pump and clean the gutters as it those will impact the life of the house. Actually I would have done it prior to listing the house.
The tree trimming and some of the other issues would be a no.
I'd go through the list and determine what is a "yes" and what is a "no." Then for the "yes" items I would figure out which really needed a professional and which could be done by me. For those I could do, maybe the gutter cleaning, I would respond that they will be done, but not by a professional.
Just remember, first time buyers freak out over a lot of stuff. Don't let your irritation get in the way of the sale.
Maybe, but since they want to see receipts, it is likely they just want to be sure the work has been completed.
As a prospective buyer, the one thing that would cause me to back out of the deal altogether is a yard that is not properly graded so that all water drains away from the house. I don't expect the entire yard to be perfect, but I don't want water problems that could impact the foundation and/or the basement. I would want that work completed and subsequently reinspected before closing.
I agree totally. That was one of the major factors that made me back out of the contract that I recently had on a prospective home purchase. Water was flowing from the back yard under the back porch and actually standing on top of the vapor barrier. The insulation was visibly wet and had fallen down in a number of places. Several "temporary" metal support posts which had obviously been in place for a long time had rusted significantly. Regrading the back yard, even though it looked flat, was a real necessity in this case.
We purchased our house about 2 years ago and unfortunately have to move out of state of jobs. Our house was built in 2001 and was updated in 2011. Our house is one of very few ( only one other house in area which is new and update). We priced it right as we didn't want to sell the house quickly and accepted the offer in a week. Now the buyer comes up with a 50 page home inspection report which includes even nitty gritty details and asks for Qualified and professional to repair or replace them! When we purchased the house not so long ago our inspector never mentioned any of these. There are few obvious things like replacing garbage disposal and fix doors which we thought of doing it anyway and got a quote for them already.
I was honestly surprised and offended at the Booklet of things to be done by a licensed professional.
Some of them included - minor caulking
gutter cleaning and gutter extension.
Yard regrading
Trimming the trees to prevent squirrels
Replacing the sump pump
Repair and replace GFCI and receptacles
Repair Carbon monoxide monitors
Repair slow draining sink -which I think has some hair stuck - don't think it needs to be done by a professional
Of 6 burners one doesnt completely ignite - again minor cleaning issue- doesn't need professional
included lot of exterior siding repairs and caulking citing as water leaks - which we never had
Gaps in siding
All these needed to be done by a professional and need to submit the receipts before closing.
We did not any of these brought up by our inspector when we got the home. We are selling the property without an agent but the buyers have an agent.
Our buyers are first time home owners and we already agreed to be around 5k for closing costs. I do not want to make any changes ( except the ones we thought initially ) and feel like they are using this as leverage to negotiate the price.
Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
If I were you, I would offer to do the following:
Minor caulking
Replace sump pump (if it's broken)--or reduce agreed-upon price as allowance for replacement
Repair and replace GFCI and receptacles
Repair Carbon monoxide monitors
Repair slow draining sink
Fix burner
Fix any water leaks
Gutter cleaning, trimming trees, and exterior siding repairs can be done by new owner.
Minor caulking
Replace sump pump (if it's broken)--or reduce agreed-upon price as allowance for replacement
Repair and replace GFCI and receptacles
Repair Carbon monoxide monitors
Repair slow draining sink
Fix burner
Fix any water leaks
Gutter cleaning, trimming trees, and exterior siding repairs can be done by new owner.
I wouldn't do any repairs - it'll just slow the sale & may kink the financing. When lenders see an addendum mentioning repairs they sometimes then ask for the inspection report themselves & start making new requirements for repairs for financing. Just do an addendum lowering the price by $xxx and not mentioning anything else. The inspection is just a shakedown for money anyway.
Minor caulking
Replace sump pump (if it's broken)--or reduce agreed-upon price as allowance for replacement
Repair and replace GFCI and receptacles
Repair Carbon monoxide monitors
Repair slow draining sink
Fix burner
These are easy and understandable requests. And in the case of the GCFI and CO monitors, may be required by code.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OrganicSmallHome
Fix any water leaks
This is understandable but may get pricey. If I were offering on a house and my inspector found leaks, I would be looking at either a price reduction or that the seller have properly repaired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OrganicSmallHome
Gutter cleaning, trimming trees, and exterior siding repairs can be done by new owner.
Agreed. And the item listed as yard regrading .... some specifics are needed. Regrading a yard might mean re-sodding, dealing with irrigation lines, other landscaping, etc. Regardless, as a seller, I would say, "Nope."
Buying/selling is a dance and you have only been asked to dance. How you dance is up to you (as well as whether you accept the dance itself).
I wouldn't do any repairs - it'll just slow the sale & may kink the financing. When lenders see an addendum mentioning repairs they sometimes then ask for the inspection report themselves & start making new requirements for repairs for financing. Just do an addendum lowering the price by $xxx and not mentioning anything else. The inspection is just a shakedown for money anyway.
If it's an FHA loan or VA loan, safety items like gfci outlets, smoke detectors will normally need to be fixed as a condition of closing.
Yard grading is a broad term and not something you "re-grade" without consequences--and it could get expensive. If you are in a development, and given the age of your home, grading of the lot was approved as a portion of the overall drainage and storm runoff. Altering grade, even to divert water away from your structures likely changes the drainage for your neighbors or capacity of storm drains--yep, even a diversion of slope away from the planned drain to the next one might cause a flood.
As for the rest of it, the buyer has nothing to lose by shoving a book of issues at you to create a new negotiating point--a very basic negotiating tactic. C-D is great for advice, but I would be careful using this thread as a surgical tool to finish your transaction or replace your lack of knowledge/experience in the process--not meant to offend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kali9
We priced it right as we didn't want to sell the house quickly and accepted the offer in a week.
This statement is hard to figure out. I cannot tell if you underestimate the market or overestimate your pricing strategy. Either way, throw the buyer $1000 to repairs or start showing again--seems like you will get another buyer without much work.
I did a FSBO in a seller's market. I conceded very little to my buyer--his agent knew the market and she kept him focused--essentially "don't lose this house over a few thousand bucks". She knew her fellow agents were stacked up at my door with buyers.
Regarding requiring repairs to be made by professionals: when we sold last summer, one of the inspection items was the toilet bolts were loose, and they wanted everything repaired by professionals. Mr. Dokie has now added “professional toilet bowl tightener” to his resume, along with “professional juror” (3 times, including a murder trial), “professional pallbearer” (too many to count) and “professional bride giver-awayer” (3 daughters).
OP, seriously, fix the safety items and give them $500 for everything else.
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