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We are in the process of selling our home and a few weeks ago the home inspector came by and within a few days came up with a long list of problems with the house.
I was shocked by the long list because I was proud of the fact that we spent so much time and money maintaining our home during the last five years. I thought the house was in nearly perfect shape. The home inspector hired by the new buyer disagreed.
Our real estate agent told me it is all part of a silly game buyers and inspectors use to get money from the seller towards closing costs. It is easier to try to pay them off with a lump sum than hire contractors to try to fix the defects and then be concerned things were not fixed to everyone's standards.
If you sold a house recently, what did you do about the list of things on the home inspector report? Did you fix everything or pay money to the buyer to waive inspection? Tell us how you came up with your decision about what to do.
We are in the process of selling our home and a few weeks ago the home inspector came by and within a few days came up with a long list of problems with the house.
I was shocked by the long list because I was proud of the fact that we spent so much time and money maintaining our home during the last five years. I thought the house was in nearly perfect shape. The home inspector hired by the new buyer disagreed.
Our real estate agent told me it is all part of a silly game buyers and inspectors use to get money from the seller towards closing costs. It is easier to try to pay them off with a lump sum than hire contractors to try to fix the defects and then be concerned things were not fixed to everyone's standards.
If you sold a house recently, what did you do about the list of things on the home inspector report? Did you fix everything or pay money to the buyer to waive inspection? Tell us how you came up with your decision about what to do.
1. The "part of a silly game" is just a distraction. The report is an assessment from the inspector of the property condition. Buyer deserves and reasonably expects a truthful accurate and thorough assessment.
2. I would do nothing about the list unless asked by the buyer, in writing and in detail. The inspector is not a party to the transaction, but just a vendor chosen by the buyer for information purposes.
3. If the buyer walks away, I would use the list to do some tuning up on the house.
1. The "part of a silly game" is just a distraction. The report is an assessment from the inspector of the property condition. Buyer deserves and reasonably expects a truthful accurate and thorough assessment.
2. I would do nothing about the list unless asked by the buyer, in writing and in detail. The inspector is not a party to the transaction, but just a vendor chosen by the buyer for information purposes.
3. If the buyer walks away, I would use the list to do some tuning up on the house.
Solid advice. And you can get estimates for the repairs they are asking for prior to replying. Many of my seller clients are pleasantly surprised at the cost to fix things. In their heads they anticipate cost being much higher than they are.
The home inspector’s job is to go over the house with a very fine tooth comb and list every single problem… That doesn’t mean you have to fix anything.... Anything they ask for can be negotiated or rejected. What you should do depends on the big picture and other considerations of the transaction that we are not privy to here... yet. :-)
My issue is that most real estate agents and buyers don't understand the importance of some items that are on the list of deficiencies. Buyers and sellers have to communicate thru their agent who talks to the other agent. There's a lot of miscommunication in the industry.
I recently sold, and they made me get up in the attic with a tall step ladder and staple screening over an attic vent. That's pretty petty. Other than getting a ladder up there, it was a 30 second fix.
When I bought the house, the inspector said the basement foundation was leaking. The owner spent $8K having the floor taken up and the concrete jack hammered up just to install a sump pump system. Come to find out the sheetrock had been glued to the block wall, and it was just sweating. It just needed a false wall built (which was done), and new sheetrock put on the studded wall. It was a waste of $7K--all because the inspector was bad at his job.
Home inspectors can be such a pain in the rear if they're not really good.
Whether I'm buying or selling, I always lean towards a seller's credit. When I'm buying, I want to control how the issues are resolved. When I'm selling, I'd rather credit the buyer and let them figure out how they want to address any outstanding items.
I'll get an estimate to figure out what's reasonable, but the max credit I've ever issued was less than 1% of the purchase price. At less than 1%, it's not worth it for me to risk the deal, or get worked up over it.
One thing that the inspector wrote up when we sold our last house were things that were “not to code” although they WERE code when the house was built 10 years previous. Example: there was a HVAC vent in the garage which now would require a “fire damper.” These sort of requests we told the buyer we would not consider. We fixed a few others, and gave them some money (about $750.00 IIRC) on some others.
One thing that the inspector wrote up when we sold our last house were things that were “not to code” although they WERE code when the house was built 10 years previous. Example: there was a HVAC vent in the garage which now would require a “fire damper.” These sort of requests we told the buyer we would not consider. We fixed a few others, and gave them some money (about $750.00 IIRC) on some others.
They note things not to current code out here, but it is marked as "a modern update would be..." so that it is clear that there is nothing wrong per se, but that codes changed.
OP, it isn't a silly game to extort money. Buyers are spending a serious amount of money on a home and should do their due diligence to make sure that it is what they think it is. If you spent the past 5 years making it perfect, then it means the items on there are small things, or you spent time doing cosmetic things and not the other stuff. Either way, you don't do anything until the buyer requests that you do something. Didn't you do a home inspection when you bought the house 5 years ago?
I sold a home a couple of years ago via a relocation company, and the inspection and associated fixes were literally trivial - the home was only 3 years old.
Things like a piece of insulation in the attic was turned over. Hired a company for $50 cash to come, flip it back, document it in an invoice and give me a copy.
Some sunken pavers. A screw missing on a pool heater.
An inspector will always find SOMETHING. It’s their job.
But for most homes it will be more substantial. Some critical, some just picky.
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