Buyer asking to extend the inspection period. Bad idea? (price, repairs, purchase)
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I have an expert electrician on call. I'll pay him cash to come and do an inspection / assessment, which requires an hour or so of work, super easy and not working a complex job. If he's busy, there are 3-4 others I can call on a moment's notice who wouldn't turn down a couple hundred dollars hard cash for an easy inspection, even if they have to wait until they are done with their regular 8-5 job and come after work.
Cash talks, especially hard cash that doesn't have to be reported as income.
You guys must not have any experience in dealing with the trades...especially for simple jobs like an inspection that only takes an hour or so.
I'm not kidding at all. If you're a homeowner, and not a real estate mogul with a fat address book, it can take days or weeks to even find a electrician/plumber/well driller/contractor who will return your initial phone call. Average time to get someone to your house will be weeks to months.
Given you work full time on a work site, you're not the electrician I'd be calling for a house inspection. There are a lot of part time electricians / independent contractors whom I can dial, offer some cash payment for an hour or less of work. I've never had a problem finding an electrician / plumber / roofer who would turn down cash to do a simple inspection, not even during the real estate boom in 2006 when construction was through the roof and everyone was busy.
Agree 1 day is not a red flag, but when buyer has 10 days to do a home inspection, it can be a sign the buyer is not on the ball.
When I sold a home recently, the buyer scheduled a house inspection the very next day after opening of escrow and surprised all of us at how fast the house inspection happened. I don't understand why a buyer needs to wait until the end of the 10 day inspection period to figure out he/she needs to schedule an electrician at the last minute.
Perhaps you don't understand the market right now...it is white hot for sellers in many markets. Homes are going fast...and the sellers have all the leverage right now. Buyers don't have the luxury or the power to mess with stuff like this currently.
Ok so you’re gonna kill the deal over a day? Do you have other buyers lined up to jump in? . You’ll possibly be starting over with a new buyer of you play hardball. I understand the market in my area just fine and real estate overall as I’ve been in the real estate business for 25 years. And no I’m not a agent. Investor and rental owner. You can play hardball. And say hey you had 10 days to figure it out I’mnot extending anything. Perform or quit. Next......
Just remember sometime a house coming back on market can be seen as a problem house or problem seller by other buyers. You get sort of a stigma
I’ve bought and sold multiple house deals and never felt the need to squeeze a person over a small concession like that. Now if they’re complete douchebags yeah I won’t be very interested in being nice guy. I like you have access to plumbers, contractors, tile guys, drywall guys, tradesmen etc. Most people don’t have access to electricians plumbers contractors at their fingertips. And I sold in hot markets also. If your market is so hot maybe that’s why they are having a issue getting a electrician.
But you can do two things. Tell them no sorry you had your 10 days or give them the additional day.
It's a known fact the house has aluminum wiring. The seller does not have to make concessions for this unless it is FHA or VA inspection or some entity that requires seller makes repairs. Just because a house isn't perfect or has a flaw doesn't mean that the seller has to financially suffer. Buyers can still buy knowing of imperfections and make repairs themselves if they wish. Don't let anybody strong arm you in a seller's market is all I'm saying. It's like the guy who says he wants to buy your car then spends hours pointing out all the flaws in it in order to see if you're vulnerable. Yet he still wants to buy the car. if it's good enough to buy, it's good enough to pay the previously agreed to price for. Remember it's a mind game. Unless the wiring is a serious fire hazard, I wouldn't let them strong arm you into a discount after they've already tied up your house and taken it off the market.
Given you work full time on a work site, you're not the electrician I'd be calling for a house inspection. There are a lot of part time electricians / independent contractors whom I can dial, offer some cash payment for an hour or less of work. I've never had a problem finding an electrician / plumber / roofer who would turn down cash to do a simple inspection, not even during the real estate boom in 2006 when construction was through the roof and everyone was busy.
Agree 1 day is not a red flag, but when buyer has 10 days to do a home inspection, it can be a sign the buyer is not on the ball.
When I sold a home recently, the buyer scheduled a house inspection the very next day after opening of escrow and surprised all of us at how fast the house inspection happened. I don't understand why a buyer needs to wait until the end of the 10 day inspection period to figure out he/she needs to schedule an electrician at the last minute.
Perhaps you don't understand the market right now...it is white hot for sellers in many markets. Homes are going fast...and the sellers have all the leverage right now. Buyers don't have the luxury or the power to mess with stuff like this currently.
The last two months there were times when I was fully booked 7-8 calendar days out and had Limited availability beyond that. So, it’s not crazy to think that the inspection might end up being toward the end of their inspection period. Then with scheduling of another trade, an extra day seems totally understandable.
Yes, I'm curious why the buyer suddenly needed that extra day. Did one electrician spot something and this is the buyer bringing in a more experienced person? Actually, in many areas these people are super busy and way backed up these days with lots of home sales, even the homes that would be at the bottom of people's lists in other times. Now those bottom homes, their rush for contracts amazed even the experienced agents and sellers, and they can need deeper inspections. Let us know how it goes.
Yes, I'm curious why the buyer suddenly needed that extra day. Did one electrician spot something and this is the buyer bringing in a more experienced person? Actually, in many areas these people are super busy and way backed up these days with lots of home sales, even the homes that would be at the bottom of people's lists in other times. Now those bottom homes, their rush for contracts amazed even the experienced agents and sellers, and they can need deeper inspections. Let us know how it goes.
Actually home sales are down as a whole, because of less inventory. When I talked with my home inspector recently, he said work is steady but not as busy as before the pandemic. The people who ARE busy are loan officers, and some house appraisers as they have to do more appraisals due to all of the refinance activity.
Some construction projects were also put on hold during the pandemic. I'm not really sure it's true that contractors are busier than before the pandemic.
This is why homes are selling fast...there are more buyers than inventory available...it's really slowing the pace of sales but homes that are available are selling quick in many markets.
This is why I find it questionable that the buyer needed all that extra time to figure out they needed an electrician on the last day of the inspection period.
The last two months there were times when I was fully booked 7-8 calendar days out and had Limited availability beyond that. So, it’s not crazy to think that the inspection might end up being toward the end of their inspection period. Then with scheduling of another trade, an extra day seems totally understandable.
You must be incredible at what you do, in which case kudos to you, or there must not be many people in your area doing what you do.
My experience is the opposite - lots of idle time for house inspectors due to the lower number of sales, and canceled / postponed commercial construction activity means lots more skilled trade people available.
I had to paint a house recently...my painter who is usually super busy actually had time to get it done within a week.
Ok so you’re gonna kill the deal over a day? Do you have other buyers lined up to jump in? . You’ll possibly be starting over with a new buyer of you play hardball. I understand the market in my area just fine and real estate overall as I’ve been in the real estate business for 25 years. And no I’m not a agent. Investor and rental owner. You can play hardball. And say hey you had 10 days to figure it out I’mnot extending anything. Perform or quit. Next......
Just remember sometime a house coming back on market can be seen as a problem house or problem seller by other buyers. You get sort of a stigma
I’ve bought and sold multiple house deals and never felt the need to squeeze a person over a small concession like that. Now if they’re complete douchebags yeah I won’t be very interested in being nice guy. I like you have access to plumbers, contractors, tile guys, drywall guys, tradesmen etc. Most people don’t have access to electricians plumbers contractors at their fingertips. And I sold in hot markets also. If your market is so hot maybe that’s why they are having a issue getting a electrician.
But you can do two things. Tell them no sorry you had your 10 days or give them the additional day.
Very true.
In a hot market like where I am at, some buyers are giving up inspection contingencies or appraisal contingencies.
What you say in a normal market is true. In this hot sellers market, a seller can easily cancel the deal and move onto the next buyer.
One of my friends had a problem buyer who couldn't meet deadlines. He canceled the contract and was back in contract the same day with a new buyer who ultimately closed with no problems, and got a higher price to boot.
Update. The buyer came back after the inspection with requests to fix 12 items. Nothing that’s critical or not up to code, just some minor things like seal roof beams outside and seal shingles
and install a breaker box on the panel. Still, it would come up to a few thousand dollars in repairs. We already gave them concessions of the purchase price initially, so we’re leaning towards telling them that we’re not going to be fixing anything. Thoughts?
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