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We received an offer on our home this week (which is wonderful!) and now are dealing with inspections. The termite inspection resulted in an estimate of repairs that I think is way too high. So we are looking into hiring a contractor that will charge a more reasonable fee to make the necessary repairs.
Now my concern is that the regular inspection is going to be a deal killer. We live in a 37 year old home, which we have kept in good repair, but from everything I have read it seems like inspectors are out to nitpick and find every little thing wrong that they can. I understand that a buyer would want to know the issues regarding the house (I will when I buy again) but it is a resale house, so I (as a buyer) wouldn't expect it to be perfect. I would want to know about any major defects, of course, but regular wear and tear on a resale home I would expect. I suppose I'm just worrying that something will happen to cause our offer to fall through.
Have other sellers found that the inspection findings were reasonable and that the buyers were reasonable when reviewing the findings? I want to get a sense of what to expect. Thanks in advance for any input.
Anita our previous home in NJ was 33 plus and we kept it in excellent shape.
The inspection was nerve wracking but the only thing he came up with was we had a "borer bee" and our termite company came out immediately and took care of it.
I just got back from my inspection today. The house we're buying is between 50-60 years old. A great twin brick and stone twin. There are obvious issues in these houses like settlement, plaster issues, and some moisture in the basement that I knew of going into it today.
I do believe there are certain things that owners should be aware of like wiring and windows (have they been updated/replaced) when putting their house on the market. Its interesting as we knew the windows were old in the house but what did come out was that they don't close all the way nor can we lock them. Some of them actually have gaps due to settlement, but that is one thing we're taking into consideration when we ask for a credit at closing. The main roof was in good shape but the roof on the back extension was beat up and didn't look good at all. Our inspectors told us it would cost between 500-750 to get it redone as a coating would only do it for another 3 years. We'll definitely be asking for something there as well.
There were other ticky-tack issues in regards to some of the pipes needed a good cleaning to get some of the corrosion off, but really they are small things that we can replace as we go along. I'm not going to make someone bring in a plumber to do it when I've got one in the family who will do it for free/a few beers (minus costs of parts). The paint jobs were horrible but I don't want them doing that either (whoever did it had no idea how to cut in/tape off/not go onto the cieling). Some of the flashing needs to be tacked down but we've got ladders, we'll do it ourselves.
I think it depends on the buyer though. We knew of some of the issues, like the flashing, paint jobs, and age of the windows (though not the closing/gaps parts) so we're not concerned about those. The gapped windows/non-closing ones plus the one roof will cause us to ask for some credit at closing, but beyond that we can make the necessary repairs ourselves. Some people can't/won't and will ask for more of the seller.
If you/your agent have had a good/easy time working with the buyers and their agent it shouldn't be terrible, but if they are a pain already it will probably be the case later on. Good luck.
Really I think this is a buyer agent issue. I know as a buyer agent I prep my buyers BEFORE we look at homes about issues. No home is perfect, including new construction. If buyers a looking for a perfect home it will never happen.
Nit picky reports are GOOD for you as a seller. They protect you from future misrepresentation lawsuits. I mean if the inspector notes the small hole in the wall, or the faucet that has a small drip chances are he looked for all of the major red flags. Nit picky inspectors are not the problem.
How the information is handled after the inspection is where the problem lies. Agents that freak their buyers out over small things, buyer's that are not well prepped to expect small things, and sellers that get offended over the small things are the problem.
Honestly this is why I do prelisting home inspections for my sellers. It reduces your stress and makes this part of the transaction easier.
I am in a 15 year old home, and I would surely have it inspected if I was going to put it on the market.
Just to kill off some of the suspense, and to properly prep the home to sell.
I see people doing the surface stuff, and after a Buyer's inspection, then pay to tear up for repairs, and to do the surface stuff over.
Do an inspection and repairs prior to marketing and take a LOT of stress and worry off.
How the information is handled after the inspection is where the problem lies. Agents that freak their buyers out over small things, buyer's that are not well prepped to expect small things, and sellers that get offended over the small things are the problem.
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unfortunately, so true so true!! I just had one with a BRAND NEW agent that KNEW everything. I was going to KI** her... but we finally got it closed.
I am another that is quite fond of presale home inspections. It gives the seller the opportunity to either repair/disclose or disclose/sell as is and adjust the price, accordingly.
I also agree that so often it's the buyer's agent's failure to manage expectations that create mountains out of molehills. This needs to be done upfron at the begining of the home search, not on the back-end when everyone is under pressure.
Hear Hear on pre-sale inspections! You also get the opportunity to get 3 competitive bids and make a good decision rather than be rushed into finding the one EXPENSIVE contractor who can get it done in 2 weeks or less.
Silverfall - I also couldn't agree more with your sentiments that the Buyer's agent has a lot to do with this. I just finished having a conversation about 20 minutes ago with an inspector in my area on this same subject. Buyers need to realize that the inspection report is not a to-do list for the seller. That said, major issues that impact lending/lendability, safety issues, etc...especially if un-disclosed prior to the inspection, should be accounted for in some way by the seller (either by getting the repairs done or by compensating the buyer in some other way).
When it comes to this however, I've found that common sense is an uncommon quality!
Inspectors for the most part do not set out to try to KILL sales or upset sellers. IN fact, if the sellers are happy with the inspection, and see what a good job we did, we might get "their" business too.
BUt WE ARE there for OUR clients first. WE are inspecting the house to see if there are any adverse conditions that are "significantly deficient or are near the end of their service life".
However, we also have to straddle this ever present line of what is important to our client, and consider the liability we may have if we leave something out. You can tell by reading threads on this forum that there are some people that will get into the mind set of "sue them" at the slightest turn (and not just real estate matters).
Some people claim that inspectors have to write something down to justify their fee. That's just hogwash. Last I heard we were not paid by the word, or by how many things we can find. We are paid to do a job. I get paid the same if I find 500 things, or zero. It's more work for me to write things down, so why would I make a big list of nonsense.
I do have to say though, that I have had some real butt heads for clients, and they asked the sellers for things that were not even in my report. They were jerks, no argument.
But on the other side, there are many sellers that refuse to acknowledge that the house they are living in, is not the pristine castle they thought it was. Or they might say, "I have lived in this house for x/years and I never had a problem with THAT."
But with most sales there are 4 people (buyer/seller/listing and buyers agents) that you hope are reasonable adults. Between the four of you, there ought to be a way to work it out. That's why it's call negotiation.
The seller does not live in a perfect house.
The buyer needs to have reasonable expectations.
The agents are there to work it out so both parties are agreeable to the conditions of the sale.
Pre listing inspections by the best inspector you can find will go a long way to prevent those surprises.
Good luck
Last edited by Barking Spider; 09-21-2008 at 06:46 AM..
Reason: spelling
More good solid advice from Spiderman. I tried to Rep but need to spread it out a little. On a side note, many buyers just use the inspection to just renegotiate & get a better price.
Curious .... does a spider bark ?
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