Do Buyers Need to Request That Sellers Address Every Repair Found During a Home Inspection?
Scott P. Rogers
When you're buying a home in this area, the home inspection contingency gives you three options after the inspection is complete.
You can proceed to closing without asking the seller for anything. You can request repairs -- or a credit in lieu of repairs. Or you can terminate the contract based on what the inspector found.
Most buyers take the second route. They find a few things during the inspection, put together a list of requests, and ask the seller to address them before closing.
But here's a thought... should buyers consider setting a minimum dollar threshold (in the contract, or in their head) before they'll even make a repair request?
Here's where this idea comes from...
In a competitive offer situation, buyers sometimes include language in their inspection contingency saying they won't make a request unless a repair will cost more than $5,000 -- or some other agreed-upon amount. The idea is to signal to the seller that the buyer isn't going to nickel-and-dime them after the contract is signed. It makes the inspection contingency feel a little less like a wildcard to a seller.
But what about in a normal, non-competitive situation? Should buyers be thinking about this too?
Sellers can get frustrated when a buyer asks them to fix something that costs $150 to $200. I think that frustration is understandable... after all, if you're buying a $400,000 home, you probably shouldn't need the seller to take care of a $200 repair.
So what's a reasonable floor?
Maybe $500? Maybe $1,000? The right number probably depends on the price of the home, the age of the home, and its overall condition.
The goal isn't to let sellers off the hook if there are significant problems with the house. If the inspector finds something that's going to cost thousands of dollars to fix, we should be requesting repairs, or a replacement, or a credit. But it might be worth letting it go of some of the small stuff -- and going into closing with less friction and a better relationship with the seller.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have questions about the inspection process -- or anything else about buying or selling a home in the Harrisonburg area.
You can proceed to closing without asking the seller for anything. You can request repairs -- or a credit in lieu of repairs. Or you can terminate the contract based on what the inspector found.
Most buyers take the second route. They find a few things during the inspection, put together a list of requests, and ask the seller to address them before closing.
But here's a thought... should buyers consider setting a minimum dollar threshold (in the contract, or in their head) before they'll even make a repair request?
Here's where this idea comes from...
In a competitive offer situation, buyers sometimes include language in their inspection contingency saying they won't make a request unless a repair will cost more than $5,000 -- or some other agreed-upon amount. The idea is to signal to the seller that the buyer isn't going to nickel-and-dime them after the contract is signed. It makes the inspection contingency feel a little less like a wildcard to a seller.
But what about in a normal, non-competitive situation? Should buyers be thinking about this too?
Sellers can get frustrated when a buyer asks them to fix something that costs $150 to $200. I think that frustration is understandable... after all, if you're buying a $400,000 home, you probably shouldn't need the seller to take care of a $200 repair.
So what's a reasonable floor?
Maybe $500? Maybe $1,000? The right number probably depends on the price of the home, the age of the home, and its overall condition.
The goal isn't to let sellers off the hook if there are significant problems with the house. If the inspector finds something that's going to cost thousands of dollars to fix, we should be requesting repairs, or a replacement, or a credit. But it might be worth letting it go of some of the small stuff -- and going into closing with less friction and a better relationship with the seller.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have questions about the inspection process -- or anything else about buying or selling a home in the Harrisonburg area.
