As a seller, you must ensure that you fully understand the obligations of the contract to be signed, especially when it comes to maintenance responsibilities. You don’t need to fix everything the house inspector thinks can be improved.
The house inspection report is not a to-do list.
This is what most people think. Basic repairs are divided into three categories: repairs that are much needed, repairs that are usually not needed, and repairs that are yet to be debated.
Here’s how to determine which is which, along with what you need to do:
Obligatory Repairs
It is still important to choose your own battle when performing the repairs required by the house inspection, as it is troublesome and will likely reduce your profits. Some of them are electricity, plumbing, roof and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). In most cases, you can wisely expect the seller to take care of you. As long as the problem is important enough, it can have a negative impact on the use of your house.
Not-So-Required Repairs
There is usually no need to repair surface issues such as house aesthetics and normal wear and tear. Some contracts will indicate that the buyer cannot request any corrective repairs. They can request repairs for structural damage or defects, violations of building codes or safety issues. Make sure to constantly check your local regulations to understand which patches are legally within your responsibility.
Debatable Repairs
- How you deal with situations that are between mandatory repairs and situations that do not involve repairs depends on which part of the market you are in. If you are in a hot market, you have more power to call the shots. Although buyers are always advised to conduct house inspections so that they know what they are buying. When the number of houses to be sold is limited and buyers need competing houses, they are more likely to give up the right to require the seller to repair.
- For the seller, the best contract is that the buyer agrees to buy your house as is or requires a “information only” house inspection. Therefore, you do not need to pay any maintenance costs.
- However, in a normal market, you will not be able to draw such a hard line. Work with a real estate agent to understand which projects you should discuss… and which projects you may wish to reject.
You will want to be reasonable. After all, you have already spent a lot of time in the sales process, and it is in your interest to make some repairs rather than let the buyer give up. Again, it always depends on the degree of repair requested and why the buyer might leave. You need to disclose the problem to the next buyer. The seller is required to inform the buyer before putting it on the market again.
Another to Blog to Read: How To Get 100% of Asking Price for Your Home Guaranteed
So how to negotiate home repairs?
These are two sneaky but effective ways to deal with home maintenance obstacles:
- Provide home warranty.
Sometimes, if needed, a $500 one-year home warranty can be kept in the back pocket to alleviate concerns during home inspections. A repair request session may come in handy. If there is no need to fix an element, but it still worries the buyer and may lead to the contract break. For example, the HBC unit is aging. Barter for buyers.
- Ask the buyer if they need electrical appliances or furniture.
Well, depending on your location, it will contain equipment, and some equipment may not automatically require a real estate agent to help you negotiate. This is an important part of the house sales process. Make sure you are working and don’t let you know that the house may fall apart due to the small things that need to be done. Avoid being emotional and try to achieve it.
Thinking about BUYING or SELLING a Home,
Richi Khanna can help you and if you have any questions in regards to real estate, then you must call Me today at
647-997-1281
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