Focus On The Big Items When Drafting A Repairs Request


Focus On The Big Items When Drafting A Repairs Request
By Scott Rogers • May 6, 2020
After a home inspection, a buyer knows more about the house than when they agreed to pay $X to purchase the house. In order for them to still want to pay $X for the house, they may ask the seller to address some of the deficiencies found during the home inspection. Imagine a hypothetical scenario where the following deficiencies are found: The roof is actively leaking. The air conditioning system is not working at all. One of the toilets wobbles a bit when rocked back and forth. Two closet doors do not latch properly. One of the bathroom sinks drains slowly. The weather stripping at the back door is torn. There are two small holes in the vinyl siding. So - which items should the buyer ask the seller to repair? Some could say ALL of them - the buyer didn't agree to pay $X for the house with all of these large and small issues. But I'd advise most buyers to only request that the seller address a subset of those issues: The roof is actively leaking. The air conditioning system is not working at all. All of the other items (3-7) are minor issues that won't cost too much (in time or money) to repair after you buy the house. But why not ask the seller to repair these items? You risk the seller having knee-jerk reaction of thinking you are asking for too many small repairs and they could adopt a "take it or leave it" approach and refuse to make any repairs. The seller might also say -- OK -- I'll address five out of seven of the issues -- the last five! Here, they would seem to be responsive to your request, but would have missed the two most important (and most expensive) items on the list. This is not a one-size-fits-all strategy, but I do urge you to carefully weight whether to ask for a home seller to make minor repairs if there are some major repairs that need to be addressed. Receive Updates by Email Recent Articles: There Are Plenty Of Types Of Houses That Exist That Just Are Not Available To Purchase Home Sales By Price Range In The City Of Harrisonburg Are You Compromising On Aspects Of Your Next Home That You Can Or Cannot Change Later? How Much Slower Are The Winter Months In Our Local Housing Market? Rockingham County and New Home Sales Drive Surge in Area Housing Market Find The Balance Between Optimistic And Realistic Home Pricing Room Size Is Difficult To Understand Solely From Real Estate Photos How Much Would You Value Not Having To Prepare Your Home For Showings? One Out Of Four Homes Is Taking Longer Than A Month To Sell Consider The Cost Of Your Planned Renovations When Planning Your Offer
Have any questions? Contact Scott Rogers at 540-578-0102 or scott@funkhousergroup.com
Based on information from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS® or its MLS, for the period Jan 1, 2000 through Nov 22, 2024 (unless otherwise noted).
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