There are many misconceptions and myths in life: shaving your eyelashes will make them grow back thicker; cheap vodka tastes just as good as higher shelf brands; dogs don’t judge you and sellers have to make repairs to any issues that come up in a home inspection.
I’ve seen the lie put to all these, but will focus only on the inspection piece for now.
A common belief of home buyers is that a home inspection is a to-do list for sellers. That a seller is required to correct all items noted.
This is even further from the truth than the one about cheap vodka.
A thorough home inspection will note all manner of things from lots of cracks in the concrete driveway to the fact that the roof is within a few years of needing to be replaced to faulty GFCI outlets in the 2nd bathroom. And many items will be ones that a prudent buyer will want corrected.
Some are things a prudent home buyer needs to realize are what comes with owning your own home.
And of the repairs one should request, their is no rule or law that says a seller must make them. Repair requests are negotiated, just as are the price and other initial terms of the contract. And, as any seasoned Realtor can tell you, deals fall apart over repair negotiations as often as over who will pay the closing costs.
Now, this is not to say buyers shouldn’t expect the house they’re hoping to own be in good repair before they sign closing documents. It’s just that there is no guarantee that sellers will be willing, or able, to make repairs. If a seller has been beaten down on price and other terms, there may simply be no more blood in that turnip.
How to determine which repairs request are reasonable? The guiding question needs to be “is the system or item performing the function for which it is intended”? A roof may be 15 years old and the case could be made that it is approaching the end of its useful life. But a roof has pretty much one job and that is to keep rain out of the house. If the roof isn’t leaking and isn’t a made up of a bunch of cracked shingles, it’s performing the job for which it is intended.
A cracked heat exchanger in a furnace, on the other hand, needs to be corrected. Leaks, wood destroying insects, dry rot, mis-wired electrical outlets. There’s a smorgasbord of issues homes can have. And one would hope and expect that a seller who wants to sell will agree to do the right thing. Most do.
Some don’t. Or won’t. Or simply can’t.
It is at that point a buyer needs to look long and hard a property and ask if they can handle the issues or if they would simply be buying someone else’s problems.
So inspect early. Ask your lender if she or he can hold off ordering the appraisal – for which you have to pay – until after inspections are completed and any repair requests are negotiated. Above all, try to keep your head although it’s hard to do when going through such an emotional experience.
And don’t play air guitar in front of your dog in your bathrobe. You will be judged. I’ll never get over that look on Piper’s face.
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