The importance of inspections and repair negotiations to a home seller

Typically, sellers tend to become less stressed as soon as all of the purchase contract signatures are in place. A good Realtor® will be with them and ready to prepare them for the next negotiation phase. Property inspections can frequently result in a buyer submitting a request for repairs requiring corrections by the seller. Whether you as the seller are prepared for these or they come as a surprise, this is when an informed Realtor® can really help you to deal with them, as repair disputes are the most common reason transactions fail to close or are delayed greatly.

The job of a Realtor® is to help you to avoid these “surprises” related to condition and repair negotiations after inspections. Expect them to provide you with the best information about what a buyer may want corrected. However, also keep in mind, there will be things that nobody can anticipate until the inspectors have submitted their reports. So, always try to leave some negotiation room for yourself.

Always be thinking ahead to inspections and repair demands from the first offer on. Think of what may be coming in the way of inspections and repair negotiations, especially when the initial purchase contract price negotiations are in play. No matter how urgent your need is to sell, if you go too far in price concessions at the beginning, you may have no room left when inspections are done and a request for repairs is submitted from a buyer.

A buyer is normally paying for and ordering inspections, typically it’s the seller’s Realtor® responsibility to make sure that inspections happen on time and that they receive the inspection reports by deadline due dates. Then meet with the sellers and go over the reports and any buyer objections/requirements to develop a counter strategy. If there are no objections or they’re minor in nature and cost, you may opt to agree to corrections. However, if they’re more extensive and were not anticipated, they are there to help you to reply in a way that saves you money and keeps the buyer in the transaction.

Depending on the desires of the buyer and their selection of inspectors, there could be as few as a single inspector hired to do a thorough inspection of the home and all equipment supporting the home. However, there may also be other inspectors hired with a more focused goal, possibly a heating and air conditioning contractor, a roof inspection, a well inspector, and septic inspector.

Each of these inspections will have deadlines for completion and submission of reports and buyer requests for repairs.

Any good Realtor® has their own list of inspectors and contractors, and can call in experts to provide cost estimates and help sellers make decisions within the deadline times. Unless you have multiple offers, a buyer in the hand is worth something. An exceptional Realtor® will keep that buyer in the transaction, exceeding the seller’s expectations, securing the highest net proceeds the market will allow.

Call (951) 296-8887 to get the information you need enabling you to make an informed, educated decision. Questions regarding other real estate matters, contact [email protected]. Mike Mason, Realtor® & Broker/Owner of MASON Real Estate. LIC: 01483044, Temecula Valley resident for 30+ years, Board of Director (since 2011) Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors® (SRCAR).