Who Pays for Repairs After a Home Inspection?

How to Negotiate Repairs After a Home Inspection?

Common Repairs Sellers Must Fix After a Home Inspection: What Must Sellers Fix?

Do Most Sellers Make Repairs After a Home Inspection?

Does the Seller Pay for Repairs After a Bad Home Inspection?

Who repairs home — buyer or seller?

 Home Inspection Repair Requests a Buyer Shouldn’t Make?

What are considered normal repairs and what are unreasonable repairs. I’m Barb Schlinker, Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty and I specialize in helping home sellers sell their homes fast and for top dollar. One of the biggest concerns of home sellers when selling their home is who is responsible for repairs after the home inspection. It’s a nervous time for home sellers because if the seller decides not to do repairs, the buyer could cancel the contract. In the state of Colorado, home inspectors do not have to be licensed or certified? So often inspectors come up with unnecessary items or they identify broken items that actually may not even be valid.

As a home seller, what are your obligations, particularly with repairs? First of all, a home inspection is not a to-do list. It’s a negotiation. Inspection repairs fall into 3 categories. The first category is repairs for health and safety items. The second category is really not required, like cosmetic things. And the third category is up for debate. Buyers do not typically get upgrades with the purchase of a home unless they pay for it. 

Buyers obtaining government loans such as FHA or VA loans, may be required to get some repairs done to satisfy the loan requirements. Typically, we see appraisers identify peeling paint, missing outlet covers, missing stair rails, broken windows and any glaring safety issues. With permission, the buyer can come in and a fix items that may be required by their lenders.

And then what about government entities? Most counties require the septic system be inspected and most times pumped and certified as being safe for homes with septic systems. Inspecting the septic system is typically a seller’s expense, but you could negotiate that as well.  There are also a few state laws, things like carbon monoxide detectors have to be within 15 feet of the entrance of the bedrooms. Home sellers are required to disclose all adverse facts about the home but in particular if the home has been contaminated by methamphetamine. Fortunately this is rarely the case.

Who Pays for Repairs After a Home Inspection?
Barb Schlinker

The big question is does the seller have to fix anything? And the answer is ‘No’! However, the buyers, of course, could back out of the contract if the sellers do not address issues that need attention and those are mostly negotiable. The date at which the buyer and seller reach agreement on which inspection items would resolve is very important deadline.  A really good real estate agent and the team is going to stay on top of that to make sure that we’ve got time, first of all, to get bids if need be, and make sure that we’re keeping the buyer in contract. It is not typically the intent of the buyer to terminate. But if you are lucky enough to have a backup buyer, it is a way to negotiate with the buyer so that you don’t have to do repairs.

The market conditions make a difference as far as inspection repairs. If you’re in a hot market and you’ve got multiple offers you don’t necessarily have to repair very much, but if it’s in a softer or more even market, you probably will need to repair some defective things.

We also include home warranties for our sellers with our listings because we want to put their minds at ease about the whole inspection process. And this is part of our white-glove service. If you would like a FREE report on the ‘11 Home Inspection Traps to Avoid When Seller Your Home’, please fill in a request on this website or call our office at 719-301-1802.

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