At Daybreak Living, we’re proud to assist our clients with buying one of our numerous homes for sale from start to finish. We assist clients all the way from conceptualization and mortgage applications to seller’s accepting an offer and closing needs, ensuring you and your family are set up in the home of their dreams.
One element of this process that we regularly advise clients on: The home inspection, which is carried out by a third party after an offer on a home has been accepted by the seller. The goal of the home inspection is to identify any previously unseen issues that need to be addressed, allowing the buyer and seller to negotiate and potentially alter the sale price based on any such needs. And while you’re within your rights to raise any area identified by the home inspector as an issue to a seller, general etiquette in this situation dictates that only certain issues are relevant enough to be brought up. This two-part blog will go over the basic custom here, plus the kinds of issues you may find in home inspection reports and how to proceed with them.
Types of Inspection and Repair Requests
Broadly speaking, the kinds of issues that are acceptable to raise with a seller based on a home inspection report tend to fall under the category of any non-functioning home systems or safety hazards present. If you find major structural defects or a system that has major operational issues, such as a blocked plumbing system, these are legitimate repair areas you can take to the seller to request that either they handle repairs on their end or alter the sale price to allow you to do so.
In other cases, however, raising minor issues will be seen as nickel-and-diming and should not be done. If small issues have already been disclosed by the seller before you came to your purchase agreement, for instance, listing these as requested repairs will not go over well and could even delay or halt the sale.
Our subsequent sections will go over the kinds of issues these reports may note, plus how to respond to them if they’re present.
Standard Wear-and-Tear
In most cases, normal types of wear-and-tear that happen to structures over the years will not be the kinds of things you can request repairs on. We’re talking about paint chipping in small areas, flooring scratches, cracked mirrors or other minor aesthetic limitations – an extensive list of such repairs sent to your seller will not be viewed favorably. A major issue with the foundation, on the other hand, is much more than basic wear-and-tear, and you can and should bring this up.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If the inspection reveals issues with operation for smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the home, or if they simply are not present, it’s generally acceptable to ask the seller to handle this end of things. However, many new homebuyers prefer to shop for their own new system here – if this is the case, you may be able to negotiate a small drop in the final price with the seller, allowing you to make your own selection.
For more on how to respond to various issues found in a home inspection, or to learn about any of our real estate broker services or homes for sale, speak to the staff at Daybreak Living today.
Utah Dave - Daybreak Neighboorhood Expert and Local Resident