These tips will help you navigate the home inspection process.
After you go under contract, one of the first things you’ll do with your buyer is get an inspection done. That inspection report will come out with a scary list of things to do that the seller has neglected for 25 years.
What we want to do is take that list apart and help the buyers understand what’s important. Things like cosmetics that can be fixed for $2 are not something I would suggest they fight over. So when we’re going into this process, we need to understand and let the buyers know that they’re going to negotiate on things that affect health and safety. Those are the highest priority items.
“Buyers need to know that they’re going to negotiate on things that affect health and safety.”
Now, sometimes there are some things like sprinklers or other things that you might want to negotiate depending on the relationship. If you have a super cutthroat deal on the house, you might want to ease off on some of the negotiations and take on some of those repairs—that is if your buyer can afford it. On the other side of it, if you’re working with somebody who really can’t afford to make repairs after they move in, then you need to try to negotiate those into the contract.
This is something very important to evaluate, so make sure that the buyer understands what they’re asking for and picks out their highest priority items. I’ve seen things where there was a light bulb that didn’t have a little safety cover over it. That’s not something I’ll suggest to my buyer that they ask the seller to repair. They can go to Home Depot themselves, spend $2, and fix the issue.
Focus on the big, important things, making sure that your buyer gets their needs met but that they don’t factor in the cosmetic things because those things can be changed. It’s just the same thing as when you’re showing a house. You tell them, “Don’t look at the paint on the wall that can be fixed. Don’t throw out the floor plan because you don’t like the flooring.”
Just make sure your buyers understand we’re going to focus on the important things with the inspection. Don’t get scared by it because I have had some buyers who have gotten really freaked out by inspections because they come back with a ton of scary stuff. They don’t understand what all these things mean, and since you are the professional, you can help walk them through that process.
If you have questions about negotiating repairs or how to help your buyer or seller understand the inspection process, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to help you.
