Step 11 – Home Inspection Negotiations

Now that the home inspection has been done and you have received the inspection report you need to decide how you’d like to proceed. You have four options here:

1. Negotiate repairs. Ask yourself should the seller fix that? We advise that the home inspection report will be long, it may be as many as 60 pages. A home inspection is a helpful tool in guiding you through the items that need to be taken care of immediately, soon, or sometime after settlement (maybe 1 to 3 years from now). We recommend that you ask yourself what is most important to you. Make a list of items you feel MUST be completed before settlement, which items you would like to have repaired before settlement, and what items would be nice to have repaired before settlement. From this list, you can make your repair request. Just like putting in offer this is a negotiation if you and the seller can’t come to an agreement you may void the agreement within the terms of your contract.
2. Renegotiate the price. Based on the number of items you may request that the seller reduces the sales price. We do not typically recommend this option because it does not leave you with additional cash on hand at closing to perform the repairs yourself. Depending on the terms of your contract you may choose to request a repair credit in lieu of repairs. This will reduce the dollar amount you are required to bring to the closing table by the amount of the credit and thereby provides you with the cash necessary to do repairs.
3. Do nothing. In some instances, you may decide not to request any repairs. Example: If you are in a highly completive market you may put in an offer that waives the right to request repairs while keeping the right to before the inspection and void the contract in place. In this case, the home inspection is for informational purposes only.
4. Void the contract. You may choose to void the contract for several reasons. If you and the seller are not able to come to an agreement regarding repairs during the negotiation period you may decide to give notice voiding the contract. Perhaps there was a glaring issue discovered during the home inspection that has turned you off from moving forward with the purchase or maybe there are several issues that are greater than what you are willing to deal.

If you have any questions about the home inspection negotiation process give me a call at 703.539.2053 or email Abraham@AskAWalker.com.

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