For Buyers-4th Step: Inspections & Repair Negotiations

Many buyers forget that the price isn’t the only or the last negotiation point in a real estate purchase. There are a number of contingencies and processes that happen before closing, and one that frequently causes deals to evaporate is the inspection and repair negotiation process.

Inspections in a real estate deal encompass many property aspects:

• Structure
• Roof
• Mechanical equipment
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• Pests & insect infestation
• Mold & other environmental hazards
• Wells & water quality
• Septic systems

While your deal may not require them all, and some may be combined and provided by a single inspector, it’s our job to help you to order the proper inspections, schedule them, and make sure that they’re completed on time. Failure to complete inspections and object to their results by deadline dates can result in the buyer’s inability to take any action based on the late results. We make sure that this doesn’t happen.

Once an inspection is completed, there can be issues uncovered that you weren’t expecting and want to have addressed by the seller. This is a second negotiation in the contract process. We go over inspection results with our buyers and prepare documents that are required to request seller action and corrections. Sellers do not normally have an obligation to undertake corrective action, so it becomes a critical negotiation, especially if the problems are significant.

We’re here for our buyers to assist in these negotiations as, next to selling price, inspections and subsequent repairs are the biggest killer of real estate deals. Sometimes creativity needs to be applied to keep your home deal moving when the seller balks at your repair or corrective action requests. We’re experts, as we do this every day. We also maintain an extensive contractor list that can yield just the right contractor to get a job done at a price the seller will agree to.

The key to keeping a deal going with inspection problems is for our agents to be involved every step of the way, as it’s something we do hundreds of times every year. We’ll make sure that every resource is employed to keep your home purchase on track and gain every possible concession from the sellers.

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