I recently listed a home that looked like just about any other home built in the 1990’s. It was a great rambler (single level) floor plan that had all of the rooms that one could want without the excess square footage that most don’t need. The home was previously listed by an agent who my client was not satisfied with. After several months on the market, the seller gave me a call and asked for an appointment. Once we had the chance to meet in person, the seller elected to hire me to list the home.
After a couple of weeks on the market, we had the home under contract to a buyer who was looking to downsize and to move into the neighborhood. Once mutual acceptance was a agreed to, it was time for the buyer to have their inspection done. That is where the fun began.
To say the least, the inspector found a number of issues with the property. To begin with, the home had Louisiana Pacific Siding, aka LP Siding. This type of strandboard siding will absorb water if it is not sufficiently maintained. Once the water is absorbed, the siding expands and fails. In fact, it is commonly considered a defective form of siding that most buyers will ask to be replaced. Strike One. The crawlspace and attic were infested with rodents. All insulation would need to be replaced, vapor barrier replaced, and entrance points sealed up. Strike two. The roof was at the end of its useful life. Composite roofs can last 20 to 30 years depending on their quality. This was a builder grade roof so time was up. Strike three. Three large ticket items that were not going to be inexpensive to fix. What to do?
As a seller, it is difficult sometimes to know what is reasonable request for repair and what is the buyer simply trying to get more. The question sellers should ask themselves when considering a repair is “would I need to do this for another buyer if this buyer were to walk away.” If the answer to this question is yes, then I would recommend doing the fix. Generally speaking buyers are very wary of unforeseen structural repairs. So by denying the request and taking your chances with another buyer, you risk being on the market longer with no guarantee that you won’t be in the exact same position after another mortgage payment or two.
Of course the opinion above can also be turned around. If a buyer is being unrealistic in their requests then sometimes you simply have to move on. The question I would ask if this is the case is whether the requests being made are about repairing structural deficiencies or about improving the property?
Improving the property is the job for the new owner, not the current one. For example, I see the request to replace the hot water heater because it is at the “end of its useful life”. Most hot water heaters last about 10 years. So, if you are looking at a functioning hot water tank that is 12 years old, chances are it won’t last that much longer. That said, replacing a functioning hot water heater is an improvement to the property, not repairing a defect. After all, if we are talking about a resale property, all of the components are somewhere on the continuum between new and the end of the line. Of course this doesn’t mean that everything should be replaced.
The vast majority of real estate transactions have willing buyers and willing sellers. When this is the case, reasonable agreements on inspections can be achieved. Of course the process can be stressful when you are in the middle of it. Simply take it one step at a time and things will generally work out just as they were supposed to.
Be Real,
Blair