Common Repairs Sellers Must Fix After a Home Inspection

Have plans on selling your home? If so, it is a must that you familiarize yourself on what are the common repairs that you need to execute and cover after a professional home inspection is done. You have to keep in mind that most buyers won’t commit to a sale if the property has not been thoroughly inspected by a professional home inspector.

Though not all issues can break a deal, a home inspector will likely find some flaws on the property and your home buyer would most probably ask you to fix which of course you should consider if you want to close the deal. It’s important to note, however, that you don’t have to fix everything.

As a seller should never ever sign a contract until you fully understand what your obligations are specifically when it comes to repairs. So it’s important that you read and understand your contract to ensure you won’t be forced to repair something you don’t want to fix. But how’d you know which repairs you should own and which you may not? Below is a guide to help you get a better understanding of the limitations of your obligations as a seller when it comes to repairs.

Mandatory repairs after a home inspection.

Lenders will most likely request for certain repairs to be made before they would release funds to finance the purchase. This may mean you’d be responsible in fixing them. These repairs may include but are not limited to:

Structural defects
Building Code Violations
Issues that pose a safety hazard

Should you encounter any of those issues, the first thing you may want to do is to get some bids from contractors to get the idea of how much the repair would cost. Depending on the costs, you may proceed on fixing them or you may offer the buyer a credit and let them do the repair themselves after closing. The latter being more convenient as you don’t have to wait for the repair to be completed before getting the deal closed.

Optional repairs after a home inspection.

Cosmetic issues like peeled paint and normal wear and tear are issues that sellers aren’t usually required to fix. But to make sure, it should be stated in your contract. State laws may also impact your liability as a seller for any issues found during the home inspection so it would be very important to check local ordinances to know which repairs are legally required of you as a seller.

Negotiable home inspection repairs.

Both mandatory and optional repairs may actually fall into negotiable home inspection repairs. But this actually may depend on how you handle them as well as on what market you’re in. Sellers in a hot market would probably have more power over repair requests. One concrete example of this is when there are a limited number of homes available for sale. When buyers need to compete for homes, they are more likely to waive their right to request for repairs so as not to delay the process. But one sure way to avoid the hassle of repair requests is to state in your contract that the buyer will agree to purchase your home as it is or that the home inspection will serve as an “information only” inspection. In normal markets, however, it wouldn’t be that simple. And the best thing that you can do is to work with your real estate agent for you to get a better understanding of what items you should own and which you may not.

One important thing to remember is you should be reasonable enough. Selling a home is an arduous process and if you’ve reached the home inspection stage, you’ve probably come a long way already and the best option might be to give in to some repairs rather than starting all over again.

When it comes to home inspections you can’t trust just “any” home inspector as the result of the inspection will surely have an impact on the entire home buying process. So if you’re on the market for a trusted and reliable home inspector, look no further and call Timberline Home Inspections at (205) 545-2050.