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Tara Mastroeni, Contributor
FORBES – Real Estate
Negotiating repairs after the inspections can be a huge step forward in purchasing your home. It can also be a huge point of contention between buyers and sellers. With that in mind, I’ve brought you some tips on how to get the most out of these negotiations. Read them over so that ou know how to put your best foot forward.
Pick your battles
For many buyers. t can be tempting to hand the sellers a laundry list of repairs. especially when you’ve been handed a long report from the home inspector. However, doing so can actually work against you.
On the one hand, it gives the sellers the opportunity to pick and choose which repairs they would like to complete – and they’re likely to be the easiest and cheapest ones. Plus, it can start negotiations off on the wrong foot and give the sellers the impression that you’re trying to take advantage of them.
Instead, you’ll want to focus on asking for the repairs that are necessary for you to feel comfortable moving into the home. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to stick to asking for structural and functional repairs. Cosmetic repairs or improvements can get taken care of once you move into the home.
Know what’s required
If you’re getting an FHA loan, certain repairs may be required in order for you to move forward with buying the home. In particular, significant structural issues and water damage typically top list. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the seller will agree to pick up the tab.
That said, once the sellers is aware of certain issues with the home – things like structural defects, building code violations, or any health and safety issues – they’re required to disclose them to any interested party, meaning that if you were to walk away from the sale, they’d have to come clean about the issue to the next buyer.
With that in mind, you may be in a better bargaining position if you prioritize those types of issues in your reply to inspections.
Asking for repairs vs asking for a credit
There are two ways to go about negotiating repairs to the home: You can either ask for the sellers to take care of the repairs for you or you can ask them to give you a credit toward the repairs at closing.
In most cases, repair credits work out well for both parties. For their part, the sellers get to avoid the hassle of dealing with repairs while also coordinating a move. Meanwhile, the buyers get the chance to ensure that any repairs being done meet their standards.
Know when to walk away
Sometimes the amount of repairs that a home needs can be too extensive for you, as the buyer, to handle. Other times, it can seem impossible for you and the sellers to reach an agreement on how to handle them. In either case, you likely will have the option of dissolving the transaction, provided that the inspections weren’t “for your benefit” only.
Don’t feel bad if you want to take the out. At the end of the day, you need to feel comfortable purchasing the home. If you’re having major reservations about the repairs, it may be worth using this contingency to walk away from the sale with your earnest money deposit in hand.
