If you’re buying a home, you’ll want to know how to negotiate repairs after a home inspection. After all, odds are even the dreamiest house will have some problems, and sellers might be open to the notion of fixing a few flaws—with the right persuasion.
So once your trusty home inspector scrutinizes this potential purchase and hands you their report, what should you say to the sellers from there? Look no further than this handy haggling guide for homebuyers on how to negotiate repairs after a home inspection.
While it’s tempting to start nickel-and-diming the sellers so that your new home can be as pristine as possible when you move in, that’s just not realistic, warns real estate professional Kyle Springer, with Coldwell Banker in Bowling Green, KY. Instead, Springer advises, “concentrate your time and attention on major, structural issues, rather than cosmetic ones.”
So if that cracked faceplate is bugging you, head to the hardware store and get another one for a few bucks rather than adding it to a long laundry list of repair requests—which will no doubt annoy the seller.
So which repairs fall into the “need” versus “want” categories? Read on to find out.
Here are two of the items a seller must fix:
If you have a mortgage, your lender will likely require certain repairs before handing over your loan. As such, certain repairs listed on the home’s appraisal report will have to be fixed, too.
Here are some common items on buyers’ home repair lists, although sellers may or may not be willing to fix them:
It’s easy to eyeball a potential problem and say, “It looks like there’s been water damage” or “That roof is looking a little worn.” It’s quite another to have evidence of how extensive the damage is and an estimate of how much it will cost to fix. The more specifics and backup you can provide, the better.
This is why a home inspection is so important; it helps when sellers hear it from a pro. For example, telling the seller you want the porch repaired because it feels shaky will not hold weight unless a professional home inspector submits a report about the porch’s structural damage.
Rather than having the seller coordinate and pay for the work, ask for a “repair credit” instead, which means the buyer will knock the amount of the repair off the home price.
Scott Brown, owner of Brightside Home Inspections in Syracuse, NY, recommends asking for a repair credit on any problem that’s more than $500. This is actually in the buyer’s favor, as the seller no longer has a vested interest in ensuring the job will be done right.
“Otherwise, the home seller will almost always find the cheapest available contractor or family member to fix the problem,” says Brown. “Meanwhile, you as the buyer would, of course, prefer the best contractor available.”
Aviva Friedlander contributed to this report.
