Buyers shouldn’t overreach on post-inspection demands
Q: Have you come across buyers trying to use their home inspector to assert that there are many problems with a home, even if those complaints are unjustified, with the hopes that the seller will come up with a big credit for them?
This type of situation has happened to me, and the requests were so outrageous that I can’t help but think buyers were really trying to take advantage, almost to the point of fraud. If you have not heard of this, maybe I just got a bad pair of buyers! I turned down all their requests and then they backed out of the contract.
A: We can’t say that we have encountered any specific inspector that has been influenced by a buyer to make stuff up about a home in the way you describe. However, Sam frequently deals with home inspectors that generate a huge list of items related to a home his buyers are buying or that his sellers are selling.
While we can’t rule out that there are bad inspectors out there who are making stuff up, they don’t really have any incentive to do that. Instead, home inspectors are paid to note all items wrong with a home. As a homebuyer, you want to know what shape the mechanical systems are in and whether there are small items you’ll need to attend to once you close on the property
Given that the home inspector is there to give the buyer as much information about the home as possible, the inspector will note everything from dirty filters in the air-conditioning system, cracks in foundations, uneven floors and doors, chipped countertops, loose door or cabinet knobs, burned-out lightbulbs, problems with the roof, the age and condition of the hot water heater and hundreds of other possible items.
The inspector will give the buyer all this information, and then it’s up to the buyer to decide what, if anything, to request the seller to repair. Some buyers go way overboard and ask the sellers to repair everything noted on the inspection report. We don’t think that’s fair. A 20-yearold home will have issues. In fact, many new homes have issues as well, but with a new home, you expect the builder to give a buyer a home free of issues.
Having said all that, we suspect that you might have found a pair of buyers that felt it was better to ask for everything with the hope that you would give them something. We generally think that a buyer is entitled to buy a home with working appliances and in a condition that would be about what you’d expect for a home of that age.
If you’re buying a 100year-old home that has never been updated or remodeled, you can’t expect the sellers to bring the home up to today’s standards. Supposedly, the price you’re paying reflects the age and condition.
Now, if you’re buying a home that’s only a year old, you’d expect everything to be in good working condition and that the home would meet all (or almost all, in case there had been very recent revisions) of the current building code requirements.
There are no hard and fast rules here, but when a buyer tells the seller to fix scratches on countertops, repaint scuffed up walls, replace worn carpeting, refinish wood flooring or replace worn cabinet doors, the buyer may be overreaching. When buyers overreach in a home purchase, they tend to get less than if they only request the most important items.
Our general advice: Focus on the big-ticket items when buying a home, and ask your inspector to do the same. That way, if there is a major problem, you can get the seller to consider that issue, get it resolved (either by making the repair or giving you a credit), and proceed to the closing.
Ilyce Glink is the CEO of Best Money Moves and Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate attorney. Contact them through the website ThinkGlink.com.