Home inspections can be a real downer, especially if you really like the place. The home feels so good! Its in the right area, right price, right floor. The condo fee is right, the neighbors seem OK. And what a relief to be done looking!
So you put down a deposit and hire a home inspector The home inspector finds a laundry list of problems that are going to cost you money sometimes right away and sometimes over the next 5 years.
What to do? You reopen the negotiation with the seller. Explain to them that you would love to buy the place but can’t afford the mortgage AND the contractor to fix it up. Make a list of the problems that were surprises the inspector found that were not apparent before the offer was made. Once the negotiation starts again, politely give the seller a list of problems and how much they will cost to fix.
The gap between how much you think the seller should discount the damaged property and how much they are willing to bend can be a big problem or not a problem at all. It depends on lots of variables. The things the inspector found were probably known to the seller and this news from the inspector is no surprise. He may have been hoping they would be missed in the inspection.
Where we go from here depends on the agreement established between buyer and seller. If the seller is willing to take something off the agreed upon price this can go very smoothly. But what do you do if the seller says take it or leave it? Although the first reaction of many buyers is a quick We will leave it thanks, I suggest you sleep on it and go over the numbers again with your Buyers Agent. Does it still compare well with similar properties even with the problems? The problems may have already been baked in the cake when they priced it and you might be getting a good deal anyway.
Once I sold a 2 BR, 2BA on Commonwealth Avenue.Represented as totally renovated I had priced it based on that claim. When the inspection revealed that both bathrooms had rotted behind the walls and needed 5K each to fix as the wood had slowly rotted away and had to be taked apart and rebuilt, I knew we had to renegotiate the sales price
So the bathrooms needed 10K total and I felt we needed to double that for the aggravation so we proposed 600K instead of 620K. Seemed reasonable to my buyers and I but to my surprise the seller refused and we walked, but it could have easily have gone the other way.
When you know you can find a similar property that needs nothing, why on earth would you put yourself through the inconvenience of the renovations?
Most sellers are reasonable and compromise, but be sure you are polite about it. Sellers can take offense because it is their home after all and its not surprising that they are insulted if someone is picking it apart.
If the negotiation goes nowhere, my advice is to respectfully walk away. You can assuage your disappointment by reminding yourself that you won’t have to meet the contractor at the property dozens of times hoping upon hope they finish the job correctly.
Hope this post helps some. I promised to make this blog more of a classroom with something to learn in each post. I really feel that if someone were to read all 28 posts on this blog they would have a good basic course on becoming a better Boston Real Estate buyer.
Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons, 617-512-3443.
Your comments will be appreciated!
More articles by Jeff:
A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
Negotiating The Price of Your Boston Home – Stick To The Numbers
Buying Boston Real Estate Without a Buyers Agent is Like Going Into Court Without An Attorney
5 Worst Questions To Ask Your Buyers Agent
Found a Boston Home I Really Like But What About This Inspection Report?
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