San Diego’s Real Estate Market is extremely hot. The seller accepts the buyer’s offer, and the buyer is happy. Once this happens, their buyer’s agent schedules a home inspection. Once the inspection is completed, depending on what it reveals, negotiating repairs comes into play.
Below are a few tips for negotiating repairs after your home inspection has been completed.
1-Look at The Bigger Items When Negotiating Repairs
Don’t worry about every single item that the home inspector pointed out. Remember, it is the home inspector’s job to find things that are not perfect with the home. However, if you ask the seller to fix every item in the inspection report, you will overwhelm them, and they will probably shut down and move on to the next buyer. Remember, our market is super competitive right now, and buyers are waiting on the sidelines to scoop up homes that fall out of escrow. I would suggest being fair and realistic with your requests or you may lose out on a great home.
2-Ask for Credit Instead of Asking To Repair the Items
Sellers are not eager to do repairs in the middle of a transaction. They are busy figuring out their next step. They want to start packing their belongings and figuring out where and when to move on to their next house. If they were to do the repairs, they probably would not be as meticulous as if you had them done since they are on their way out.
Ask for credit instead. This way, you will be able to pick the handyman/contractor of your choosing and have them do the work to your liking. The credit that the seller gives the buyer is not cash. Instead, other negotiations are to take place. Instead of the buyer receiving cashback, they would not have to come out of pocket with as much cash for their closing fees.
3-Do Not Say Much About Renovation
You may be thinking that you will be doing major renovations instead of minor ones. If this is the case, it is best not to let the listing agent know this. If so, they will not take you too seriously when you ask the seller to credit you for certain items. They will know that you plan on tearing walls down or completely remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms. Thus, they will not give much credit since they know it is really for upgrading purposes.
4-Be Upfront and Honest
Never make an offer that is well over your comfort zone, intending to get your money back after your home inspection. This is the wrong road to go down as the seller will become irate and non-negotiable. At this point, the seller may want to move on to the next buyer. We have seen this happen many times. There are times when our sellers have canceled with the demanding buyers and moved on to the next buyer who was extremely eager. The new eager buyer did not ask the seller to credit much and sometimes nothing at all. In turn, the difficult buyers lost out on a great house and then had a hard time finding another home in the same neighborhood. My advice is, to be honest, and do not play games.
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group. We are expert negotiators in the area. Our goal is to ensure that every client receives the utmost one-to-one attention and is extremely happy with the end result.