re: Home Buying Negotiations between Buyer/Seller

Where is the house located?

I's tell the buyer to take a hike.

Not sure, but I think they may have to disclose the roof hail damage to the other buyer. Their realtor should be able to advise them.

Slightly damaged roof doesn’t mean new roof required. You can want a new roof. An inspector can recommend a new roof. Your roofer can play games and suggest a new roof. But the seller can repair the known defects and no spend much money and be fine.

It doesnt matter what the inspection lists as defects as to if it becomes a punch list, it is not....it is to find material defects...this negotiation tactic stuff is bs

quote:

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“Fix the window, get BIL to fix the sink. Hire somebody to clean the AC, IF YOU FEEL LIKE BEING NICE. It’ll cost about $100. Then send them a ROTFLMAO gif for the rest with a reminder that there was another offer and you sold in 1 day. You have all the leverage. Also send one to your realtor with a reminder that she works for you. It’s as simple as that.”

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You pretty much said it all right there.....although you could have added get a realtor that gives a frick about you as a client/person the next time. That's why I tend to use realtors that I know personally.

Whether it's BS or not is immaterial. It's the way it plays out in real life. A punch list style inspection report is death by 1000 cuts for a buyer. When you hear numerous negatives about a thing, you tend to lose your fervor over obtaining it. This is just human nature. So, buyers perceive that the home is not what they thought it was and try to sweeten the deal for themselves.

I don't disagree with you on the intent of an inspection. I would further argue that some of this inspection nonsense is due to how many people have zero idea how to do basic home improvements/repairs. To some, the foyer being the wrong color is akin to Formosan termites. Not kidding.

Have a license in FL.
We sell "as-is"... and that is how I will addressed this as the seller's agent.

Right now I'd tell the buyer to FO with anything more than a $500 credit unless the roof is truly in need of major repairs.

Those things are all the inspector's opinions. The inspector is going to put more items on the report than less in order to protect themself.

They have a signed contract that will explain what options the buyer has to either continue or cancel. There should be an inspection period in which the buyer can withdraw. They also have a date to have escrow in.
The sellers have no obligation to do anything.

The sellers can allow the buyers to hire a roofer for further inspections, if they want to.
The sellers may want to have a roofer inspect it for actual issues. Their agent should already have a couple of roofers ready to give an assessment before negotiating any repairs/credits.

A/C vent doesn't matter. Current code doesn't matter for this either.

It all depends on how the request was written. "Repair by licensed contractor" isn't the same as "just fix it".

If the roof was accounted for in the initial pricing and now their agent is pushing to replace it, they need a new listing agent.

One other thing is that the house may need to appraise and a major issue like a roof could be a problem for financing.

Just my thoughts as someone who "just takes 6% for doing nothing". Good agents make it worth paying the commission.

I always lean towards cosmetic items (clean AC, add vent) needing to be addressed in the offer as long as visible and obvious.

Discovering roof damage is a wild card that would depend on the house.

With two full price asks, writing in terms for inspection probably would’ve been a big part of my tie break. I wouldn’t be getting nickel and dimed from that position.

I can't speak to the market in Louisiana, but I imagine more people are trying to leave than buy.

In Georgia I just bought a new home and went under contract on mine. The market here is silly. There is hardly anything under 500K on the inventory where I am. We found our house before it was listed, and our agent brought us a seller who had been outbid on 4 other homes. We ended up getting full asking (which I thought was a pretty high number given the older condition of some parts of our house), and only gave a contribution to closing costs because we can stay in the home an extra month to make a seamless move into the new home.

Tell the buyer to f-off and go to the other bidder, or re-list it. But no way in hell should they be paying for a new roof in this climate. Maybe throw them a grand or two in closing costs if it is easier, but even then I would say it is a lot.

Totally agree. If it's some little DSLD cookie cutter house, I'd never recommend a buyer (especially one who can barely afford it) just suck it up and deal with a bad roof. Ten more will pop up the next day. If it's an A. Hayes Town masterpiece in Bocage, um yeah. Just roll with it. (BR people will understand this.)

And people, just because this market is "hot" in many areas, it's not so hot that you don't have to maintain your property. Not in the BR area anyway.

Nothing is required to be “in code” until it’s repaired or replaced. For example a water heater installed in say 1990 or 2000 would have certain codes, but a water heater installed in 2021 is going to have specific codes that will probably be different.
But the older water heater isn’t required to be in code until it’s repaired or replaced.