How a home buyer handles a Request for Repair depends on what type of repairs are needed. For example, if the water heater needs to be replaced, a buyer might specify a brand of water heater and ask that it be installed with a permit, if a permit is required. However, if the repair is structural, a buyer may be better off asking for a closing cost credit and hiring his or her own contractor.
The reasoning is sellers will often choose to pay as little as possible to fix a problem when the money is coming out of the seller's own pocket. This means that some sellers will hire the cheapest contractors and select the least expensive materials to do the job.
The problem with the seller completing repairs -- whether it's paying a termite company to issue a pest completion or a handyman / plumber to fix leaking plumbing -- is the buyer has no way of knowing if the work was actually done properly. If extensive pest work was done, I may suggest the buyer obtain a second pest inspection, primarily because the pest company that completed the work issues its own completion. Half the time the second pest company finds more work. If this is discovered during escrow, the first pest company must come back and fix it.
Some home inspectors charge to make a return trip to verify repairs, and some do not. Some inspectors build in a re-inspection fee in their initial inspection. Some Sacramento home inspectors, for example, return at no charge because the re-inspection is easy, the home is in their neighborhood and the home inspector receives many referrals from the agent. Other home inspectors routinely charge for a verification inspection.
I'd like to ask the real estate agents who read my blog whether the home inspectors they use charge for a re-inspection. A home inspector in Michigan who reads my About.com Home Buying Forum seems offended I would disclose that some home inspectors waive a re-inspection fee. I'd appreciate hearing about other agent's experiences. How do you handle re-inspections?
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from publisher Archer Ellison in January 2009.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
