What Inspection Repairs Are Required?


Some repairs are required when selling and some are not.

Looking to buy a home? Search for a home
Looking to sell your current home? See your home’s value

 

If you’re considering selling your home, you may have a few questions about inspections. Will you have to fix every little thing that’s found? What are the most common home inspection repairs? Well, inspection repairs fall into three categories:

Lender-required repairs. These fixes come up during the appraisal, and are required by the lender before they grant a loan to the buyers Generally, they’re structural defects, building code violations, or safety issues. These may be in the attic, crawlspace, chimney, furnace, and more.

The appraiser will verify whether there’s a presence of termites or dry rot. They’ll also check the septic system, roof, electrical system, plumbing lines, and HVAC system. Often, if these issues are found, you’re responsible for mending them. Begin by getting bids from contractors to see how much the work will cost, or maybe offer a credit to the buyers to fix them themselves, depending on their loan type. This may be preferable since you won’t have to oversee the process.

If you sold your house and were able to avoid lender-required repairs, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear how that worked out.

There’s a bit of a gray area between the repairs that are required and those that are not.

 

Repairs not required. These come from an inspection and may be cosmetic issues or normal wear and tear and usually don’t have to be fixed. These may include staining the deck, unneeded extra renovations, a loose light fixture, etc. Be sure to check with your local ordinances to know what repairs fall under your responsibility. Your real estate agent can help you with that.

Negotiable repairs. There’s a bit of a gray area between the repairs that are required and those that are not. How these are handled depends on what type of market you’re in at the time. If you’re in a hot seller’s market, you have more power as a seller to call the shots. Buyers will always be advised to have a home inspection done so they know exactly what they’re buying.

Work with your agent to understand which items you should get resolved, and where you may be able to push back during negotiations. It’s in your best interest to accommodate some repairs rather than letting the buyer walk away. Also, depending on the magnitude of expected fixes, it’s not likely the problem will disappear. You’ll have to disclose the issue to the next buyer.

Home inspections turn up all sorts of issues, but all can be resolved to the liking of both parties.

If you know someone who could benefit from this message, feel free to share it with them. Please leave a comment if you would like me to send you the two effective ways to negotiate home fixes. Reach out via phone or email if you have any questions about home inspections or concerning real estate in general. I would love to help you.