NEGOTIATING AFTER AN INSPECTION
The ultimate guide to negotiating for the biggest discount after a home inspection
The 3 mistakes everyone makes - and how to avoid them
1. Negotiating the sale price of the home instead of repairs
Seems pretty simple right? You’ve had a home inspection, and found out that you need the HVAC upgrading. You get a quote for $5,000 for repairs – so you ask the seller for a price reduction. Easy.
Except that $5000 simply comes off the sale price, shaves maybe $20 per month off your mortgage, and puts ZERO money in your pocket. Which means you’ve now got to figure out how to come up with an extra $5000 to actually make repairs, all after investing almost all of your savings into a down payment for the home.
Long story short – never negotiate the price of the home in lieu of repairs. It’s probably the worst of the 3 major mistakes everyone makes.
2. Having the seller make necessary repairs
This seems like a great option at first. The seller agrees to make the repairs, it costs you ZERO out of pocket and you move into your new home. Great!
But let’s think about this. Is the seller going to hire the BEST contractor for the job, or the cheapest? And how do you know that the repairs have been done correctly? That contractor is not going to warranty work to someone who didn’t pay them to perform the work in the first place. Once that home changes hands and you move in, typically that’s it. You’re left with whatever work has been done.
And even if you can convince your home inspector to come back out and verify that the repairs have been completed, in most cases all they can do is retest equipment. They can’t rip open an HVAC unit to see that repairs have actually been completed. They can’t open up walls to make sure that leaking pipe has actually been fixed.
3. Negotiate for closing costs!
At first glance this doesn’t seem like a bad option – the seller contributes $6000 towards closings costs (which actually puts money in your pocket) and you get to perform repairs at your leisure after move in.
But here’s the problem. Closing costs have a finite dollar value (typically 2% of the loan value), so you can actually only put a certain amount of money towards them. So if your closing costs are already maxed out, you get $0, not $6000. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
Plus it makes it harder to negotiate when the seller doesn’t actually know what you’re using that money for. What if you just want the cash to get a new flat-screen TV or take a vacation to the Bahamas? There’s no way for the seller to know, so it makes it easy for them and their agent to push back and deny your request.
So what is the BEST way to negotiate after an inspection?
Escrow money for repairs with a trusted contractor
It seems pretty simple when you think about it, but the problem is most people (and their agents) don’t actually know that it’s a viable option.
Think about it:
1) You get to pick your contractor
2) You get any warranties on the work
3) You know the work has actually been done
4) You have ZERO out of pocket expenses
It’s hands down the best way to approach any post-inspection repairs, and it’s why here at Repair Pricer we offer a free estimation and walk-thru service so you can accurately estimate your repair costs BEFORE you close on the home.
We can even start the repairs before you move in and provide you with a FREE TRANSFERRABLE WARRANTY so you know you can enjoy your home for years to come.
Reasons To Use Repair Pricer
Reasons to use repair pricer
- Negotiate with confidence
- Save time & money
- Reduce stress
- Get the best deal on your new home
- Take control of the transaction