Repairs in the Contract?
A couple of weeks ago, we made an offer on a place, it was accepted, and then we had an inspection done. The inspector pointed out a few small suggested repairs to be done. We initially thought we could/should just put the repairs in the contract, but our attorney said he’s hesitant to put them…
A couple of weeks ago, we made an offer on a place, it was accepted, and then we had an inspection done. The inspector pointed out a few small suggested repairs to be done.
We initially thought we could/should just put the repairs in the contract, but our attorney said he’s hesitant to put them in because sometimes a bank will hold up a closing and say they want to come and inspect the repairs. He said that we should try to press the owner to make the repairs prior to signing the contract, since the repairs were minor.
Is this pretty standard practice? We certainly don’t want to sign and leave ourselves no recourse if they decide not to do the repairs, but I also don’t want this to drag on for weeks with no signed contract. Anybody else had a similar experience? How did you handle it?
pringler, your attorney is correct in that the lender may ask to verify completion of those repairs whcih can certainly hold up a closing. Perhaps you can write a separate agreement with the seller or re-negotiate price orask for a concession to satisfy that. It really depends on how small or big the repairs are. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com
Don’t make the owner do the repairs. Owner would have a monetary incentive to cut corners. Either let it go or get a deduction, and be willing to negotiate the amount.
If it’s small stuff, let it go. If it’s something big, consider asking for a deduction from the price. Alternatively, you can choose the repair person and they can pay for it. It’s always tricky to ask owners to make repairs. And you want the contract and the transaction to be as simple and straightforward as possible.
Yep. Or let it be. If it’s small stuff and not the kind of thing that could be a symptom of larger problem, might be smoother ride if it’s just let go. Stuff that’s dangerous, has potential to be so, or otherwise problematic for you or future buyers is one thing. Aesthetics or similarly lightweight stuff a different animal.
And good luck with pending purchase!
repairs is hard to enforce in contract. How would you define “neat painting” for example. So you should consider two alternatives:
(1) make owner do repairs and check the results before signing the contract.
(2) agree that you will do repairs yourself and deduct the cost of repairs from the price.