Most of the home buying public is likely aware by now that in most cases it's very important to make your home purchase contingent upon inspections. The most common in my neck of the woods are:
General Home Inspection
Pest inspection
Radon
Nine times out of ten there will be some issues/repairs that will need to be addressed. So let's say that the seller agrees to make repairs. Most good agents will include the following (as an example) in a repair addendum:
Seller to hire a licensed plumber to make the following repairs and then list what needs to be done.
Seller to hire a licensed HVAC contractor to clean and service the furnace
Seller will hire a licensed radon contractor to install a mitigation system.
I will also include a time frame for the work to be done. I will generally say something like: All work to be completed no later than 2 weeks prior to title transfer. I learned from experience on this one. I do this so that the buyers have enough time to inspect the repairs and we can resolve any issues if they are not satisfied, and still close on time.
I also include in the inspection addendum that the seller will provide a copy of the paid invoice to the buyer. Our printed contract also says that the buyer will have the opportunity to inspect any repairs made by the seller to make sure they are to his or her satisfaction.
And this brings me to the subject of this post. When I represent a buyer who has asked for repairs, I make it a point to take the buyers back through to inspect the repairs and I am kind of amazed when the other agent questions this. They will usually say something like, "Why do you need to inspect the repairs? I sent you an invoice." Or,"We'll just make this the final walk through then."
Here's my response. "I know you sent an invoice and thank you for that but we want to see for ourselves the job that was done. And this will not be our final walk through because we are still 2 weeks away so we'll expect to do the walk through a couple of days before we close, just as it states in the contract."
I think that if a buyer asks for repairs and the seller agrees, then there should be an invoice, a time frame to get it done, and a re inspection. Maybe that makes me not a very trusting person, but I think it's important to verify with my own eyes and the especially with the buyer's own eyes that repairs were made in accordance with that invoice.
If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate. Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.
 |
 |
 |
