This is the third post in a blog series on evaluating your home inspection list when buying a home in Northern Virginia. So far, we’ve covered Part 1 and Part 2. In this article, we’ll discuss a situation in which inspection negotiations fell apart.
Your Home Inspection List – What Happens When Negotiations Go South
Just a couple months ago, I was representing a seller in the sale of his property, and the buyers became extremely unreasonable after their home inspection. The home was in overall good shape, but like any other property, some items came up on the home inspection list. The buyers were first time buyers who absolutely loved the property, but they suddenly decided to use the inspection negotiations as a way to renegotiate the sales price in the contract, which doesn't usually go over so well with sellers. They asked for the seller to give them $35,000 in cash! This was absolutely ridiculous, given the lack of any major issues on the inspection report.
This was a very popular home, and since my clients had gone under contract, the agents of other interested buyers had called me, asking me to keep them updated if the current contract fell through. Sure enough, one of them had a buyer who was also willing to pay full list price.
So What Finally Happened?
Long story short, my seller client responded to the current buyers’ inspection demands by agreeing to absolutely nothing on their list. The buyers, who very well might have thought my sellers were bluffing, cancelled the contract, and my sellers promptly accepted the other buyer’s full price contract.
The new buyer proceeded to conduct her home inspection, and asked for a reasonable number of items from her home inspection list to be repaired. My seller agreed to her list, and we ended up having a very smooth settlement.
When you’re buying real estate in Northern Virginia, it’s your agent’s job to help you evaluate your home inspection list, and to advise you on a strategy that will give you the best possible outcome in your inspection negotiations.
If you’re thinking of buying a home in Northern Virginia, call me at 703-462-0700 or email me at DarrenRobertsonHomes@gmail.com, so I can go to work for you. With over 30 sales in the last year alone, I have a lot of experience negotiating contracts and handling inspection negotiations, so I’ll be able to advise you effectively in your home buying journey.