This may involve negotiation that the repairs be done and inspected before moving along, or some price concession to account for your expense to make the repairs. A Certified Real Estate Negotiator (CREN) Agent would be very helpful here. The worst-case scenario is that the house needs major investment — for example, the roof has exceeded its useful life and is in immediate need of replacement or the sub-structure leaks and can’t be inexpensively remediated. You might ask the seller to vastly reconsider the sale price, ask for the full amount to fix the problem(s), or agreed upon portion, or walk away. A full inspection should be part of the contingencies in a home purchase, thus failing the inspection, any earnest money will be returned. Regretfully, there’s no standard template and step-by-step guidance about what to do if there are issues with the house. It depends on how you crafted your conditions. The best buyer option (and probably would only happen in a buyer’s market) is where the seller agrees to cover all or most of the repairs. Even though the purchase agreement states “as is”, after inspection you can still attempt to negotiate a reasonable concession from the seller on issues discover in the inspection. Some of the common problems that should be considered include the roofing, replacing the pipes, fixing any leaks, and the requirement for new electrical wiring for any 30 to 50 year-old houses.
WHEN TO WALK AWAY
Professionals say you should cancel the deal if you can’t buy the house you want on the conditions that you want and for the money that you have. In a buyer’s market, the seller will negotiate on minor repairs disclosed by an inspection long before the thought to walk away hits you.
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