Repair Requests: What's Unreasonable, What's OK?

A likely deal killer in many home sales is when the buyer makes a repair request.

Helping buyers make sense out of a home inspection is part of the invaluable service a real estate agent can provide. Yet few new agents know what a polarized receptacle is much less how to interpret a home inspection report. This means agents who have completed a few hundred home inspections are going to be far more valuable to a buyer than a new agent.

Agents are not home inspectors, though, and cannot explain a home inspection report. That's the job of the home inspector. Agents can, however, help guide buyers to make the right decisions. Left alone, many buyers freak out over home inspections. They will gasp, "The door between the kitchen and garage is not fireproof -- we're all gonna die." This is where experienced agents can help to bring buyers back to earth and refer them to specialists who are trained to explain building code and its rationale.

It's not always in the buyer's best interest to make a repair request. Sometimes it's better for the buyer to ask for one of . . . read more

Ready to Know More About Home Inspections? Click below:

• Bad Home Inspectors
  
• Wet Basements
  
• Attic Inspection Horrors

_{© 2007 Elizabeth Weintraub}

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