How Do I Negotiate With Buyers Over Problems in a Home Inspection?

If you're selling your home, there are ways to minimize re-negotiations because of issues arising from a home inspection

Q: How do I renegotiate with my home's buyers over problems arising from their home inspection?

A: When you are selling your home or condo, often times there are issues with the property that you might not be aware of. At this stage the buyer will often want to renegotiate the agreed price based on the results of the inspection. So how should you, the seller, respond? This is when you get the value out of your Realtor, they will be working for you in this process so make sure you choose a good realtor.

With a home there are often issues that be very costly to repair. One approach to take, as the seller, is to address the issues before you list the property. Get a pre-listing home inspection done prior to listing – this will help you address any major issues and prepare for the negotiating process. Being able to provide all necessary information upfront upon viewing your home will be very appealing to the right buyer/real estate agent.

The other way it can play out is if the issues are discovered the traditional way, after an accepted offer. It's important to note that at this stage the buyer is very emotionally invested in the purchase generally, and as the seller you are invested in moving on from the property. Even though the issues are technically the seller’s responsibility to repair, often times the best way to negotiate is to split the costs between the buyer and the seller if possible. A lot of this depends on the severity of the issue and the negotiating power and skill of your Realtor, but both parties are invested so trying to avoid losing the deal is advisable for both sides.

With a condo unit there isn't much that will come out during a property inspection that will affect its value – generally this will come out during the strata document phase and not the inspection. It's not as common to negotiate more at this stage, because there is generally less money on the line. If issues come out at this stage, it's more likely that one party or the other will want to move on to another transaction.

Disclosure is extremely important in real estate, and I always tell my sellers to disclose everything about their home upfront. It will lead to a more professional experience, and the right buyer will appreciate being able to make their offer decision with all the relevant information.

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