Disclaimer: While your real estate agent can write a repair request for you, or you can do it yourself, I highly recommend that you seek the competent guidance of an attorney who specializes in real estate matters. Real estate agents cannot provide legal advice unless they are specifically qualified to do so.

Inspection contingencies are one of the main components of any quality real estate purchase agreement. Once you have agreed to the basic terms and conditions with a seller, you should have allowed yourself a reasonable period of time to fully inspect the property using whatever resources you see fit. It is very typical to find numerous items that may need attention during this period and you must decide what needs to be repaired and what you can deal with later.

The sales contract should have detailed instructions on how to handle any repair request, and you should review these instructions with your real estate agent before writing a repair request. Failure to follow these instructions can be as bad as failing to adequately express your expectations. Make sure you understand what to do and what your recourse could be or you may end up buying a property with major defects.

Let’s develop a scenario to use as an example of the many possible solutions to find problems and solve them successfully. One situation that I recently observed a friend went through with the sale of her house was repairing a roof with water damage due to a previous water leak. Buyers noticed the stain on the roof and the seller disclosed the fact that the roof was leaking and it was repaired. The seller had sufficient documentation to prove this fact and provided it to the buyers.

Buyers disagreed with the condition of the roof during the inspection phase and requested a roof repair. The exact wording of the repair request was “salesperson to repair ceiling in living room.” This request was correctly presented to the seller in accordance with the contract and was agreed upon by both parties. At this point, all parties involved were satisfied with the status of the transaction.

Obviously, for this to be a good example for our discussion, something has to go wrong, right? Well, something went wrong and it led to very heated arguments and accusations. The intentions of the buyers with the repair request were to open the roof, inspect it for more water and mold damage, and then repair and paint it to match the surrounding roof. The seller’s intent was to replace the affected area on the ceiling with new drywall and mud, but not to repaint or inspect for other damage.

Now, reread the exact wording of the repair request. Who has the correct interpretation of the intent of the request? The seller or the buyer? In my opinion, they both saw the extremely vague wording of the request in their favor and did not acknowledge the intentions of the other party. Both of them could Be correct, but since it is about money and time, neither party wanted to give in to the other.

The seller did exactly what I told him and removed the stain from the ceiling and did not repaint. When buyers stopped by the house in the 24 hours before the tour closed, they saw the roof and immediately protested. This led to an escalation of discussions that culminated in a closing table war over the meaning of the request for redress. Ultimately, the seller was found to have complied with the request letter and the buyers were left with no further recourse.

What can we learn from this specific transaction? I hope the first and foremost thing you learn is to write extremely detailed and well thought out repair requests. My personal suggestion in this case would have been to have written … “The seller should repair the stain on the living room ceiling. The seller should have the repair done by a reputable company with a successful track record in this type of repair. repair. The seller should get the roof inspected for additional damage caused by the previous roof leak and to inform the buyer immediately of any water or mold damage. The buyer will have the right to make further repair requests if other damage is found. Seller must make a complete and accurate documented repair and will transfer warranties accompanying repair. Seller will repaint ceiling to match surrounding ceiling. “

I don’t claim to have the perfect repair request in this situation, but I think both parties would have had a better understanding of the buyers’ intentions and some of the dispute may have been alleviated at closing if more drafting had been done. similar to this had been used. When you need to make a repair request in a real estate transaction, make sure you have considered all the details and that it is written very explicitly and clearly on paper. I would even consider consulting with a home inspector and an attorney to help me with the language.

I hope you find this information useful and take great care when making repair requests in your next real estate transaction …