Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is, the seller does not have to do any repairs. The most often used Purchase and Sale Agreement (PASA) in our market clearly states that the buyer has the right to inspect and upon inspection the buyer can accept property as-is, request repairs or say no thank you to the property (and provide a copy of all reports if requested). This process extends to buyer’s discovery of anything they object to in the Covenants and Restrictions of the community, HOA, Insurance etc. and can take several days. Once a buyer requests repairs, the seller then has a certain amount of time to do their due diligence and give an answer. At this point you have entered a new negotiation. This is why it is so important to have a trusted and experienced Realtor on your side.
The whole point of the inspection process is to know what you are buying. It’s complicated because going into the transaction the seller is not obligated to do any repairs. However, if you, the buyer, walk away due to issues in the home not being addressed by the seller, those same issues may cause issues for the seller moving forward. Once a seller and the agent have knowledge of defects, they are required to disclose any defects that are not easily observable to another interested party.
Remember you always have options: you can accept the property as-is, request repairs or say no thank you to the property. I am here to navigate you through the process!
