Inspections are one of the main areas that purchasing a home can fall through. That is why it is important to have realistic expectations. When you are buying a home, it is important that you understand what is considered acceptable to ask for when you present your Inspection Objection (the document used to tell the seller what you would like to have repaired, replaced or installed). If you are wondering why you can’t just ask for anything, you can, but asking for what is considered acceptable will make it more likely that what you are asking for is taken seriously, and then there is a higher potential of it getting completed, which is what any buyer would want.

For reference, at TK Homes, we recommend buyers always do a general inspection, and we also recommend a sewer scope and a radon test. It is important to know what you are buying. A sewer scope is when a camera on a long line goes through the main sewer line allowing you to see the condition of the sewer system. We do a sewer scope because if there is an issue, it can be costly, and this is typically a repair that we can ask the seller to address in an Inspection Objection. So, we want you to know about it before you purchase your home. Radon is a serious concern in Colorado due to our soils, and it another item that we can ask the seller to address.  We want you to know as much as you can about the home you are buying, so you can ask for things to be addressed by the seller before purchasing the home. Also, we don’t want there to be surprises later. Surprises in real estate are seldom good.

Once you have had your inspection, you will get a copy of the inspection report to read through. Then, you will talk with your agent about what items you may want to ask to have repaired, replaced or installed. You do not want to be nit-picky, meaning if there is chipped paint or something is a cheap, easy fix, or considered regular home maintenance, it is better not to ask for it. Something else to keep in mind is that if an appliance or furnace, etc. is old but is still working, it will not usually be replaced by the seller. The things you want to ask for are big-ticket items and health and safety items. For example, if the roof has hail damage and needs to be repaired, that is a big-ticket item, or if radon levels are high, that is a safety issue, and the home will need a radon system. Another thing to consider is that a seller is not going to want to pay to have your home upgraded, but they may do a repair on existing systems. A perfect example of this would be that a seller would potentially pay for a broken seal to be replaced on a window, but they are most likely not going to pay for you to get new windows because a new window is an upgrade. Of course, if the window is actually broken, then that is something a buyer would want to ask to have fixed because that is a health and safety item. Here are some examples of big-ticket and/or health and safety issues that a buyer may want to address: requesting the replacement of a certain brand of electrical box know for fire hazards, ensuring the installation of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to meet county and state laws and having GFCI outlets installed in areas near water. There are many more scenarios.

Usually, the rule of asking the seller for big-ticket items and health and safety items applies, but when there are multiple offers, this strategy will most probably not work. When you are competing against other offers, if you really want the home, you will want to ask for limited inspection items to be completed or just accept the home as-is, meaning make no Inspection Objection. You will potentially not be able to win and get your offer accepted if the other offers are accepting the home as-is (also known as waiving the inspection), and you are asking for items to be repaired or fixed.

Inspections can be a very scary aspect of buying a home, especially since it’s the inspector’s job to point out every flaw in the home from a bad roof down to tiny cracks in the shower grout. Knowing what to ask for can be a very daunting job. This is why having the right real estate agent on your side can make the difference between getting through inspection or starting your home search all over again.

Having a knowledgeable agent is important, no matter what the market looks like. At TK Homes, we are not only up on what the market is doing, but we are very familiar with the buying process and how to get the most for our buyers when we write our Inspection Objections. Contact us today, and we will work hard to get you the home you love in the best possible condition!

~ Written by TK Homes REALTOR®, Mary Smith

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