I read a blog by Lenn Harley describing experienced buyer’s agent’s strategy to address home repairs. An experienced agent knows when a repair should be included in the Contract of Sale, or when it should be addressed after the Contract has been accepted during the Inspection Resolution period.
This is just another important reason to work with an experienced agent, and equally important, that that person is a buyer’s agent, not a seller’s agent.
The importance of experience:
In every profession, there are things that you learn along the way. You might make a mistake the first time around, then the next time be armed with knowledge about a better way to accomplish the task.
In this example, the buyer’s agent described the “aha” moment of realizing that certain repairs should not be included in the Contract of Sale. As a buyer, you don’t want to be an agent’s “aha moment.” You want to take advantage of an agent that has already had their “aha” moments, and can apply that knowledge to your situation.
The Colorado Exclusive Buyer’s Agent that we worked with when we purchased our home is a perfect example. He had previously worked in construction, so he literally knows homes inside and out. He had also been an exclusive buyers agent for over twenty years, so had “ironed out” all of the “aha moments” and knew the time and the place to address each of the repairs. The result? All of the repairs that we wanted fixed by the seller were fixed.
The importance of a buyer’s agent:
Another key point in requesting repairs, it is sort of like building a case with supporting evidence. If there are holes in the evidence, that gives the seller a position and a way to avoid paying for them.
For example, when we got our home inspected, our exclusive buyer’s agent recommended a sewer inspection as well. During the inspection, the technician noticed what looked like a potential leak and pointed it out to us. In the report, the potential leak was described as a “wide joint.” He did not feel comfortable using the language that it was in fact a leak, because he didn’t necessarily have the evidence to support that. From our perspective, we certainly do not want a “potential leak” lurking in our sewer- what a truly disgusting problem that could be, not to mention unsanitary and expensive.
We were disappointed in the language because it does not make as strong of a case for us. But, the fact is, it was a valid concern, and our agent had the experience to handle the situation in the right manor that resulted in the seller paying for the repair. Of course, I need to credit the seller for being incredibly reasonable and gracious, and made the process very smooth for us.
I wonder, though, if we had worked with an agent that represented the seller, would they have used the “wide joint” language to help the seller or the buyer?
