Game Key #4 ~ Due Diligence Is Required!
Once an offer is accepted, there is still a great deal of hard work to be done.
When an offer is agreed to by all parties, it is time to conduct the due diligence phase of the purchase. Buyers and Sellers sometimes lose perspective during this phase. It’s not unusual for a Buyer to expect that a five year old home should look and perform the same or better than a new home. This may not be realistic. Inspections should include a general home inspection, a structural inspection, and a number of other inspections depending on the construction and age of the property. When conducting inspections and reviewing inspection reports, Buyers should take into consideration the price they paid, the age of the home, and the reasons they made the offer they made.
Depend upon your agent for recommendations regarding inspectors. Get them to give you several names for each kind of inspector. Call the inspectors and interview them by telephone before you make your decision on who to use to inspect the home. Be sure as ascertain the price of the inspection and what is included prior to scheduling and paying for the inspection.
Buyers should realize that Sellers often consider inspections as an invasion of their privacy. Inspectors poke and probe, analyze and question, and often point out deficiencies that are cosmetic in nature or are code issues with the property that are grandfathered. It is not unusual for a Seller to become defensive after receiving the twenty-page inspection report.
Empathy and a clear understanding of what really are problems with the home are important here. We counsel our Buyers to keep in mind the rationale for the offer and the price when they consider repairs. Sort through the list of items the inspectors pointed out on the reports and prioritize them based upon real important deficiencies. Consider the cost of repairs when asking for repairs.
The negotiation that resulted in the offer being accepted was only the first round of negotiations between the parties. Sometimes, Buyers need to leave some goodwill on the table during this second negotiation. After the Amendment for Repairs is signed, Buyers often want to go back to the property to measure, obtain bids, or show the property to family and friends. Many times, Buyers want to know who maintains the pool, does yard work, or understand how systems work within the property.
Those $10.00 items that you didn’t ask for on the inspection report often add up to $100 values prior to or after closing. Keep the objective in mind. We want to win the game and actually buy the house. After all, it was your first choice after carefully searching the marketplace.
Sonny Moyers
