The Housechick Blog

I think the hardest part of selling your home is getting through the repair negotiations.  As a home seller, you’re dreading the inspections, the close scrutiny, and the inevitable laundry list of every little nitpicking thing wrong with your home.

It is difficult to not have an immediate knee-jerk reaction if you get a long list of Buyer requested repairs.  Our homes are special to us, I get that. 

We’ve converted our last home into a rental unit, and I’m having some work done.  I stopped by the other day and the workers had opened the double gate and drove their trucks back onto the yard.  And, they had leafed through a couple of old engineering books that we had sitting on the patio in the Goodwill pile.  They’re not hurting anything, really.  But oh, I felt like they had invaded everything that was private and sacred to me.

So I understand - having some stranger rifle through your home and then make demands that you fix it is disconcerting.

As your listing agent, I know the Buyer will find things wrong with your home, no matter how much you love it.  Because I’m not a party to the contract, I can stand outside of the deal and help you look at a repair list a little more objectively.  Sometimes, you have to step back and look at the big picture, remember why you’re selling in the first place, and determine if we’re still making progress towards your goals.

Plus, it’s all negotiable.  You will most likely have to take care of any health or safety issues - you wouldn’t want to buy a dangerous home either, would you?  As long as everyone is working in good faith, there’s usually a win-win solution available.  We may have to get creative - remember that a Seller can counter a repair request in just about any manner.  It’s all about the negotiating, with a clear focus on the benefits to both parties.