If you know your toilet doesn’t flush correctly, fix it!
I’m recommending to Tulsa home Sellers that they pre-inspect their properties for sale before putting on the market. Because of the way we negotiate repairs in the Oklahoma real estate contract, it’s possible that the leaky shower pan may kill a transaction that a lot of work has gone in to.
In the Oklahoma real estate contract, we agree on a “repair cap” – a limit to which the Tulsa home Seller is responsible for repairs. And we come up with this figure by best guess, because we negotiate this figure BEFORE we conduct home inspections.
Now, by the time we do inspections, all parties are moving towards closing and likely packing boxes. If the repair estimates exceed the cap, either party can cancel the contract. The Buyer has already spent money on inspectors and an appraisal. The Seller has already taken his home off the market and made plans to move to their next property.
Sometimes Tulsa home Buyers are anxious or overwhelmed by the AMOUNT of items inspectors will find in less than working order – not necessarily the severity. Sellers are often SURPRISED by what inspectors find because they haven’t recently been in their crawl space or truly had no clue that their shower pan was leaking. Particularly in older homes, we get use to the creaks and squeaks – we know to jiggle the handle in the downstairs’ bath in order for the toilet to properly flush.
Home Sellers are just better off pre-inspecting and making repairs up front. The number of Buyers who want to purchase a property in “as is” condition are decreasing, and now we have Lenders and Appraisers dictating what must be brought up to code.
Also, the time table between inspections and closing may be short and you may pay top dollar for repairs that would have been less expensive if done at a repairman’s leisure. Tulsa home Sellers have worked hard to present their home well – don’t let the inspections and repairs kill the deal!
