repairs

Fix Up Your Home Before Putting It On The Market

March 5, 2019 by khproperties Leave a Comment

When you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, it’s important to remember that you want to show it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells…and for what price. Some of these items won’t cost you a lot and can be done over a weekend or two and if DIY home repair just isn’t your thing, these can be done by a local handyman for not a lot of money.

Here are our top five recommended repairs to make before listing your home and putting it on the market.

Repaint Walls

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to make it look great, and generally, it can be a weekend DIY project. Make sure to cover any walls with scratches and chips (and patch and re-texture if the damage is large enough) and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair Floors

Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure that your flooring looks its very best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting or having them professional steam cleaned can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new!

Refresh The Landscaping

Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces and put down a fresh layer of mulch. Make sure you keep the lawn watered and green.

Fix Your Fixtures

Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers with detail-orientated minds. Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can really detract from your homes other better qualities. Updating cabinetry (even just changing out the hardware or painting cabinets can help), repairing or replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment.

Small changes can make a large impact and it’s always a good idea to knock out some of those quick fixes you’ve been meaning to get to, but never can seem to get crossed off your list.

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Writing Effective Repair Amendments

November 28, 2016 by khproperties 3 Comments

You may need to think about repair amendments during the course of buying a home, typically during the option period and after your inspection. Your agent will prepare your repair amendments for you, but as a buyer, it pays to understand how to write an effective repair amendment as the language used in them can have serious effects down the road. Understanding both how to write a repair amendment with negotiations and the final outcome in mind, as well as how to write them so that what you want is really what you get, can save you a lot of time and hassle later down the road. Remember, these repair amendments become part of the contract and performance of the items contained within them is serious business. Many real estate lawsuits center around the repairs agreed to and made and whether or not they were sufficient. Know what goes into the repair amendment before you sign so you can avoid any issues that could effect your purchase.

Negotiating Repairs

After your inspection and your review of the inspection report, you’ll probably have a laundry list of items that you want fixed in order for you to continue with the purchase of this home. We understand anyone’s desire to have everything perfect in their new home, but the reality is that all homes have items that can or should be fixed. Even the inspection on a brand new home will turn up items that need corrected. The goal here is to come up with a list of items that the seller needs to fix…and that they will agree to.

Since no home is ever perfect, you’re going to need to take a look at the inspection report and decide what matters to you most and what can be negotiated by both parties to create the magical win-win situation. Simply sending over an inspection report and saying “fix everything” will more than likely get you a denial from the seller. So how do you determine what to ask for and what not to ask for?

You want to take a look at the big picture. What items do you feel are the so-called “deal killers” – those items that you cannot see past and will cause you to walk away from the home in an instant. Typically, we see these are big ticket items like roofs and HVAC units or health and safety issues such as faulty wiring or items that create a risk of fire, electrocution, or explosion (think leaking gas).

Every homebuyer is different though and what you might consider a no-go, the next homebuyer might not even flinch at. It all depends on your needs and your comfort level.

As well as your needs, you’ll need to consider where the seller is coming from. Did they just take a really low offer from you on the home? Are they trying to move quickly due to a relocation? Are the facing foreclosure or perhaps they just need to sell because they don’t have the money? There are so many factors to consider and your real estate agent can help you see some of the potential pitfalls to the negotiation before they even happen. Remember, the goal is to get the seller to repair items, not bury them in so much that they refuse to do anything.

Writing Repair Amendments

Our biggest tips to writing repair amendments are simple: be specific, don’t overuse words and don’t under explain what you need, and let the inspection report do the talking.

Be specific. We’ve seen cases where repair amendments said something along the lines of “have sprinkler system checked.” The seller did exactly that. They paid to have someone come out and inspect the sprinkler system…and nothing more. There were issues with the sprinkler system (in this particular case a broken pipe under a sidewalk which was causing a major loss of water) and because of the language in the inspection report, the seller merely confirmed what everyone already knew, the sprinkler system needed repair. The two strongest words you can use in a repair amendment are repair and replace. For example, if there are extensive roof damages, a roof replacement may be more practical than roof repair.

Over/under explaining things. Be succinct in your wording. Don’t become a junior inspector or plumber or electrician. Let the experts determine what is wrong and fix it. If the property has a septic system, let a septic tank services company inspect and repair the damages if any or see if a new septic system installation is needed. Sometimes people try to use a lot of big words or even legalese to make the repair amendment sound official. You want to write clearly and in simple, plain language to get to the heart of what it is you want done.

Let the inspection report do the talking. Quote items in the inspection report and give reference numbers for pages or sections of the report where the item appears. Let the inspector’s words inform what needs done.

Remember, that all repairs must be done by a licensed person if the trade requires a license (plumbing and electrical are two examples) or by someone regularly employed in a trade that reflects what they are doing like Shower regrouting melbourne . For plumbing examples, read more about BFMD, LLC Plumbing here.In other words, if you hire a handyman to fix items on a repair amendment, they need to be a handyman as their regular job, not just Uncle Bob who says he can fix it. These two requirements can be overruled if agreed to by both parties and put into writing. One can rely on experts and for plumbing service San Diego see PIC Plumbing.

The more precise you are with repair amendments, the better your results will be. Remember to think items through as well, what are the consequences of the action you’re requesting? We see a lot of arguments over removing items like TV brackets. If someone requests “remove TV brackets” on a repair amendment, they might get exactly that. What’s left when you remove TV brackets? Big holes and mismatched paint. You may want to use something more along the lines of “remove TV brackets and repair, patch, texture, and paint to match current walls” so that you have a more detailed explanation of what you want done. Remember, there is no “they should have known what I meant” clause in contracts.

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Real Estate Negotiation – What’s Reasonable and What’s Not?

February 9, 2016 by Dave Taylor Leave a Comment

In simplest terms, a real estate negotiation is a discussion that generally takes place between two sides with an issue to resolve. Both sides attempt to use influence and/or leverage to obtain their respective goals, which are often not the same. The nature of these discussions can take on a “win-lose” or a “win-win” approach. According to Saul Alinsky, “…there is an art of how to take and how to give.” Regardless of your political views I think we can all agree, Mr. Alinsky’s notion seems like a good starting point for crafting a strategy on how to negotiate. And just for the record, even William F. Buckley thought Saul Alinsky was highly effective. See, even political polar opposites can find some common ground for agreement! It might be stretching it a tad to say those two figures were ever in total agreement, but total agreement is irrelevant to a successful negotiation. But how is Mr. Alinsky telling us to attempt to optimize outcomes for two sides with conflicts of interest in a real estate negotiation?

One can infer that Mr. Alinsky is telling us that “reciprocation” is an extremely influential motivator. One may further presume from his statement that in order to parley successfully, both sides must find a common ground along with understanding what the other side wants. Once you understand the desire of the other side you can begin to work toward reaching a reasonable solution that both sides can live with – the “win-win” approach. In residential real estate, the common ground involves a person who wants to sell their home and another person who wants to buy the home. The problem – the seller normally wants the best price the market will allow and a buyer normally wants to pay as low a price as possible. All too often, sellers and buyers tend to only focus on their own personal wants and needs. And as Stephen King explains, “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.” Obviously Mr. King is speaking about using too many adverbs in writing, however, in our case, one adverb, “only,” can derail the sales process and make everybody’s life a living hell. How do we prevent that? Understanding what is reasonable and unreasonable to a seller or buyer in any given situation will go a long way to solving the dilemma! There are typically two main items that come up in any real estate negotiation. The first involves getting a home under contract and the second, and often most difficult, is resolving the option period during which most buyers will inspect the property and look for repairs to be made.

The First Real Estate Negotiation

There is an old saying, “the buyer gets two bites of the apple.” The first bite (negotiation) in a real estate transaction involves a buyer and seller arriving at a reasonable sales price based on the location of the home, the condition of the home from a visual inspection or a Property Condition Assessment, and a review of the Seller’s Disclosure Notice (before an inspector looks at the home); and the terms involved. The written agreement based on these four real estate fundamentals (price, location, condition, and terms) is what we call an executed contract. But is the contract reasonable? Well, it’s reasonable to believe that homes in popular locations, with high quality amenities, and are not in need of any major repairs normally sell for a higher price than similar homes in the same or less popular areas, with standard amenities, or that require some major repair work. It’s also reasonable to believe that terms of a sale like cash and a quick close, where the buyer is not asking for assistance with closing costs, can generally bring a lower sales price. Just as it’s reasonable for a seller to ask for a higher sales price when the buyer is financing the sale with an extended closing date and has requested seller paid closing costs. In the former example, the buyer using cash and a quick close is providing favorable advantages to a seller. Consequently, a seller may be more inclined to give the buyer a more advantageous sales price. In the later example, the seller is assuming some risk by taking his home off the market for an extended period of time while the buyer completes his financing requirements and in addition, they’re also helping with the buyer’s closing costs. Therefore, it’s reasonable for the seller to normally want a higher sales price based on the risk and the seller paid closing costs involved.

Let’s take a look at a basic scenario. If a seller has priced his home in line with the market for $300,000, it’s probably unreasonable for a buyer to expect the seller to accept a sales price of $290,000 based on the buyer being approved for a loan coupled with a request for $8,000 in closing cost assistance. In essence, the buyer is asking the seller to sell his home for $18,000 below market price. That is not a win-win solution. There are many other factors that come into play that may assist the buyer and seller in this example to reach an agreement. If the buyer absolutely needs the closing cost assistance than he should be prepared to go up on sales price. Other terms could be adjusted also. For example, the buyer could pay the seller’s title policy or allow a seller who needs more time to move to remain in the home on a seller’s leaseback. Every situation is different and one size does not fit all. However, these are examples of each side “giving something to get something.” Too often negotiations break down over minor details because one side or both are looking for an “I win – they lose” solution. Just think, how many times have we seen a difference of several thousand dollars lead to a transaction’s failure? As a general rule of thumb, when a buyer is financing a purchase, each $1,000 financed will cost a buyer $6 toward his monthly mortgage payment. So a $2,000 difference in sales prices is around a $12 a month on a monthly mortgage payment. Now let’s jump forward and look at how we resolve the option period and repair negotiations. This is usually referred to as the second bite (negotiation). And it’s usually the more contested of the two negotiations for myriad of reasons.

The Second Real Estate Negotiation

The general purpose of the option period is for the buyer to have the home inspected and, if required, have the seller and buyer renegotiate the price and/or repairs. Remember, initially the buyer and seller based the price of the home on the condition known from a visual inspection and review of the Seller’s Disclosure Notice and any other information delivered by the seller. Therefore, once an inspection has taken place, latent defects not known or disclosed can impact the price. If a buyer is going to have to replace a roof because the current one is not functioning as intended (not known at the time of executing the contract), then the buyer has a reasonable right to come back and ask the seller to remedy the situation. The roofer worcester acknowledges it. A prudent seller will figure out how best to resolve the roof issue in order to keep the transaction on track to close. Unreasonable sellers fail to consider that if they let the current buyers walk away, the next reasonable buyer will probably ask for the same or similar repairs or resolutions. Tree damaged roof shingles, leaking air conditioner coils, a faulty septic system, a rusted air conditioner drain pan, plumbing leaks, and other items are not going to disappear upon the next buyer’s inspection. It’s very reasonable for a buyer to ask a seller to resolve safety issues as they have a high probability of causing injury. Or to correct water penetration issues that could lead to mold problems. And correct material defects that severely degrade the performance of major systems such as the foundation, roof, heating and cooling system, electrical system, plumbing system, appliances, pools, septic systems, or wells. On the flip side, it’s unreasonable to expect sellers to cure code items in older homes, when those items were not required at the time the home was built. For example don’t send the seller a laundry list of requested repairs for a home built in the 1970s which essentially represents a remodel and code upgrade of the entire home to present day standards. When a buyer chooses to buy an older home, he should know and accept this. Also, if the seller holds out for at or above full price on the sale at the beginning, it’s reasonable for a buyer to expect a seller to be a bit more flexible on the repairs. The buyer will want the house and land packages to be in “full price condition,” which means no major problems. Accordingly, if the buyer has absolutely beat the seller up on price right at the outset, you can’t usually expect to beat the seller up again on repairs and expect the deal to proceed smoothly.

Focus on what is reasonable. Clearly understand what the other side wants and articulate what it is you want. This will most likely lead toward a win-win solution when reasonable people are involved. And above all, remember real estate negotiation isn’t about egos – they only tend to get in the way of the solutions. It’s about finding the best alternative for all involved. There will be times when you simply can’t reach an agreement, but more often than not, you will.

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Important Changes to Contracts Regarding Repairs

May 20, 2014 by khproperties Leave a Comment

In new contract forms coming online on June 1, 2014, repairs will now be required to be made by someone who is licensed to perform that type of work (or if the work does not require a license, by someone who is commercially engaged in the business). Prior to this change, agents typically inserted phrases such as “to be performed by a licensed contractor” but if they didn’t, the work could have been done by anyone. The buyer and seller can override this new rule by agreeing in writing that the repairs will be performed by an unlicensed person, but we would not recommend this. Who would you rather have working on your electrical system, a licensed resident electrician or someone’s Uncle Bob who swears he knows what he’s doing? Those who need assistance repairing or installing new electrical wiring, you may contact a company like Red Star Electric electrical installation in White Plains, NY. Like most things in real estate contracts, the changes came about after one too many lawsuits over a shoddy repair done by someone who didn’t quite know what they were doing. Watching a marathon of This Old House does not make one an expert at repairs.

The new changes affect the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), the Unimproved Property Contract, the New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction), the New Home Contract (Complete Construction), the Farm and Ranch Contract, and the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale). By requiring the seller to use licensed tradespeople for repairs, Texas hopes to eliminate some of the liability associated with repair amendments.

Repairs to be Done By Someone Who is Licensed

If you receive a request for repairs associated with a contract on your home, remember, even that simple repair on the leaky faucet that you could knock out in a few minutes cannot be performed by you or someone unlicensed unless both you (as the seller) and the buyers agree to it in writing.

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Repair Amendments: Be Precise for Better Results

November 22, 2013 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Make Solid Repair Amendments So That They Stick

Repair amendments typically come up during the option period. During this time, a buyer will bring out an inspector to check out the home. The items that the inspector finds often form the core of a repair amendment – a buyer can elect to ask for all of the items to be repaired or none at all, it all depends on what they feel is important. These items are written onto a form (simply titled “Amendment” – it can also be used to amend other items in a contract such as sales price, closing date, seller paid closing costs, etc.) and submitted to the seller. The two parties then negotiate the repairs and come to an agreement (or the buyer can terminate the contract under their “unrestricted right” to termination afforded them by the option period). During the time it takes to get to closing, these repairs are to be performed and at closing, the newly repaired home should be ready for the buyers. Side note: the repairs can be negotiated a lot of different ways – who pays, when they have to be completed by, money in lieu of repairs, who has to perform the repairs, etc.

Pick the Repairs That Matter Most

We all want a house that is in perfect condition, but most sellers most likely won’t repair everything on your list. While you may want to ask for everything on your repair amendment, know that the seller will likely try and negotiate with you for terms favorable to them. The trick is to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Make a list of repairs that are “deal killers” for you and work to get those included in the negotiations. For instance, if there are extensive damages on the roof, you may ask the seller to prioritize residential roof replacement. Some smaller items might need to be traded for the bigger items you really want and need repaired.

Be Precise With Your Repair Requests

Repair amendments are read in a literal manner. Make sure your agent is precise with their wording so that you get exactly what you want. We’ve seen cases where someone wrote “have AC unit checked” and the listing agent did exactly that. They paid someone to “check the AC unit” – it wasn’t working properly, but because of the wording, the seller had no responsibility to have the unit repaired. Be precise and get the results you want.

Ask for Receipts and Warranties

Be sure to request receipts and any transferable warranties in your repair amendment. This a) proves the work was done and b) gives you something to fall back on should there be any problems after the sale.

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