By Living Room Realty, December 9, 2019
Does buying or selling your first home seem daunting? Especially in a place like Portland which has so many homes pushing a 100+ years old? A big obstacle for so many buyers is finding the home they can afford, in the location that they want, and in a condition they are comfortable with. With home prices as high as they are and so many buyers competing, many first time buyers are left worried about the condition of the home they are considering purchasing. Likewise, many sellers are worried about putting an older house on the market, unsure of how to address all of the likely issues.
Thank goodness for home inspectors and the repair addendum! As part of the offer to purchase a property, the buyer has a right to an inspection period. The average is 10 business days, but can be extended or shortened depending on the buyers confidence in the property. The buyer hires inspectors to look at the condition of the house and property and report back to the buyer and their agent any found defects or problems that they uncover.
Once the report is in hand the buyer and their broker discuss what the buyer is comfortable with accepting as-is and what issues are a deal breaker. It is uncommon for the buyer to ask a the seller to address every single little thing that comes up, but a buyer should always feel comfortable with what they are accepting and it is common for buyers to request that sellers make a financial consideration or address big issues prior to closing.
The buyer and the broker gather bids on the main issues that need repair or correction and put them into a form called an addendum that is then sent over to the sellers and their agent as a request to either remediate the problems, credit the buyer money towards their closing costs to offset addressing the issues on their own, or lastly reducing the sale price.
Buying and selling a home is a huge decision and there are many nuances as to how it gets done, but I believe it can and should be an exciting and fun process! If you are concerned about the “what if” with buying or selling your home, or you would just like to get a better understanding of the buying and selling process, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I would be more than happy to talk about your goals and how you can control the narrative of your house story!
