Boston Real Estate for Sale in 2021
How do I renegotiate a Boston real estate sales contract after a Home Inspection?
Downtown Boston condo buyers and sellers often think the negotiations are complete as soon as both parties sign the purchase agreement. The fact is that another round of negotiations is frequently needed after the Beacon Hill or Midtown high rise condo is professionally inspected. The inspector’s job is never to decide if the agreed price is correct or what it should be. Nor should the inspector be involved in a second round of negotiations after the inspection. The inspector’s role is to make the buyer aware of any problems that may not have been known previously so the buyer can make an informed purchase decision.
Risks of Waiving a Boston Condo Home Inspection
In this strong Boston real estate market, it can be tempting for the Boston condo buyer to waive the home inspection. This can make your offer look stronger if the seller has multiple offers to consider. But it is a huge risk for the buyer. In a seller’s market, the buyer has probably submitted a top-dollar offer. Do you want to pay top dollar and then have to make expensive repairs that weren’t known about?
Besides the additional expense, the buyer also risks that the lender will not approve the mortgage without an inspection or that an insurance company will not issue a homeowner policy. Even a strong sellers’ market is not a good reason to waive a home inspection.
Boston Condo Buyers Options After the Inspection
Following the inspection is a time that real estate agents typically play an important role. Emotions run high when the seller and buyer believe a deal has been struck but both learn there are more issues to be resolved. A good place to start is for both agents to go over the report separately with their clients. They should make it clear that generally, five options could result from the report:
- Do nothing by completing the sales as already agreed to.
- Cancel the sale based on major problems revealed by the report.
- Negotiate a new price.
- Negotiate repairs.
- Negotiate a combination of repairs and a price revision.
What Might Be Negotiated in a Boston Condo Sales Contract
It doesn’t happen often but there can be issues that the seller’s lender will make the loan contingent upon. This could be a damaged roof that was not detected by the condominium buyer. The seller can’t be forced to make the repair but chances are they won’t be able to sell contingent on a loan until the repair is made.
There can be other major problems that only come to the buyer’s attention via the inspection report. This could be a roof nearing the end of its useful life, a damaged electrical system, foundation damage, crumbling chimney masonry, a poorly constructed deck, etc. These surprises can warrant a price reduction. In many cases, the seller will have to include this information in the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement for a future sale.
Negotiating Boston Condo Options
Just because a problem needs repairing doesn’t mean the seller has to make the repair. Often it’s in the best interest of the buyer to get a price concession and arrange for the repairs themselves. The seller is still looking at the bottom line that he or she will walk away with. The seller is likely to have a minimum repair made rather than consider the long term consequences.
Local code violations such as missing handrails almost always have to be repaired. However, upgrades to revised codes that were grandfathered are negotiable. The home inspection is not a code compliance inspection. While the inspector might make recommendations based on code changes, the buyer needs to look at the big picture. Rarely are houses that met code when built required to be upgraded at a later date. If the buyer wants a house complying with the new codes, he or she should probably be looking for a newer house.
Boston Real Estate and the Bottom Line
The buyer obviously wants to purchase the downtown Boston real estate if a purchase agreement has been signed. They should approach the house inspection as a relationship with the seller rather than a need to be right about everything. This is what makes a “must fix” and “nice to have” priority list good from the beginning. Final negotiations aren’t complete until the house inspection has been accepted.
Boston Real Estate for Sale in 2021