If nothing is mandatory, what repairs should you make?
Not all home repairs are legally required. However, if an inspection discovers an issue that could affect the buyer’s safety, such as a leaking hot water heater, that should be addressed.
Moreover, making strategic fixes can help you sell faster and for a better price. Buyers may be turned off by major red flags, so addressing key issues, like safety hazards, structural concerns, and cosmetic updates, can boost your home’s appeal and prevent deal-breaking negotiations.
Neal encourages sellers to address such major issues in case the current transaction falls apart.
“If it’s something where the contract doesn’t work out, we’re going headfirst after those [repairs] so […] we’re prepared for the next person,” he says.
What are the common cosmetic repairs buyers request?
While cosmetic repairs aren’t mandatory, buyers often ask for them to improve the home’s appearance and functionality. Sellers don’t have to agree, but addressing minor issues can help the home sell faster. Some common cosmetic repair requests include:
- Touching up paint or repainting: Buyers may ask for fresh paint to cover scuffs, outdated colors, or accent walls.
- Refinishing or replacing flooring: Worn carpets, scratched hardwood, or cracked tiles can be unappealing, so buyers would want these items to be fixed.
- Refinishing cabinets: Dated or chipped cabinets may prompt requests for a refresh.
- Fixing minor wall damage: Small holes from nails, dents, or drywall imperfections can stand out.
- Improving curb appeal: Landscaping, power washing, or replacing an old front door can enhance first impressions.
While not required, handling these requests can make your home more attractive to buyers.
Is it common for a seller to make all of the repairs a buyer requests?
This depends on several factors, including the offer price and the seller’s budget for repairs. The home inspector might note 10 items, but only four or five could be major ones. “The others might be purely cosmetic,” Neal says.
Many agents will use the term “health and safety” as a guideline for which repairs a buyer might request, but again, this comes down to the negotiations and agreement between you and the potential buyer. Steinhausen says he’s noted items that could be considered health and safety issues that weren’t fixed prior to closing, such as:
- Uneven sections of concrete sidewalk
- No handrails on stairs with three steps or more
- Extensive amounts of mold
- Carbon monoxide leaks from appliances, such as water heaters or furnaces
- Faulty locks on exterior doors
- Bedrooms with no egress such as a window, offering an escape route or an entry point for emergency personnel
- No ground-fault circuit-interrupter (GFCI) outlets near sinks in the kitchen or bathroom
- Elevated radon levels
However, a home inspector provides a thorough checklist, so it’s up to the buyer, the seller, and their real estate agents to discuss what fixes to make.
Thomas Day, a top real estate agent in Pompano Beach, Florida, says sometimes a second opinion can negate some repairs. For instance, after one home inspector noted that the electrical panel on a property was outdated, “I had my electrician go out there and look at it, and said there was nothing wrong with it, and that the parts are still readily available and it could last another 10-20 years.”
Andy Peters, a top real estate agent in the Atlanta, Georgia, area, says he doesn’t encourage buyers to ask for repairs that a handyman easily could manage. “When you are arguing over an interior door that doesn’t latch or reverse polarity on an outlet on a $500,000 home, then something is wrong.”
Who pays for the repairs?
That’s open to negotiation, depending on the contract and the scope of the repairs. In most cases, a seller will pay for repairs involving major issues with the structure or components, or at least learn more about what these repairs involve so that they can discuss those with a potential buyer. If there were, say, five of those among an inspector’s recommendations, “we might do two of those or give a credit for the other three,” Neal says.
Some contracts stipulate a dollar amount for the seller to use on repairs discovered through the home inspection, Steinhausen adds. He’s known of this when an inspection finds wood-destroying insects or damage from such pests. The contract might state that the seller is contractually obligated to spend a percentage (say, 1% to 1 1/2%) of the purchase price on treatment, repairs, or both.
