In New Jersey, it is common to have both the agent and the attorneys involved in post inspection negotiation. The buyer attorney will write a letter outlining the buyer requests for repairs or credits. The seller attorney will respond with the seller’s response. These attorney letters become the supporting documentation for the agreements reached. The buyer and seller agents are generally the primary communicators in the actual discussions on the items to be repaired and credits to be issued. In some instances these neogatiations take place soley with the attorneys, exclusive of the agents. I have found those contracts to be the ones which have the rockiest closings and highest rate of client dissatisfaction.

I always recommend delivering a copy of the inspection report to both your attorney and your agent. They are both part of your team.

The purpose of the inspection is to gain information about the property which would not be known to you based upon a visual inspection or by reading a seller’s disclosure. If the stove is old, you would have known that when you looked at the property, and the seller will presume your offer took that into consideration. Most buyers would not recognize faulty electrical wiring or know that corrective work is necessary by a licensed electrician.

The terms of your contract will dictate your options. I am not an attorney, do not have a copy of your contract, and am not your agent. In general, based upon my experience, most puchases entail the buyer and seller negotiating repairs and credits over major items, and the smaller items reflect a “to-do” list for the buyer after closing. Some of those items will live forever on the “to-do” list. Understand that the inspector’s job is to report on all items. The seller will not consider it his/her responsiblity to address minor details on the report.

Deborah Madey - NJ Broker
Peninsula Realty Group
732 530-7755
732 530-6350

Hi Isabel,

Do you have an agent representing you or the attorneys? If you are in contract
you should have the inspection contingecy removal with certain days to remove
so that if you have an issue this can be solved. Again all that request can be
solved by your agent or attorney whatever you have, if you have a contingecy
removal then you the right to request those items.

Where is your buyers agent? who is providing you guidance ? Not knowing relationship of you, your attorney, contract signed difficult to state. Best ask your attorney direct.

National Featured Realtor and Consultant, Texas Mortgage Loan Officer, Credit Repair Lecturer
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Lynn911

My inspectors fax the entire inspection report to the Attorney and the Realtor for review any concerns should be discussed and brought up with both the Realtor and the Attorney. "OLD" does not mean that is not working properly and if it is seem to work fine there usually is no need to repair, you are made aware of expenses that may occur in a future but one never knows when things break down. Sometimes a credit is given for things that are broken and sometimes immediate repair is needed in order to get the deal going. This is all a part of more negotiations, but if the items you are concerned about are just old and not broken there is not too much too do. Well that is my opinion and I have had many experiences with these issues but of course. I am not an expert in this or do I have all the facts. Good luck

Isabel,

If you are using an attorney for your closing it would be advisable to refer your concerns to him/her. The terms of your contract should outline if these issues will be repaired. Your attorney will be able to speak to this.

Good luck
The Eckler Team

Isabel: Are you using a realtor? If so, I'd start by bouncing the report of him/her. A good Realtor may be able to help you decide what the best course(s) of action is/are. As previously discussed, older working appliance and window replacements are hard to get out of a seller. Having said that, there's no harm in asking.

Years ago, inspections were not common and folks mostly assumed "what you see is what you get."

With inspections, we now get information about things we did not even think about. The inspector does not want to appear negligent and so tells you of everything that might be a problem down the road. This is both good and bad. Good in that you better be ready for some house maintenance costs, bad because it might sour you on what is actually the best deal you will find.

Health, safety and structural deficiencies can often be gotten from a seller by asking. Other things may be denied.

Before you get too far into this, think about what the whole thing means. Your attorney may be billing you by the hour, causing you to reflect on the need to inform him/her. At least know what the inspection means. That way, you won't take up too many hours of the attorney's billable time. If you have a flat fee, give it to him/her and see what he/she says.

As I said, there's no harm in asking for anything but do not feel that you will get any specific thing. In the long run, resales of houses are all as-is in the end. Sellers do fix some of the as-is but are not forced to do so, except by the housing inspectors of the municipality(not teh organization you hired,) if they exist at all.

Best wishes.

Bill Holt

I'm with John on this Isabel - your attorney is your advocate on your transactio n- by all means share the inspection report with him/her so that you get the benefit of their advise and support in negotiating through the inspection contingency. In terms of whether the seller has to respond to inspection requests, you have the right to ask, and the seller has the right to respond. Generally, matters related to structural, safety and environmental are expected and get the most traction.

Good luck,
Jeannie Feenick
"Unwavering Commitment to Service"
Search the MLS at http://www.feenick.com

Hi Isabel,

The whole point of having an attorney is to have someone to defend you in relation to the contract, make sure the contract is legal and your attorney is in place to look out for your best interest in the contract. That would mean, get your attorney a copy of the inspection report and let him/her read it also and then consult on what is the best coruse of action and have the attorney address your repair requests in writing to the other attorney to review and discuss with the seller.

The purpose of the inspection report is twofold. Firstly to help you understand the workings of the house and anything that you need to pay attention to when it comes to maintenance but more importantly to identify any defects there may be. The purpose of this is for you to be able to discuss this with your lawyer and for him to enter into discusions with the other side about remedies for the faults that have been discovered. This is an important part of the work that you are paying the lawyer for
Now simply because items are old may not be grounds to demand that the seller do something about it if they are functioning properly. Your lawyer is probably going to try and enforce some of these things and it is up to the seller to decide whether they will do anyting about it. but they may not.

If you need your attorney's advice on the home inspection, then YES, you should give them a copy of the inspection report. Generally speaking, the owner is not obligated to do repairs/upgrades that you request, but generally, you have the option of cancelling the contract if they don't. READ the agreement of sale that you signed, it will answer these questions for you. Let your real estate agent give you thier advice and opinion and you can decide if your requests are reasonable or not. good luck !
Joe Montenigro