Home Inspection

Aside from getting under contract, the home inspection is one of the biggest steps in the process for both buyers or sellers…here is the rundown on what that looks like!

The Colorado contract allows the buyer to do their due diligence on the home and conduct a home inspection. This usually occurs the first week of the under contract period. The buyer can ask the seller to repair issues prior to closing, ask for a credit to address issues after closing, or if any deal breakers come up, they may terminate the contract at their subjective discretion (and get their earnest money back).

How much a buyer can ask for from a negotiation standpoint really depends on how much leverage each party has in the specific transaction. If it is a competitive house, oftentimes buyers will limit their requests to major issues ahead of time in their offer…and if the seller has other buyers interested in the home, they’re going to be less inclined to do a bunch of repairs. If the buyer has more negotiation power, they can usually ask the seller for more in terms of repairs if the seller doesn’t want to risk losing the buyer and going back on the market.

In general, the goal is to reach an agreement that is fair to both parties as no resale home is perfect. The buyer shouldn’t have to inherit big problems, but they also shouldn’t nit-pick the seller on a million fixes or try to just rack up a big seller credit.

My go-to rule of thumb in determining the reasonableness of a request is to consider if the problem is an issue for any buyer…or just a specific buyer. If any buyer would have an objection to the issue, it should probably be addressed…and if a specific buyer is just asking for a lot, then maybe the seller will push back a bit or the house just isn’t the best fit for them.

Here are some basic inspection objection guidelines on what (imo) typical requests look like in Denver’s market:
✅ structural issues, dysfunctional sewer lines, active water leaks, safety issues (gas leaks, high radon levels)
❌ cosmetic fixes, upgrades, general homeowner maintenance tasks