Disclaimer: While your real estate agent can write a relief application for you, or you can do it yourself, I recommend seeking the competent guidance of an attorney who specializes in real estate matters. Real estate agents cannot give legal advice unless they are specifically qualified to do so.
One of the main components of any quality real estate sales contract is inspection contingencies. Once you have agreed to basic terms and conditions with a seller, you should have allowed yourself a reasonable amount of time to fully inspect the property using whatever resources you see fit. It is very typical to find numerous items that may need attention during this period and you need to decide what needs to be fixed and what you can treat later.
The purchase and sale contract should have detailed instructions on how to handle any repair requests, and you should review these instructions with your real estate agent before writing a repair request. Not following these instructions can be just as bad as not adequately expressing your expectations. Make sure you understand what you need to do and what your remedy could be or you may end up buying a property with significant defects.
Let’s develop a scenario to use as an example of the many possible solutions to find problems and resolve them successfully. One situation I recently saw a friend go through with the sale of her house was repairing a water damaged roof from a previous water leak. The buyers noticed the stain on the ceiling and the seller had disclosed the fact that the ceiling had a leak and it was repaired. The seller had sufficient documentation to prove this fact and provided it to the buyers.
The buyers disagreed with the condition of the roof during the inspection phase and requested that the roof be repaired. The exact wording of the repair request was “salesperson to repair ceiling in living room”. This request was duly presented to the seller in accordance with the contract and was agreed to by both parties. At this point, all parties involved were happy with the status of the transaction.
Obviously, for this to be a good example for our discussion, something has to go wrong, right? Well, something went wrong and it led to some very heated arguments and accusations. The buyers’ intent with the repair request was to open the ceiling, inspect it for further water damage and mold, and then repair and paint it to match the surrounding ceiling. The seller’s intent was to replace the affected area on the ceiling with new drywall and mud, but not to repaint or inspect for other damage.
Now read the exact text of the repair request again. Who has the correct interpretation of the intent of the request? The seller or the buyer? In my opinion, both saw the extremely vague wording of the request to their advantage and failed to recognize the other party’s intentions. Both I might be correct, but since money and time are involved, neither side wanted to give in to the other.
The seller did exactly what I told him and removed the stain from the ceiling and did not repaint. When buyers passed by the house in the 24 hours before the tour closed, they saw the roof and immediately protested. This led to a growing argument that culminated in a war at the closing table over the meaning of the redress request. Ultimately, it was determined that the seller had complied with the letter of the request and the buyers had no further recourse.
What can we learn from this specific transaction? I hope that the first and foremost thing you learn is how to write extremely detailed and well thought out repair requests. My personal suggestion in this case would be to have written… “Seller to repair a stain on the living room ceiling. Seller to have the repair done by a reputable company with a successful track record of this type of repair. Seller to that the roof be inspected for additional damage caused by the previous roof leak and inform the buyer immediately if there is any water or mold damage.The buyer shall have the right to make further repair requests if other damage is found. “Seller must perform a complete and accurate repair. Documented and will transfer any warranty accompanying the repair. Seller must repaint ceiling to match surrounding ceiling.”
I don’t claim to have the perfect repair request in this situation, but I think both parties would have understood the buyers’ intentions much better and may have alleviated some of the dispute at closing if wording more similar to this had been used. When you need to make a repair request in a real estate transaction, make sure you have considered all the details and that it is written very explicitly and clearly on paper. I would even consider consulting with a home inspector and attorney to help with the language.
I hope you find this information helpful and take great care when making requests for repairs in your next real estate transaction…