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Seller Only Wants to Pay up to $500 dollars for potential home repairs

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Hello,

My husband and me are in the process of buying a condo and the seller is only offering $500 dollars towards any potential home repairs. The condo is in immaculate shape, but still, if it was perfect, I don't understand why this seller is being shady/sneaky in regards to offering more money towards potential repair costs.
This is our first home together (we're first-time homebuyers) and we have two family members helping us out: one's our realtor and the other is a real estate attorney. They both agree that this wrong.

What should we do? Should we accept the $500? Raise that price to $2k? or should we say that if there are repairs, then we want the cost difference to be shown within our asking price?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

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June 26 - Jefferson Township

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starr12
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starr12

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Thanks for the response. We actually rejected the contract due to the buyer not willing to provide us with a clean title, dates, and so forth. She wasn't being cooperative so we took the advice from our lawyer, family, and friends, thus decided to back out. I believe that it was all for the best.

Now we are looking again :-)

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July 08

Fydell
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Fydell

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Under New Jersey Law all contracts for sale are essentially "As is". What that means is the buyer is responsible for examining the property for defects by means of a home inspection by a licensed inspector.
Under the terms of the standard New Jersey contract for sale the buyer is entitled to the inspections which have to be completed normally within 10 days of the ending of the attorney review period.
Should this inspection reveal defects then the buyer is entitled to request that the seller correct the defects.
The seller then has 3 choices
1) correct the defects to the satisfaction of the buyer
2) make a cash settlement at the closing in lieu of fixing the defects
or
3) refuse to do anything
If option 3 is the reply of the seller then agian the standard New Jersey contract for sale allows the purchaser to walk away without penalty
.
In this particular instance the seller is saying that if you find any defects we will only do repairs up to a value of $500 ( or a cash option 2)
So if your inspection finds defects amounting to say $5,000 then you would be out of pocket in the amount of $4500 and you would be entitled to exercise option 3 and walk away from the contract.

Remember that either party can walk away from a contract without cause until the attorney review period is ended so it would be very unwise to spend the monet on a home inspection before the period is over.

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July 08

starr12
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starr12

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Excuse me for being so "uptight". This is all new for me and my husband. I didn't know if this was considered normal or a red flag, which is why I'm on here asking so-called professionals.

We already made an adjustment in our contract and I am sure that everything will work out now.

Thanks for everyone's advice who were actually helpful.

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June 26

Michael Russell, "real estate mike"
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Michael Russell, "real estate mike"

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If I was that uptight about it I'd just rent. Starr, are you trying to say that in NJ the home inspection isn't in your option/grace period to walk away? Sounds like you, agent. and attorney are under pressure to make sure you get a perfect deal. If your home inspection uncovers more than $500 of repairs THEN you negotiate with the seller for what they'll pay, not beforehand. There are and always will be unknows but as you move along through the process you work them out. I'm sure the condition was fairly good or you wouldn't have even made an offer. Are you getting the property below market value? That's more important than $500 of repairs the seller won't pay.

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June 26

Michael Emery, "MikeEmery"
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I've seen the seller will contribute only $500 towards repairs in addendums on bank owned properties. But this is negotiable, just like anything in a purchase agreement.

What I would be more concerned about is what the HOA will cover in terms of defects and what is the responsibility of the homeowner. In the condos I've sold the only defects that are the responsibility of the homeowners are appliances and sometimes heating and cooling units.

You may wish to request the sellers purchase a home warranty to cover any repairs. Usually there is a $100.00 deductible on any repair made.

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June 26

starr12
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I'm a first time home buyer and this entire process is scary. The reason why the home crisis is in the mess it is in b/c of buyers who were clueless, sorry but that isn't going to be me. I've always heard that it is THE SELLER'S responsibility to repair their home if the inspection finds problems, that is, if the seller disclosed that they are selling their property "AS IS".

IN NJ, we CANNOT have a home inspection until AFTER attorney review, which means that we agree to the sellers terms and so forth.

Luckily, the town inspector is going out there to double check things for us while it's still in attorney review. I dont want us in over our heads if god forbid, there are repairs that need to be done.

Thanks

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June 26

jkonstant
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starr12:Nobody is suggesting you agree in advance to a limit that still requires you to go through with it. Your attorney or realtor for that matter can write in a simple if/then contingency that allows you to walk if not satisfied or better yet, if after the inspection both sides do not reach a satisfactory agreement. The only thing I am suggesting is those who are representing you are doing such a marvelous job that you may never know whether the condo needed any repairs at all.

Let me try this another way...Let's say the total repairs come to $525. Will you walk away over $25? Will the seller let you? Or, will your representation prohibt the natural progression of things unknown at this time.

Wetdawgs is right on.

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June 26

wetdawgs
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It sounds like you have far higher expectations of sellers than you will often encounter. It is rare for a seller to give a blank check for repairs. After the inspection a repair request is put in to the seller and they can pick and chose.   I suspect the $500 is "up to $500" and not just a donation of $500 towards repairs, and each one has to be justified.

You can agree, or not agree.   When a condo is "preowned" it will never be perfect (even new they are not perfect), and it indeed possible to nickel and dime the seller to the point they bail.    The repairs that should be of concern are the biggies, such as the roof leaking, furnace about to go, plumbing leaks, electrical system leaks etc.   A simple ding here and there is not a repair to request.

A seller is never obliged to pay for any repairs.   It is your choice to take it or leave it.   You feel as if you are being nickeled and dimed, but it quite possible that the seller has the same impression of your requests.

If you are uncomfortable with the situation, you can withdraw but it is also quite possible you won't find better with other sellers.

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June 26

Loretta Wetz , "lorettawetz"
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Loretta Wetz , "lorettawetz"

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Looks like you may want to move on. Please, do not move forward until you get the home inspection. This saves you in the long run.

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June 26

starr12
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Thanks for your advice, but we can't get a home inspection until the contracts are out of attorney review. That's the rule here in NJ.

I don't want to agree to anything, esp. to this$500.00 deal. Sorry, but this is our first home and we don't want to take any chances. The seller made a huge deal about one part of our contract and she really is stretching us thin with her nickel and diming everything. She's been out of this condo for months now and is now paying two mortgages. One would think that she would do anything to get out, but like many in Northern NJ, the sellers are still trying to make as much as they can, despite the downturn to the real estate market.

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June 26

jkonstant
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First of all, this is not wrong. In addition, write the contract allowing you to walk away without loss of earnest money should the repairs exceed $500 and you cannot come to other terms.Is this unusual? Perhaps. However, it is not wrong and as a seller you can set your terms and as a buyer you can accept or decline them. In this instance you seem to be convincing yourself that there are going to be repairs when in fact their "might" be repairs and sometimes realtors and attorneys try too hard to prove their importance. There might not be any shady/sneaky at all and the seller just doesn't want to be nickle and dimed for everything as is often the case. Get your home inspection and make your decision afterwards.

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June 26

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