I think it is dangerous to put forward a list of items that you would not negotiate. However, I think you need to include language that requires any and all inspections to be completed and results accepted in a reasonably short period of time.

10 Days?

I defer to the judgement of more experienced posters here.

What Salti said. Set amount of time. 10 days seems about right. That's what we did.

Don't go out there and try to pre-empt potential "issues." It usually comes off as suspect. Let the buyers come to you.

I know our contract said it did not include cosmetic issues like nail holes from pictures in the walls. It was part of the standard contract. Otherwise, i agree with Salti.

Next time we sell -- the contract will allow an inspection, but it will be only for informational purposes to the buyer, the buyer will have X days to cancel the contract after they receive the report, and we DO NOT WANT A COPY OF THE REPORT. That prevents the buyer blackmail tactic -- if you don't fix it you will have to disclose it in the future.

I never fix cosmetic or minor stuff. If I haven't already fixed it, it isn't going to be fixed, unless it is a previously unknown legitimate safety issue. The most I will ever do is offer a token amount in lieu of repairs on my Seller Response to Inspection. That's it. If you want to reopen price negotiations, find another seller.

That said, I do try to get them as close to perfect as I can when selling, but otherwise, what you see is what you get.

Nightowl, I always state that I do not want a copy of the report and the Buyer always sends it anyway! So annoying, but I don't know how you can get them to stop. Once emailed to you, it is considered to be in the Seller's possession.

Don't open the attachment. Return the email with the remarks, not accepted, attachment unopened. Or, you can not give them your email address, instead give them your agent's email. Instruct your agent that you will only accept a written list of requested repairs. They can refuse the report on your behalf. From a liability standpoint, you want to get as far away from an inspection report as you can.

When our buyers presented us with their offer, they included wording that they would share the parts of the inspection reports with us that were not to their satisfaction.

We countered and stroked out the wording about sharing the unsatisifactory parts with us. This was very confusing to our agent and to our buyers as they thought they were being kind and generous.

But we didn't want to know, certainly did not want to have a paper trail showing we knew about any of the results of the inspections. They did verbally tell us about the septic bed failing (though after my own inspection I paid for, the bed is fine!) which is fine, its a big ticket item and absolutely should be in working order.

We would've paid half to replace had our inspection showed the same thing.

But yes, I did not want to see the inspection reports at all.

When I sold my house we got a list of stuff from the inspector and the buyer's agent prepared a list of what they wanted fixed. I refused on some things that weren't really in the scope of the inspection contingency that would have cost money to fix and fixed the others (including a few that were silly but they cost me a day of my time to take care fo and you choose your battles).

Most standard real estate contracts already have some type of language in the contract regarding health, safety and structural issues related to the inspection. Many have references to wood destroying insects and damage.

Just because you say something about the inspection doesn't mean a buyer cannot ask for something different. Good Luck with your idea.

Do yourself a favor and hire an inspector before you list the home. Repair any issues that would cause most buyers concerns. Problem fixed.

The buyer can ask for whatever he wants, but you don't have to do it. There is no obligation whatsoever to fix a single thing (absent safety issue in some jurisdictions). The point of the inspection is merely to inform the buyer as to what he is buying, not to permit him to re-open negotiations.

I sometimes wonder if we are the only people out there who buy a house at a good price and expect that the issues are ours to fix, not the Seller's to fix. I've had elderly sellers leave basements full of trash and closets full of clothes. We deal with it. Today's buyers seem rather ridiculously picky to me (and I have bought and sold a lot).

You say, " The point of the inspection is merely to inform the buyer as to what he is buying, not to permit him to re-open negotiations."

A given buyer may say, "The point of the inspection is merely to establish a basis for re-open negotiations."

While I happen to believe your interpretation, saying it in a forum does not make it so in the eyes of some.

I can see both sides of this. Inspections really shouldn't be a pretense to lower the sale price, and any sort of visible/obvious cosmetic issue should be assumed as agreed upon in the first offer. But, sometimes inspections really do find critical failures hidden behind the walls, and the buyer would not have offered that price if they'd seen an expensive invisible problem. If they do like the house and they want to make it work, in those cases I'm not sure why it's so terrible for them to ask for a concession/repair.

Salti, it doesn't matter what fantasy they believe, when dealing with me. I am selling what is offered, not an ideal version of what is offered. My houses are always at least 50 years old and that is what you are getting - a 50 year old home, not a new one, I tell them. Caveat: again, this does not apply to unknown actual safety issues that are uncovered. I had one sale where there were some water heater venting issues, and they didn't even have to ask - I stated up front that I would replace the venting to the water heater as it was an unknown problem, and got a plumber right away to fix it.

I'm not upgrading for the Buyer, and you cannot believe how many times I have been asked to upgrade something that is functional. It must be HGTV renovation shows that makes these buyers believe they should step into a high end mansion for their first home. It's crazy.

It must be HGTV renovation shows that makes these buyers believe they should step into a high end mansion for their first home. It's crazy.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who think House Hunters is the real process of a home purchase. Also, because homes are so incredibly expensive in many cities now, buyers feel like, if they are giving you their first born child, they ought to get a house in mint condition. It makes for a bad situation with both sides feeling they are getting cheated.

We recently viewed a house for sale. The owner had a huge binder on the kitchen counter, stuffed with every receipt and warranty document for home maintenance going back 10 years. Unsurprisingly, they had near-asking offers in like 48 hours.

I'll say it again... the inspection that a seller should perform before listing is the number one function that he/she can do to increase their net funds, to decrease the transactional stress levels and to increase the chances that the sale holds together to close.