Does a sellers agent have to accept an inspection report?

[DenaDavis]

In Texas we option periods not inspection periods. I have a deal where I represent the seller. I just got an email from an agent with an amendment for over $12,000 in repairs. And an letter saying that there was all kinds of problems with the house.

In texas, our sellers disclosures have changed recently. If the seller has an inspection report in thier possession we have to give that to any subsequent purchaser. ( if it is within 5 years)

This agent is just trying to gig my client out of 12,500. This house is a dated older home that is in need of repairs and it was priced accordingly.

I havent opened the inspection report. But I am tempted to just delete it. This is an effort to just put us in check mate. No call. No conversation. Just a bomb in my inbox from an agent that took 5 days to get the earnest money to escrow.

Does an agent have to accept possession of the buyers inspection report?

Weigh in on this gang!

[OCTeam]

The fact that you asked the question really answered your own question. The report is now a known fact. You have responsibility for full disclosure to any future buyer by giving them a copy of the report. Should you ever go to court, would you swear under oath that you never received the report?

A simple rule about disclosure that has always kept us out of trouble... if you need to ask, you should disclose.

[DenaDavis]

Hey Drew.

Does this happen in your market? Where buyers agents just hit you with some unsolicted report.

How can I prevent this in the future? We didnt choose this inspector. I havent seen the report.

[OCTeam]

Yes, it happens all the time. If they want repairs done or a credit for some repairs, we expect the inspection report to show the justification.

The buyer has the right to use any inspector they want to use. The contract clearly states that they should do any inpection(s) during the due diligence period. If they choose not to, we have them acknowledge in writing they chose not to do, at mininimum, a home inspection.

Why would you want to prevent getting a report in the future? Doesn't your seller have the option to refuse the repair request?

[satxproperty]

Does an agent have to accept possession of the buyers inspection report?

To me, that is kind of like ignoring the notice to retrieve the certified letter from the post office. You know it is there and everyone knows that certified letters usually only bring bad news (or lots of money).

Anything less than full disclosure isn't honest. The sender's email server logs and the full header of the email will contain delivery information (maybe not delivery confirmation) to your server/email. I wouldn't want to be the defendant in that case.

It's an older house, all houses have issues. Is/was the house priced accordingly knowing there were some issues or was it priced as a home in pristine condition? (And who came up with the $12,000 figure? If the buyer came up with the number you probably can divide by 3 or 4 to get the real costs of the repairs)

[DenaDavis]

Oh, he does have the option to refuse this request. This is just a buyer who got a discounted older property. And now he wants the property remade into a new home. The problem is that when you accept an inspection report -- you have to show that report to subsequent buyers. That means you need to go and either address all the issues or disclose that some inspector said there was an issue.

I guess I just have a lot of distrust for this realtor because she is disorganized and she doesnt seem to have a sense of fair play. My assistant has called her every day to get the earnest money into escrow. Then she forgets to get an initial on the contract and my assistant pointed that out. She she finally gets the initial-- and then she changes the executed date based on the last initial hitting the page late. ( I know it works that way-- but she is playing me now. )

I just dont like anything I have experienced with her and I dont trust this woman.

[OCTeam]

This stuff happens all the time in Ca. I don't know your contract, but here the seller has some options:
1) Accept the request/amendment as is
2) Negotiate an acceptable solution for both parties
3) Don't agree to the request

In Ca, there is no obligation for a seller to respond to a "repair" request. It would then be up to the buyer to decide what to do. If the buyer has not removed all contingencies, they can back out of the deal or continue to move forward.

[satxproperty]

Oh, he does have the option to refuse this request. This is just a buyer who got a discounted older property. And now he wants the property remade into a new home. The problem is that when you accept an inspection report -- you have to show that report to subsequent buyers. That means you need to go and either address all the issues or disclose that some inspector said there was an issue.

I guess I just have a lot of distrust for this realtor because she is disorganized and she doesnt seem to have a sense of fair play. My assistant has called her every day to get the earnest money into escrow. Then she forgets to get an initial on the contract and my assistant pointed that out. She she finally gets the initial-- and then she changes the executed date based on the last initial hitting the page late. ( I know it works that way-- but she is playing me now. )

I just dont like anything I have experienced with her and I dont trust this woman.

Did she not pay her Option Fee within 2 Days as required by Paragraph 23 of the 1-4 Family Contract?

[over40]

The problem is that when you accept an inspection report -- you have to show that report to subsequent buyers.

Isn't that inspection report the property of the buyer? So your seller has no right to it to show it to any other buyer since it is not theirs. A "sold as is" clause might help if it is clear that repairs need to be done and the seller wants no part of them... but I'm sure that was discussed.

[Scott.Hack]

In Kentucky, we have to provide the inspection report dealing with the repair requests. Typically the entire report is sent though, because it easier to deal with all 20ish pages then sorting through and finding the 5 correct ones.