During a recent inspection we discovered an issue that was rather substantial.  The condition surprised the client because the disclosure indicated that it was remedied the previous year.  The repair might have been in the $4,000-6,000 price range.  While I don’t discuss repair costs with clients, I did note the condition.  The agent wisely requested documentation of the work and asked if the seller could explore the the possibility of warranty work.  This seemed reasonable since the previous repair was less than a year prior. In negotiations, the seller revealed that the repair was done by a friend.  The friend worked for a company in the trade.  However, it was side-work for them and was not backed by the company.  This essentially means that a major repair that was stated in the seller’s disclosure was not done properly nor by a company that would back their work. At this point, the buyer was not interested in a friend doing the repair at a discounted rate. The buyer wanted the work done by a company with a strong reputation who would back their work with a warranty.  This was an expense the sellers likely were not anticipating because they had no idea the work was not done properly. A critically important piece of negotiating in a real estate transaction is asking for documentation of previous work completed.  This servers buyer well in three ways.

1. It helps them know who did the work and if it was done by a qualified contractor.
2. It helps them know when it was done.
3. It helps them know how they would explore warranty transfer options (if available).

Having this information within the inspection period is extremely valuable.  In fact, sellers often have the documentation for such work available during showings or at the inspection to help build buyer confidence.  It’s one more important piece of the puzzle to help a buyer make a wise decision about moving forward with a purchase.