It is not a secret that, due to the over-supply of homes for sale and the tightening of credit on borrowing, we have had a buyer’s market now for the past few years. While I believe that October was the bottom and the beginning of a slow, steady recovery in the Carolinas, there is another consequence that reared its ugly head that must be corrected.

Because of over-supply, the buyer already has the advantage. But now, what I call ”piling on” is taking place. I feel our industry needs to do a better job at setting expectations in a couple of areas that I shall address. In the very end, however, the buyer is in the driver’s seat.

Let me begin with inspections which are for the purpose of finding out about those deficiencies that may exist that are not readily apparent to the buyer or the agent of the buyer. In good faith, a buyer and a seller, with the Realtor’s help, should agree to a price reflecting all conditions that can be ascertained upon inspection.  If, for example, the roof is not leaking but is 16 years old, that condition should be negotiated in the initial offer. Windows with broken seals and a cracked garage floor would all fit in that category. The expectations for what will and won’t be fixed should be set up-front and not left till the last minute.

What I am seeing is many fall-throughs in the marketplace because buyers are coming to terms on the contract based on the conditions seen. But when the inspection report comes out and identifies a broken seal or an aged roof, the buyer tries to pile on and renegotiate again. This is what I like to call “double dipping.”  Why does this happen, you may ask?  Because in a buyer’s market, the buyer has more control than ever. The renegotiation should take place ONLY when something is found that the buyer did not know about, such as a foundation breach or water or condensation in the crawl space, etc. That, in my opinion, is fair game.

At the core of it, this discussion comes down to fairness. We must all remember that we will, at some point, be a seller. So, what would you want and expect on the other side of the ledger? Our role in this matter as Realtors is to set expectations up front as to what an inspection is and isn’t and what is an appropriate time to ask a seller to take a property off the market for due diligence and for mortgage approval.

Another issue at hand is timing. The timing allowed for inspections and mortgage should be different because typically, a mortgage takes longer to process and file than an inspection. I see the amount of earnest monies and due diligence money abused in these times. It all comes down to treating others as you would wish to be treated.  It is simple.

The seller is already on the disadvantaged side of the equation due to the marketplace. Hitting someone when they’re down by double dipping, while a sign of the times, does not make it right and is causing fall-throughs. Ultimately it means a buyer didn’t get the home they set out for, and the seller receives another black eye in the process.

By Pat Riley