Disclaimer: While your real estate agent can write a repair request for you, or you can do it yourself, I recommend seeking the competent guidance of an attorney who specializes in real estate matters. Real estate agents cannot provide legal advice unless they are specifically qualified to do so.

One of the main components of any quality real estate sales contract is inspection contingencies. Once you have agreed to the basic terms and conditions with a seller, you should have been allowed a reasonable period of time to fully inspect the property using whatever resources you deem appropriate. It is very typical to find numerous items that may need attention during this period and you must decide what needs to be fixed and what you can deal with later.

The purchase and sale contract should have detailed instructions on how to handle any repair request, and you should review these instructions with your real estate agent before writing a repair request. Not following these instructions can be just as bad as not adequately expressing your expectations. Make sure you understand what you need to do and what your remedy might be or you may end up buying a property with significant defects.

Let’s develop a scenario to use as an example of the many possible solutions to find problems and successfully resolve them. One situation I recently saw a friend go through with the sale of her house was having a roof repaired with water damage from a previous water leak. The buyers noticed the stain on the ceiling and the seller had disclosed the fact that the ceiling had a leak and it was repaired. The seller had sufficient documentation to prove this fact and provided it to the buyers.

The buyers disagreed with the condition of the roof during the inspection phase and requested that the roof be repaired. The exact wording on the repair request was “salesperson to repair ceiling in living room.” This request was duly submitted to the seller in accordance with the contract and was agreed to by both parties. At this point, all parties involved were happy with the status of the transaction.

Obviously, for this to be a good example for our discussion, something has to go wrong, right? Well, something went wrong and led to some very heated arguments and accusations. The buyers intent with the repair request was to open up the ceiling, inspect it for further water and mold damage, and then repair and paint it to match the surrounding ceiling. The seller’s intent was to replace the affected area on the ceiling with new drywall and mud, but not to repaint or inspect for other damage.

Now reread the exact text of the repair request. Who has the correct interpretation of the intent of the request? The seller or the buyer? In my opinion, they both saw the extremely vague wording of the request in their favor and failed to recognize the other party’s intentions. Both might be correct, but since money and time are involved, neither party wanted to give in to the other.

The seller did exactly what I told him to and removed the stain from the ceiling and did not repaint. When buyers drove by the house in the 24 hours before the tour closed, they saw the roof and immediately protested. This led to an escalating argument that culminated in a war at the closing table over the meaning of the relief request. It was finally determined that the seller had complied with the letter of the request and the buyers had no further recourse.

What can we learn from this specific transaction? I hope the first and most important thing you learn is how to write extremely detailed and thoughtful repair requests. My personal suggestion in this case would be to have written… “Seller to repair a stain on the living room ceiling. Seller to have the repair done by a reputable company with a track record of success in this type of repair. Seller to Inspect the roof for any additional damage caused by the previous roof leak and notify the buyer immediately if there is any water or mold damage.The buyer will have the right to make further repair requests if other damage is found. “Seller must perform a complete and accurate repair. Documented and will transfer any warranties accompanying the repair. Seller must repaint the ceiling to match the surrounding ceiling.”

I don’t claim to have the perfect request for repairs in this situation, but I think both parties would have understood the buyers’ intentions much better and may have alleviated some of the dispute at closing if wording more similar to this had been used. When you need to make a repair request in a real estate transaction, make sure that you have considered all the details and that it is written very explicitly and clearly on paper. I would even consider consulting with a home inspector and attorney to help with the language.

I hope you find this information helpful and be very careful when making repair requests in your next real estate transaction…