Discovering that your pest and building report has come with findings that don’t necessarily show your property in its best light can be disheartening and stressful, especially when you’re at the pointy end of getting your home on the market.
A less than favourable pest and building report does not mean that you can’t put the property on the market. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to spend thousands of dollars before selling. It doesn’t even mean that you won’t get your dream price.
You have a few options in this unfortunate situation that we have tried and tested with positive results.
- Do nothing
This is a perfectly reasonable choice. We are happy to advertise and sell your property exactly as it is. There is a chance that your perfect buyer will come along and pay your dream price regardless of what the pest and building report says, but more likely, you may need to adjust your expectations on price to match the state of the property.
No matter how you decide to go about dealing with a disappointing pest and building report, we’ll be here to help and guide you and we’ll work super hard to get you the best possible price.
- Fix the issues
This is the most obvious one, but it’s also the most expensive option and it could mean a delay in getting your property on the market. On the other hand, knowing that the issues have been resolved gives you peace of mind and increases your chances of getting your dream price and even recouping the money spent on the repairs.
We can help finding tradespeople to assist you if you decide to go with this option.
- Get quotes to have the issues fixed… but don’t fix them.
Providing quotes along with the pest and building report gives potential buyers a good idea of how severe the issues actually are, and they are able to factor the price of repairs into their budget. In most cases buyers will overestimate repair costs and walk away from a property unnecessarily. But if they can make informed decisions they can remain part of the negotiations.
We’re happy to assist with finding tradespeople to provide quotes for this option as well.
Here’s a recent example:
Tile sealing and plumbing issues in North Lambton
Price Guide: $895,000 - $970,000
Quote for repairs: $2,948
Sale Price: $985,000
The pest & building was returned noting some issues in the upstairs bathroom. The sealing in the shower had deteriorated and water was leaking through, into the downstairs laundry, it had also affected the sealing behind the bath.
We contacted Tile Rescue who advised that to resolve the issues, the entire bathroom floor would need to be resealed, meaning that the bath would need to be disconnected, removed, and re-installed after the sealing work was done. We requested a quote from Stones Plumbing & Gas Fitting for this.
We provided both quotes to potential buyers so that they could adjust their budgets and make a well-informed offer. Without doing this, we could have ended up with buyers who thought the whole bathroom would need to be replaced, costing tens of thousands. Instead, the quote was reasonably inexpensive. And, given the strong competition for the property, what may have seemed like a big deal, ended up making no impact on this final sale price
The vendor was happy with a great price and the purchasers never felt like they were in the dark. Win-win!
