Requesting Repairs of a Short Sale Seller

I had an offer presented to one of my sellers, who's selling their home as a short sale, requesting the seller to do a lengthy list of repairs.  Most buyers do not request repairs of a short sale seller and rarely do they request repairs of a bank until after the appraisal.  I wanted to discuss the situation briefly, to help buyers out there understand how to approach repairs when it comes to short sale properties.


Because my seller's financial situation is where it's at, along with most short sale sellers, my seller does not have the means to correct or perform most of the repairs requested by the buyers.  Some of the repairs requested were to fill in holes and replace doors that had holes, due to damages over the last few years of occupying the home.  The rest of the repairs were items the buyer wanted to help update the home, i.e. new carpet and painting. 

In this situation, my seller countered the buyer's offer on most of the repairs requested and rejected performing many of the items.  We were fortunate to have a second offer presented at almost the same time and ended up rejecting the buyer's offer who requested the repairs and moved on with the second offer presented.  Yes, it's true that there are situations where a seller is trying to get away with strategic default.  


However, the percentage of those sellers coming on the market is much smaller than one would expect.  I choose only to work with sellers that are in stressful financial situations and want to sell their home as a short sale because it will help their credit in the long run.  Their reason for selling is based almost solely on the fact that they can not afford to pay their mortgage, therefore the sellers do not have the funds to update their property or increase curb appeal with fresh carpet and paint.  A buyer's agent should be coaching their buyers on making offers on short sale properties and what to ask for repairs.  Common sense isn't always a part of the equation, when it comes to real estate.  Especially in today's market, considering the realtors who are still working have either been around long enough to know better or have experienced at least one sale that was difficult to maneuver through. 


As a buyer, when it comes to requesting repairs on a home, be conscientious about the type of seller and look around at the home to see if you can figure out the background story of the home.  Using a little common sense about the situation will help you determine if it's worth taking the time to write out your requested repairs when you'll more than likely be rejected.  Then you'll need to decide if this is the home you want to write an offer on in the first place.