Your Inspection as a buyer

[Kimberly Vallance]

How much does your inspection as a buyer impact your investments? I have offered on a house at a really good price about $10k below asking price and about $20k below market average for the neighborhood. 

My inspection came back with a couple of items that need to be addressed - the roof has less than 5 years remaining, the windows all have broken seals and many are missing screens, and the front steps made of wood are all warped and loose. I've spoken with my regular handyman, a handyman-mainly-roofs-only guy, the inspector, and my agent. All four had different expectations of what the repair costs would be, of course. My original list of repairs or consideration had my agent hyperventilating due to potential to lose the deal. Now, some of what was on there was there more for bargaining items than because I was adamant they stay on there. 

At the advice of the agent and the inspector, I reduced my list down to the true Must-Haves - things involving safety, for the most part. The total was about 25% of the original list. The agent indicated he was much relieved and more confident that I would get repairs, consideration, or a mix. I'm still about $10k below my max for this house to work, so I'm mostly okay with this, but I wanted to find out how other investors have handled this part of the process. 

Please share your stories and experiences so I, and others, can learn from you.