Reluctant Seller?

[Frank Lewis]

Hello BP,

I am attempting to acquire my first property and I would like to get some opinions on the situation at hand. I will be using an FHA loan to finance this deal. We are currently in escrow, and have had the property inspected. Based on the inspection there are several items that we are requesting to be fixed (roof certification, a/c replaced, pool resurfaced). The seller does not want to agree to the terms of our repair request and has verbally stated that she will only make the repairs required to pass FHA approval. Should this be a red flag? It would be my guess that the FHA appraisal will come up with the same repair requests. So is it likely that she will back out once I have the appraisal done? The seller/owner is also the selling agent. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Jay Dewberry]

From what Ive learned, a seller can have terms or price, but not both. If she wants to adhere to her terms, she has to give on the price and vice versa. As an agent, she may have a good idea on what's needed to pass FHA inspection. But IMO, I would want to subtract the cost(plus labor) of a roof, a/c and pool resurfacing in my final offer to the seller...unless this was already a part of your initial agreement offer. It may not necessarily be a red flag, she may just want to get as much as possible for the home as is. But who knows, perhaps (like you mentioned) FHA inspectors will catch it...especially the a/c and roof.