We are making an offer on a home with textured walls. Unfortunately, the owner has many, many pictures/decorations hanging. Can we ask that the walls be repaired as part of the offer? Repair looks like a very big deal to me.
3 Answers
You can ask anything you want from the seller. Replace the roof, add a garage, repaint, remove shrubbery, fix a sewer line, replace the fireplace, etc.
Typically the seller will either reject any involvement in such projects (considering them excessive or unnecessary for adequate living conditions), or agree to a lower price to offset your cost of doing it yourself (or by a contractor).
Around here (Oregon), wall hanging holes are considered part of the normal wear and tear of a home. Usually, it isn't much work to spackle the holes, sand, and repaint to get a passably virgin-looking surface.
If there is a serious degradation of the wall surface—beyond normal wear (for example 10 years of missing a dartboard)— you could ask for sheetrock replacement but that would only seem sensible if the wall has widespread major damage evident by its very structure being weakened.
You and your realtor can ask for any repairs in your offer. If these walls are damaged beyond the point of a repair with spakle and paint, then you may want to specify the paint color too. Otherwise you're probably going want to repaint anyway, and most holes can be filled and blended in with the texture in the process of re-painting.
Yes, you can request repairs but why not adjust your offer to take them into account? This way, you can be sure the repairs are done to your satisfaction and you're not quibbling over the price of a home for what is a relatively minor issue (compared to finding issues re: foundation, etc.).
