Our master bedroom has curtains instead of doors for the closet. I thought the doors were ugly so took them out years ago and we never replaced them. Now the buyer is trying to list that, among other things, on their request for repairs, which I feel is more cosmetic. I also feel that for such an open and obvious thing that didn't require an inspector's report to find, it seems less than good faith to give an offer and then try to ask for a change like that. My agent, however, feels that since "closets are made to have doors," it is functional and our responsibility to provide them. Would I be out of line to deny this or offer only a minimal amount ($50) in lieu of fixing? Also, would this be a VA loan deal-breaker?

Background knowledge: we received 2 offers within the first 2 days of listing that were very close to our price. This makes me feel that our house was priced to sell and the buyer is getting a great deal already.

Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated!! Thanks!

It may be VA that has that "door" requirement; and Not the Buyer. Just like a room cannot be a Bedroom unless it has a "Closet"; today they (VA) may be saying a Closet cannot be a complete closet unless it has a "Door".

Just some observations; others probably have more recent information than I, because I haven't done a VA Loan in 2008; but it certainly sounds like them. I had one shot down by VA last year because the House did not have at least one Bathroom with a "Tub" . . . . not such an easy fix as the Closet Door requirement !

When I got back from Viet Nam, I obtained a VA Loan. At that time, VA made the Sellers pay 2 Points for the privilege of doing business with a Vet. That little piece of discouragement is gone now; but the VA still wants to participate in making sure that the property is in compliance with their requirements; more so than most other Guarantors.

If the closet door issue was a VA requirement, this would be called out as a work order from the lenders appraiser, not the buyers home inspector. I've never heard of closet doors being a lender requirement, even for VA, but sometimes it seems their rules can change daily, so expect anything.
You definitely have the option of denying the request, or offer something of value in lieu of repairs. My question would be, is this the only thing on the list, or one of many requests of which some may seem trivial, such as the closet doors? If this is all they're asking, by all means, hang a $50 door and proceed to closing and put the sale behind you. A minor thing like this isn't the kind of thing to lose sleep over. On the other hand, if the buyer is making you jump through hoops with a laundry list of demands, and you're confident you could get other offers quickly if need be, negotiate. Good luck.

That you have two offers in the first days means that your house is priced to sell, but does not mean that seller has a great deal. Apparently your agent is good to positioned your home properly on the market and create perception of value in buyers pool. That is the great technique to net you top dollar. Don't forget that the buyr determin the market and value of your home, not you or the Realtors. About the doors, they will not be a problem VA inspection and I agree with Wayne just hang those doors and go to closing. Good luck

Thank you so much for the advice, everyone!

Wayne, the doors are one thing on a list of about 15 items, which also includes:
* substantial things that I am willing to do, like replace wood rot on fascia,
* replacing screens on windows (original contract specifically lists torn or missing screens as an example of cosmetic),
* sealing a crack in the concrete slab behind our home,
* removing our old shed from the backyard,
* repairing drawers that come out crooked if you pull too fast, and
* replacing light bulbs (including one fluorescent one that we just bought and works, but their inspector says "flickers" when it turns on).

I definitely don't want to be difficult and hold up the sale, I guess I'm just frustrated at this point that our realtor seems to have been working more for the sale than for us as sellers, which is not always the same interest. I feel that he already negotiated us down and had us do a lot of work before we even had a buyer involved, so now we feel we are already below our bottom-line as far as giving any more concessions.

I think this situation is funny.

It seems that sellers are mad at their agent no matter what. If the property gets an offer too fast, the seller always believes that the listing agent must have suggested too low of a price. If the property doesn't receive an offer for a long time, the seller always believes that the agent is not doing anything to sell the house.

Nobody ever has any appreciation for suggesting the best to our clients. It gets sickening after a while.

It's called Mis-Directed Hostility. In a not perfect World, You just Gotta Blame Someone !

Tell your agent what you are and are not willing to do. Most of it seems pretty minor? Its all negotiable. I have a client who really likes a house but will not buy because there are no closet doors. He as a buyer feels its a funtional issue. We'll add an addendum that doors be hung and the listing agent will present the offer. Its a minor thing to me, but a big deal to the buyer.

If I represesnt a buyer, I will ask for minor things. I'll work to get my client the moon. Its the selling agents job to not give me the moon.

It would be a hoot though to see a deal die over a replacement of a flickering light bulb!

If minor things help you close your sale you should take care of them. An alternative is to just put a dollar figure on the work. Tell the buyer's side that you'll give a $500 credit (or other amount) at close of escrow so that buyer has things taken care of to their own satisfaction.

A flickering light bulb? Good Lord, isn't that common with florescent bulbs?

Repairing the drawers? Dang, where was that home inspecting when I bought my house...the drawers in my kitchen are still awful.

I just don't get the mentality that buyers should expect a "Mint Condition" home - I think home inspections go way too far sometimes...I thought the idea of a home inspection was to check the structure and systems of the house... IMHO when you're buying a home that is not brand new you should expect it to be less than "perfect."

THAT SAID...

Dbinz, are you willing to let this deal fall apart over these minor things? I think your agent IS working on your behalf by encouraging you to take this in stride and just fix it. Most of us know that the chances of getting another offer quickly after a deal falls apart will be a little more slim - people will remember that it went under contract and then came back on the market, probably after inspections and they'll think there's a serious issue...the next offer to come may come months later and may be a lot lower.

Are you willing to take that chance? And yeah, your agent is concerned about the sale, isn't that what you HIRED him/her for? Isn't it in your best interest to get your home sold quickly and not let it fall apart over something stupid?

It is very hard as a seller to not let the check list become personal. But I agree you have to weigh the good features of the sale against the bad.

in my market the inspection is to find structural or mechanical deficiencies, not to make a honey do list.

lightbulb is out.. buyer buys a new one. if a buyer would walk away from a deal over that, they dont want hte house.

closets do not have to have doors to be closets and they are in no way dangerous, so to "repair" them by putting new ones up would be a pretty far stretch for a home inspector to ask for.

home inspectors seem to make a crap list to validate their 350 bucks.

i recommend a home inspection to my buyers to cover my but, but i personally dont put a lot of value in MOST home inspectors as they seem to be masters of the obvious and anything they find any competent person could find and site that there needs to be further evaluation by a professional ______________(fill in the blank with something like roofer, electrician, etc...)

now as a listing agent, if my seller would not fix that stuff, i would let them know that is what needs to be done to close the deal. it is really their choice if hte want it to close or not. i can say that any realistic seller probably jump through a few hoops to sell thier home if that is what they need to do to get the deal to close.


your agent got your home sold and that is what your hired them for. you could have listed higher and only gotten unrealistic buyer who want to lowball... when you price unrealistically you attract unrealistic buyers and create a snowball effect of unreality:-)


when you price right you get sold fast for top dollar because there is a sense of urgency for the buyers because they realize if they dont make a move, someone else will.


hats off to your agent for getting hte job done.


on the va note, when i bought my house back in 2k4(i went conventional), i was fresh out (2k2) of the United States Marine Corps and a va deal would have never flown in my market as a conventional would have gotten accepted. now va and fha are king!


i just did a va deal a few months ago and i noticed they were pretty easy on the deal. fha and va have seemed to get easier as of the last 12 months or so. plus people are more familiar with them since they are now more the norm instead of the exception.

If a light bulb could sink a deal I as an agent would buy that light bulb.