When you sell your home, you are required to disclose a lot of things to the buyer including (but not limited to) any broken or non-functioning appliances, leaky pipes, etc. Failure to do so could lead to trouble, so it is best to be up front about any defects. If possible, FIX the issue!
A buyer has the right to inspect your property once you accept their offer and escrow is open. They don’t know your home like you do, so that little tiny leak or defect may be a non-issue to you, however to a buyer, a loose or broken thingy may be a red flag to them. They are thinking: Is this a big issue? is there a large underlying problem we can’t see? What else is the seller hiding? A buyer can easily blow up a tiny problem into a major remodel in their mind.
One way to avoid this is to FIX anything that is obviously broken and would be a red flag to a buyer. Covering up a hole in the roof with plastic is not the fix I am talking about. That would only serve to highlight and expand an issue rather than erase or diminish it. Replace a broken window. Fix a leaky faucet. Remove the red flags so the buyer feels more comfortable about buying your property. You will feel good, too, getting a better price and maybe a smoother transaction. These are items you may have to fix anyway during the course of the buyer inspection period.
