i found the perfect house for me. It has twice the property and twice the size of what i thought i could afford( I'm catching a real steal). My offer has been accepted, closing date set. The problem is we just did the home inspection and found some issues. 1) No water, we turned on the water used it up in about 4 minutes and no more would come out. obviously its a well, so either the pump is dead or well is dry ? (inspector thinks the pump is dead) 2) Septic tank is missing a baffle that prevents solid waste from going into the leeching fields. If this is not repaired leeching fields will get clogged and there will be a big mess. 3) Broken window. Other than those 3 things place looks pretty good. Now my real estate agent was saying I'd pay for the repairs and then be credited at closing. I don't like the idea of putting significant amount of money into repairing a house that isn't mine yet. Then theirs the option that i get quotes get my credit at closing and then fix the problems ... but what if they end up being more sever then I'm eating the difference. What would you do ?
That is a MINOR report. Just insist the seller repair all three. The septic could be a big deal actually, some areas require mound systems and they are expensive. The reality is that now that it's been reported they have to list it on the disclosure forms, so they're stuck fixing it one way or another. Alternatively you can have them get bids to fix that stuff and then reduce that from the asking price. Although the bank might not go for it. Congrats!
Agreed. Best to have them fix it. Unless it's a bank owned "as is" property they will do it. It's a buyers market, to put it mildly. We're going through the same thing with my Mom now. Sump pump in the crawl space wasn't installed properly, joists under the house were cut to route plumbing, water standing, etc. I just look at that stuff are bargaining power, just sliding it deeper in the seller's ass.
Make 'em fix it. Don't "eat" it, deal with it-- or you'll be kicking yourself later. Psssssst: If you're going to own a home get used to dealing with it! (Otherwise, I agree with 86mcss)
Not sure if it matters or not but its an estate. I'm guessing the owner died and passed the house on. I'm thinking that complicates getting them to fix it since there is no "owner" per say.
My house was also from an estate and I got a great deal. Estates sell houses all the time, so that shouldn't be an excuse. Some person or business entity "owns" the house, an heir or creditor most likely, and someone is calling the shots-- the same person or entity that accepted your offer. If there's any problem, it's that there's no money available to the estate to pay for repairs. If they can't fix it the price should reflect that. Pssssssst: It's spelled "per se."
Get your estimates before having a cow. Most the time they are free. Know what dollar amount is actually involved. A baffle system could be a matter of draining the tank (which probably needs done anyhow) and installing the baffles inside the tank(s). 400-1000 bux. The well could be anything from the actual hole in the ground to a simple pressure switch. The worst case being the well went dry due to drought. I'd be willing to bet it's just the pressure switch or breaker to the well pump. Why the water ran and then died was because you were just bleeding off the pressure in the pressure tank. When that ran out, the pump didn't replenish it. Actually replacing the well pump and associated switching could run 400-800 bux, digging a well deeper 1000-5000 bux. These are just ballpark amounts, that system(s) should fall in these ranges of numbers but who knows. An estate is actually easier to deal with as it's usually someone's family liquidating a departed loved one's property for cash. A bank or repo outfit is a cold hard machine designed for cutting losses at all costs.
Mine was an estate sale (i think) I got the seller to pump in 20 grand in repairs, I had to do a little work though, replace some light fixtures, and lay down a hardwood floor, material was provided. also paid 500$ to upgrade to a 200amp panel (they were going to put in a 100 amp.) My roommate is doing the same thing right now, he had to pump in 5 grand to the house hes buying, its a real risky venture, is it worth it to you?
I just finished reading the full report. Those 2 items of concern were not the only ones. There are water spots in the attic and excessive signs of moisture int he crawl space as well as signs of vermin. They even put insulation in backwards in the crawl space. its only a 60 amp panel the outlets are mostly 2 pronged non grounded kind.There is also thin vertical cracks in the foundation. Bunch of other little stuff like windows being painted shut. I honestly don't want to put any of my own money in repairing a house that isn't technically mine yet. I also don't want to go off estimates and take a credit at closing because what if it IS the worst case scenario then I'm eating the difference. I'm meeting with my real estate agent in a couple hours to go over the report. As it stands I'm leaning toward making a list of all the undesirable things and say fix it.
^^^ Oh wow. Yeah, unless you're handy you don't want to deal with that yourself. You'll need a roof, the breaker will need an upgrade, maybe a sump pump for the crawl. And where in the hell was the water coming from? Maybe leaky plumbing. And then there's the septic and well systems. At least it's an estate sale and not bank owned. With an estate sale there are presumably heirs that want their money out the house, and in a hurry.
Sounds just like a house I just did. I also remodeled it while I was at it. All-in-all, including: All new flooring, new kitchen, new #2 bathroom, repartitioning the living space creating two more rooms, taking out a chimney, new windows and new siding the tag was 50 grand. The stuff you mentioned ran close to 10 grand. Most of what you listed is really common list items even in fairly new homes.
Well i'm not sure about needing a new roof. The roof was replaced 9 years ago, so maybe its an old water spot/ somthing that needs sealing on the roof ? The water in the crawl space seems to be coming from a window with a wall around it(hard to describe) Inspector said a bubble over it would probably fix that. I just spoke with my agent and he recommended that the Estate fix the water flat out and then i take a credit at closing for the septic and upgrading the electrical ... i don't really like that idea. Anyone want to take a look at my inspection report and give me there recommendations ? I'm a rookie at all this.
miller3@gmail.com send it over. i say get yourself a new agent. like i said, i had a lot of the same issues and the seller fixed most of it.
Yeah, like I said, they are really standard issues that you are going to find in a lot of places. Nothing out of the ordinary for a home of any vintage at all.
Realtors love to exchange money and not actually fix problems, because it allows them to close the deal faster. Then after the closing when you realize the problem is going to cost 3X as much as the seller gave you, the realtor is nowhere in site and you're stuck. If you're not in a hurry to move hold their feet to the fire. And the if the realtor doesn't straighten up get a new one.
yeah, if you're dead set against taking on any financial responsibility for any of those repairs, then settle for nothing short of total compliance to the fix-it list by the seller. what's the worst that'll happen? You'd not be sold a home you don't want in the first place. You've nothing to loose by demanding that all items be rectified. shit, you're playing hardball, may as well swing for the bleechers.
The asbestos was in an outside crawl space and it was only about 10ft. I just got the results of the Radon test though and it was 1.8/L apparently the max before the EPA allows is 4/L i dont know to much about radon but having any kind of radiation gas in my living space kind of creeps me out.
Radon can be taken care of with a 6mil vapor barier as well as the excessive moisture in the crawlspace. A good seal on the floor and proper crawlspace venting and it's a done-deal. All those fixes should be done even if moisture and radon weren't an issue. One thing to remember about home inspectors: They come up with lots of items to justify the cost of inspection which can run 150-500 bux for 1-2 hours of work. BTW: dealing with these reports and remedying them is 75% of what I do for a living. The best advice I can come up with, is to follow your gut feeling on this place. Never underestimate your gut feelings.
Well i told my agent today that i want the Water,Septic and Electrical fixed period. No credits on those items they deal with it or they can sell the house to someone else. I also asked for a credit on broken window/door and for a follow up inspection once they fix everything. She told me they probably weren't going to take it if she tells them this.
