Uneven 2nd story floor (real estate, lawyer, buying a house)

[avilacm]

I am closing on a house next week sometime and the 2nd story floor is uneven in the door way of one of the bedrooms. When you walk into the bed room from the hall way it kind of slopes down. It doesn't give way under my wieght and it doesn't squeak or groan. THe inspector said its not a foundation problem and the foundation has been fixed recently. THe sellers originally said they would fix it and had a "handy man" look at it. My realtor tells me that the handy man hasn't contacted the sellers after looking at the house and that was two days ago. Now all of a sudden the sellers are saying they will give me a $150 allowance to fix the second story since its cosmetic. I've already shelled out allot of money to get inspections and all these other expenses. I don't want to have to hire another kind of inspector if I don't have to. Can anyone give me advice? Its my first home and i feel lost...

[jbtx]

My advice,,, walk away. You've paid a few hundred $'s for the inspections to save you many headaches while you live there, and many more thousands at resale time. A house with structural problems is very difficult to sell. If the 2nd floor is not level this is a huge red flag IMHO. I very much doubt the $150 allowance the seller offered will cover major renovation cost to fix the problem.

[Marlow]

You might consider asking the moderators to move this to the real estate forum.

Other than that, you should be talking to your real estate agent and maybe a lawyer to see what your options are. You need more advice than you can get in this forum.

You can only walk away without repercussions if you're still in your option period. Otherwise, you might lose the money you paid to the title company. In any case, walking now is better than buying a house if you're unsure about the foundation.

[jbtx]

Marlow:

Agreed,,, but, buying a bad house is a terrible choice when there are so many good houses out there at reasonable prices. Seek advice from knowledgeable sources. This forum is not who you need to be talking to. You need sound legal advice. Your investment in inspection fees may be lost, but would you rather lose your entire investment later? Think about it.

[CptnRn]

In my opinion as an architect who has renovated numerous structures, $150 won't pay for much work. There is substantial risk it will cost more to repair. Even if the foundation doesn't have any problems there could be concealed rot or termites in the structure which is causing the problem. Inspectors typically take no responsibility for concealed conditions. No one can say for sure that it is cosmetic until they open up the wall or flooring to see what caused the problem. By offering you $150 they are saying you should take all the risk of what it will take to fix the problem, instead of them fixing it. I would want more money to take on the unknowns of what it will take to repair the problem, say $1,000. The original agreement was that they would fix it, if they want out of that agreement they need to compensate you for it. $150 is not enough.

[jbtx]

$1,000 isn't squat. Last year we discovered a leak in the roof over one of the guest bedrooms and had to repair and replace one whole wall. The bill to repair that was over $9,000, + getting the A/C system flushed and cleaned to make sure there was no mold in the ducts, and then to replace the damaged flooring.

Quality repair work isn't cheap

[Jorge Fontan]

If the floor is not level and the foundation in fact is good then it is possible that the floor joists are slightly deflected meaning for some reason the joists are sagging. A handy man is incapable of fixing such a problem!!! You would need a real contractor and it will easily cost more than a few thousand if not a lot more. And if the owner says that is cosmetic I would smack them upside their head. Painting a wall is cosmetic floors sloping that is unacceptable. I am an architect take my advice call a REAL contractor not a handy man and have the contractor take a look give his opinion and an estimate to fix, and then demand the sellers pay for the repairs. And please tell them from me - unlevel floors are not "cosmetic." And any decent contractor would not charge you to take a look and provide a cost estimate.

[jbtx]

Thank you, Jorge,,, my point exactly.

Walk, avilacm, away while you can.

[tbessac]

can you tell me who you used as an inspector so I make sure I don't hire them in the month or so as I am buying my first house. you can befriend me and we can do this via email and not here as I am new here and not sure if we are allowed to post names of people, especially if its negative or you can just give the initials here if you want...thanks so much and i agree with everyone. I hope you get out with minimal loss