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So, we're under contract on a home and had our home inspection done the past Saturday.
There were a few major and minor things that the inspector was concerned about, one being some of the electrical outlets on the 2nd floor, and another being the heating system.
We had an electrician and a HVAC tech come in last night to check out the issues, and, between the two, we're looking at about $10,000 in fixes (though, we're still waiting to get the official written estimates to present to the seller's attorney).
I know that often times you get a "credit" towards fixes, but, with the price tag being so high on these issues, I'm not sure a credit is the way to go, as it would just lower our monthly payment, leaving us to actually shell out the money up front for the fixes.
Does anyone have experience with getting the seller to pay for closings costs? I would think this would be the better way to go, as we could apply the money that we were going to put towards closing costs towards getting everything fixed. Another option may be to just ask the sellers to fix it before we close, but, then we can't be sure that they'll have it done the safest way.
So, we're under contract on a home and had our home inspection done the past Saturday.
There were a few major and minor things that the inspector was concerned about, one being some of the electrical outlets on the 2nd floor, and another being the heating system.
We had an electrician and a HVAC tech come in last night to check out the issues, and, between the two, we're looking at about $10,000 in fixes (though, we're still waiting to get the official written estimates to present to the seller's attorney).
I know that often times you get a "credit" towards fixes, but, with the price tag being so high on these issues, I'm not sure a credit is the way to go, as it would just lower our monthly payment, leaving us to actually shell out the money up front for the fixes.
Does anyone have experience with getting the seller to pay for closings costs? I would think this would be the better way to go, as we could apply the money that we were going to put towards closing costs towards getting everything fixed. Another option may be to just ask the sellers to fix it before we close, but, then we can't be sure that they'll have it done the safest way.
Any thoughts??
Just add an addendum to contract stating that you will close if the attached list is fixed. If the seller says rejects the addendum then ask for the price to be reduced. If the seller says no to that, then move on. Probably not a property you want to own at that point.
You can ask, have your attorney draw up the papers with your detailed wish list. Does the heating system work or is it just old? They are required to have a functional heating system. Are the electrical outlets a fire hazard or dangerous condition? I just sold a home about 5 months ago and I had the buyers attorney send me a wish list with 12 items that they wanted. I told them no to all 12 because none are required per contract. It was about 5-7K in repairs and wants. They still bought the house but were not happy. We were though.
You can ask, have your attorney draw up the papers with your detailed wish list. Does the heating system work or is it just old? They are required to have a functional heating system. Are the electrical outlets a fire hazard or dangerous condition? I just sold a home about 5 months ago and I had the buyers attorney send me a wish list with 12 items that they wanted. I told them no to all 12 because none are required per contract. It was about 5-7K in repairs and wants. They still bought the house but were not happy. We were though.
hahahaha - when my SIL sold her townhome in Montgomery a few years back, the buyer demanded they replace the appliances in the kitchen, not because they were defective, but "outdated". My SIL and her husband told them to pound sand. They still bought the townhouse, LOL.
You can ask, have your attorney draw up the papers with your detailed wish list. Does the heating system work or is it just old? They are required to have a functional heating system. Are the electrical outlets a fire hazard or dangerous condition? I just sold a home about 5 months ago and I had the buyers attorney send me a wish list with 12 items that they wanted. I told them no to all 12 because none are required per contract. It was about 5-7K in repairs and wants. They still bought the house but were not happy. We were though.
Yeah -- we're not trying to beat the sellers over the head with unrealistic repairs.
The dishwasher just doesn't work at all, so, that is something that they had already told us and agreed to take care of before we even had our inspection.
In terms of the electrical -- there are certain things that don't meet code, like ungrounded outlets in multiple rooms (we found out that this is b/c some of the wires aren't even grounded starting from the the box itself). There is also one outlet and one light switch that were illegally rigged with lamp cord, no GFI in the kitchen, and a very small section of old knob & tube was illegally rigged into a metal box in the basement (can't be metal). There were also live wires hanging in the basement.
There are other things that we'd LIKE changed, like a system upgrade, but, we understand that is not something they should pay for, so wouldn't ask for this.
In terms of the furnace, we coincidentally called the same HVAC person they used a few months ago to repair their furnace. He said that the furnace was uncared for for YEARS, and that it had a major leak that corroded the entire side of the furnace, as well as the burners and heat exchanger. He said the system was filled with mud when he originally looked at it. He was able to flush it and stop the leak, but told us that it was a "quick fix" to get them through the winter, and that it would need to be replaced ASAP. I guess this one is a "gray area", but, I'm still hoping they would work with us on this since they had not maintained the system at all, and also trust the opinion of the HVAC tech since they personally know him. Another issue was that their water supply line had galvanized piping, which apparently has the potential to burst at any given time. Again, not "broken", but definitely a safety issue...
Like I mentioned, these fixes are pricey, so, I'm hoping to not just get a "credit" off of the purchase price, but rather, money up front, possibly in the form of the seller paying for closing costs. Anyone have any experience with this?
"Focus" a home waranty might be a good idea.
Whenever you go back with a problem such as this you actually negate the first contract and the seller cold just toss out the whole deal. We had this happen when after inspection our buyer found out the heating system was on its last legs so wanted a $2,000 credit to help towards a new system, the buyer said no and stopped the whole sale by taking the house off the market for 2 days. it then went back on but our buyer was pissed and she never bought anything. in this case considering the cost I think it is a good idea to try and get some of the money for the repairs. You can get it at the closing table with a credit back to you or a reduction in the price. You give them the check and they give you one back.
Did you SEE the house before making an offer? Did you notice the heating system was old? I'm sure you had no idea about the electrical items. Maybe you can work something out, if not, maybe this home was not meant to be yours.
You get your realtor to write an addendum stating that you want the repairs done by a certified electrician and plumber/HVAC person at their cost before you will close. If that is refused, you can counter offer again asking that they pay closing costs, thus freeing up cash for you to make the repairs. I've sold houses where the realtor/buyer mandated who (company, agency, contractor) must make the repairs as part of the addendum, not allowing the seller/homeowner to "get their own" people.
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