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I might, it depends. Was the test from on a single crack in a wall or was it just on one of the flat walls that wasn't painted with lead free paint that I was planning on putting the toddler in? And is it in every room?
Like everything else in the house it's a discussion point. The windows are old but I'm willing to let it go. The driveway is cracked but I'm okay with it. The attic stairs are broken and won't swing up, I expect that to be fixed. But to waive even that point of discovery?
It's like "there used to be steam pipes covered in asbestos but I promise we took most of them out" or "there was an oil tank in the yard but I understood the person before me removed it."
Another thing you have to consider is that in a hot market like Maplewood/SO/WO you are often going to get many buyers putting bids on the same house. From the seller's perspective, they are not going to wait around for you to get a lead paint test when there are 5 other people that don't care and are putting an offer on the house. That's why you have to consider how important is the issue and what are you going to ask from the seller in return (and is it really a deal breaker). Again, I'm not saying it's right or wrong, just telling you the reality of the situation.
With regard to appraisal, if you are going up against cash buyers you will probably have to waive this. You can say no way but then you’ll have a tough time winning the bid.
We bought in South Orange in early 2015 (moved in 4 years and a few days ago) and the area is definitely more competitive than you want it to be so you may have to compromise here and there, but you shouldn't do anything crazy.
The towns still seem pretty competitive from that I can tell, but I don't think the craziness is at its peak right now. And also, it's Winter. Things are usually crazier in Spring.
On to your specific items:
1 - Minor repairs. You're dealing with old houses in this part of NJ, so you obviously can't expect a house to be perfect. You're essentially paying for functionality. We had a situation where the front steps were a little cracked on top and a few bricks were loose. We could have asked them to fix that, which would have been a few hundred dollars for minor repairs that wouldn't have looked any better. So we let that slide (we have since replaced the stairs altogether). There were some problems with the chimney that we negotiated a $9K reduction on. This was a situation where the repairs were definitely major and necessary. There were a few other minor things we didn't worry about.
2 - Lead paint. We did a test. I'm not sure why you'd want to waive a test. I can't imagine people turning down an offer because you want to do a test. They don't have a BETTER or they'd be taking that. What do you have to lose by sticking to your guns on this one?
3 - Appraisal - We also did not waive this. The house ended up being appraised at the appropriate amount, of course. Once again, they don't have a better offer or they'd be taking that. They're not going to cancel working with you over this one.
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What we did have problems with is that we 1) needed a mortgage and 2) were selling a co-op in the city, which is about as stressful as real estate transactions go. We had lost 3 houses in the area because we weren't paying all cash! Sorry for being only slightly well-off. Oh well. We did end up having to not put in our sale contingency because of the time frame it takes to sell a co-op in NYC, but we wouldn't waive our mortgage contingency.
While the seller definitely has the upper hand, don't do anything insane because of that. You can't demand the world, but that doesn't mean you can't make any demands. Of course, you want to try and avoid the point where you push things to the point where they go down their list to someone else with a comparable offer. Some of this stuff may be because the seller is in a hurry - which actually gives you some advantage. They could actually be less likely to want to start the dance all over with someone else over a few days or a few grand.
Thanks, this is what I was looking for. The house has been repainted and looks great. It's in the Gregory section of West Orange which is supposed to be desirable.
Also, there are 10 bids on this house already and it's been on the market for 6 days. It certainly stands out and I think that shows how competitive it is.
Everyone else, thanks for the input and it's been helpful.
The bigger question is, if the lead paint test comes back positive, what are you going to ask the seller to do? Essentially a $40 gallon of paint (per room) will encapsulate any lead based paint. Are you really going to walk away from the sale over this? Hypothetical questions...
Agreed, so far the house is outstanding and I would not walking away if just repainting was the only thing needed. The house is well kept and repainted so I'm not so much concerned.
In competitive markets, many sellers will not allow you to test for lead paint. They will simply go to the next offer. Especially in places like south orange and maplewood since most houses get multiple offers. Also, from the sellers perspective, they may not want to have to disclose that there is lead paint which means they may not let you test for it. In these markets, its just assumed if you have an old house there was lead paint and as long as its not chipping you should be fine. But if you can get the house you want and do the test then cool. Just know that when you sell you have to disclose that.
Thanks, this is what I was looking for. The house has been repainted and looks great. It's in the Gregory section of West Orange which is supposed to be desirable.
Also, there are 10 bids on this house already and it's been on the market for 6 days. It certainly stands out and I think that shows how competitive it is.
Everyone else, thanks for the input and it's been helpful.
Is the house listed for less than it looks like it should? Realtors do that to set off bidding wars - so just be wary about getting too caught up in emotions if going through that.
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