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I think the buyer is buying another house and using whatever excuse he can get to get out of the contract.
Perhaps so (lets just pretend the 20 comments with other opinions aren't here).
Ultimately... so what? In the mean time are you showing the property to others?
It is your house. Would you purchase it today knowing what you have actual knowledge of with respect to the condition? Put a new roof on your house but don't expect to get paid back for it because a house has a roof. Your deck is probably suffering from structural problems. Fix it and anything else it needs. Do you wash and wax the car before you trade it in and fix what is wrong so the trade in price is higher? No....well, no one has to buy a house with any kind of problem these days. No buyer should be expected to take on others lack of maintenance diligence.
What can I do to protect myself from home inspection contingencies abuse? The buyers are walking all over me. My house is 15 years old and it's well maintained overall. Some wear and tear has to be expected given its age. I received 2 offers so far. Both times the buyers just walked after the inspection because the house is not "brand spanking new". They don't even bother sending me a request for repair and simply just walked. The first inspector found the roof to be leaky. Fine. I fixed it up and relisted. Now the second buyer is walking because the deck is not new. Gimme a break. This is getting ridiculous. Looks like a buyer can always find a way to get out of the contract by nitpicking on minor stuff and my house will never get sold. Any suggestions? Do I need a new agent? Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by venicebeachcalifornia
What makes me mad is the buyer wants out by merely stating problems with the deck, siding and windows but WITHOUT giving the specifics. The deck is structurally sound. The contingencies are for major major problems only and not for nitpickings or a way to weasel out of the contract. In addition, he had multiple viewings before making the offer so these flaws should come as no surprise. He also refuses to give me a copy of the inspection report claiming it's his property. My agent says the home inspector is old fashioned and unprofessional with the report written in illegible handwriting. I think there's shenanigan going on. I think the buyer is trying to bottom fish and want to use any convenient excuse to get out. He made me jump through the hoops and can get out of the contract on a whim. What legal recourse do I have?
So the first inspection reveled a leaky roof. Second time around there's problems not only with the deck but siding and windows also?
Do all the windows open/close properly? What kind of siding do you have? Is it warped or coming loose?
Originally Posted by venicebeachcalifornia What makes me mad is the buyer wants out by merely stating problems with the deck, siding and windows but WITHOUT giving the specifics. The deck is structurally sound. The contingencies are for major major problems only and not for nitpickings or a way to weasel out of the contract.
In addition, he had multiple viewings before making the offer so these flaws should come as no surprise. He also refuses to give me a copy of the inspection report claiming it's his property. My agent says the home inspector is old fashioned and unprofessional with the report written in illegible handwriting. I think there's shenanigan going on. I think the buyer is trying to bottom fish and want to use any convenient excuse to get out. He made me jump through the hoops and can get out of the contract on a whim. What legal recourse do I have?
I'm in Arizona so our contracts and laws will be different. During the Due Diligence period the buyer can cancel the contract for almost anything they find during their inspection of the property or the neighborhood. They can also request the seller to make repairs. The seller can refuse and the buyer can cancel.
There is no distinction in our contract for "major" problems and "nit picking". We have warranty items such as electrical, plumbing, mechanical, which the seller is obligated to fix. Then we have non-warranty items which the seller has no obligation to fix.
Even if the buyer had multiple viewings, they will still rely on a licensed inspector to conduct the inspection.
As for your legal recourse, read your contract with your agent. If you agent is unable to interpret the contract, then review it with his broker. The contract will tell you your options. If you still need to know your legal recourse, then you should seek the advice of a real estate attorney.
Quote:
Originally Posted by venicebeachcalifornia What can I do to protect myself from home inspection contingencies abuse? The buyers are walking all over me. My house is 15 years old and it's well maintained overall. Some wear and tear has to be expected given its age. I received 2 offers so far. Both times the buyers just walked after the inspection because the house is not "brand spanking new". They don't even bother sending me a request for repair and simply just walked. The first inspector found the roof to be leaky. Fine. I fixed it up and relisted. Now the second buyer is walking because the deck is not new. Gimme a break. This is getting ridiculous. Looks like a buyer can always find a way to get out of the contract by nitpicking on minor stuff and my house will never get sold. Any suggestions? Do I need a new agent? Thanks!
It seems the first buyer walked because they didn't want to deal with a leaky roof. They don't have to request a repair. They can just cancel. It is their contractual right (in Arizona).
It sounds like the second buyer found something about the deck that was not to their liking. We can't see the inspection report so we don't know what it says about the deck. There is also the mention of siding and windows. Apparently the buyers are finding things in the inspection report that they don't want to deal with. Your contract probably gives them the right to cancel.
It doesn't sound as if your agent is doing anything wrong. He has brought you two buyers, and both have walked due to the inspection report on the condition of the home. That is beyond his control. He controls the marketing and you control the house condition.
Since the buyers canceled due to the inspection, they should provide you with a copy so you can see everything that's in it. You did say that your agent saw one of the reports. I would ask your agent to get both copies so you can study them and learn exactly what's happening in those reports. If he can't get the reports, then ask his broker to get them.
I'm sorry you're having so much trouble, but if you study the reports you may find the solution to your problem.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,311,234 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverfall
I don't know your language here, but our contracts say the seller gets a copy of the report if they ask and the buyer is terminating over the report. Most sellers won't sign the release of earnest money until they get the report.
It's the same in CA. My bad for assuming the property was in CA in my previous post.
We didn't consider one penny spent on the inspections as a waste of money. The things hidden by the owners were not something we would have seen without going into the crawlspaces. The one property where the owner didn't have the power on was his own fault. If he's not putting on the power at the agreed uipon time, then he was hiding something. HE was the one who made the biggest stink about not returning the EM and demanding to see the inspection report. Hello, you breached the contract to have the power on, you get zip. He balked to the point where I told his agent I would see them both in court if the money wasn't returned to me - overnight cashier's check - in 24 hours - and I would include a request for the cost of the inspector I had to pay as well as court costs and loss of interest and I was 24 hours from contacting the board of realtors since the agent had turned the EM over to the owner - violation of state law.
I wasn't a problem buyer, I asked for a list of problems, owners thought they could hide stuff and my inspector found it. My inspector was the best and I made referral upon referral to her. Unfortunately she has since taken a corporate position.
Op, you're going to have to take emotion and stressing over these issues out of your mind, as much as you can. Selling a house isnt easy, and as Chet mentioned, most buyers have watched all the house shows that depict them getting great deals and every little boo-boo fixed. Wait until you have a buyer that makes it to the eleventh hour, asking for the moon. We actually had buyers ask for lightbulbs in the porch and yard lights, and address numbers repainted ONE day before closing! Oh, and every plug-in plate ( sorry, having a brain toot ) replaced cause they just wanted them brand spanking new.
They feel they've got ya trapped and desperate. Now on the other hand, if you're spending that kind of money, you want what you pay for and in decent condition. Nither side is purposey trying to play games, ( usually ) but its a stressful time for all. I like the suggestion of getting your own inspection done. I'd have loved that as a buyer. It'd show me you KNOW your house is in good condition.
And when we sold houses, we left them for sale taking back-up offers. Good luck and hope you sell soon.
You seem to think that buyers are doing this just for the hell of it, or to mess with you. Consider that it costs a buyer money and time to make an offer and do an inspection. Do you really think that they would do that if they didn't actually want to buy the house? Yes, some times a buyer might have a change of heart or learn something unrelated to the inspection that makes them want to back out, and then use the inspection as an excuse. But if you have a pattern of buyers seeing the inspection and bailing, I think it's safe to say that there are some issues with the house.
No it just means they didn't have an agent pointing out obvious issues. I've had a client walk twice over home inspection report after repair negotiations failed, in my 8 years as an agent. I just point out the obvious and we get quotes before we write an offer or we negotiate with those repairs in mind. That way they don't waste any money on home inspections.
Awesome technique, Silverfall. Why don't all agents do this???
Awesome technique, Silverfall. Why don't all agents do this???
Because realtors aren't licensed home inspectors?
You can get a quote on "the obvious", but it's never the OBVIOUS that ends up costing the big $$.
Last edited by Informed Info; 02-22-2014 at 10:40 PM..
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