Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
WEll my buyer came back with seventeen things he would like us to do. We had asked not to be nitpicked when it came to home inspection since our agreed selling price was our rock bottom.
There was a junction cover missing..he asked for that. Which isn't a big deal but it is a nit pick request imho. He asked that all our cooling and furnaced be serviced. He asked that we clean our sump pump. He asked that our ductwork be professionally cleaned . There is some knob on the jacuzzi tub that they say didn't close so we are supposed to replace that. Well they are the ones that broke it. They turned it too tight and it broke off. My husband got it close and just has to glue the cover back to the knob. The want a couple bolts on my deck tightened. I have stairs on the laundry room side that are at an improper angle and that has to be fixed and a slab must be poured. My hot water take is too small for my house, so they want a big 80 gallon water tank put in. I have never ever had any problems with hot water. Oh and this one I love, I guess my house isn't up to code because our living room does not have any light switches. We use a lamp in there. So they want us to have someone come out and put in two light switches and have them wired.
So we are not happy campers..They also asked that we have the carpets cleaned professionally and can only do it when the pets have been removed. This one peaved me too...Is cleaning the carpets really a home inspection point? I don't understand how it falls under home inspection. Anyhow are there a couple of stains on the carpet..yes it's not a new home. But I stay on top of my carpets cleaning them. So what makes me mad is I know how I left my carpets the day of home inspection. We were gone all day and when we came home there was dirt/mud tracked up my stairs , in my hallway and in my room. My room has berber...which is so hard to clean. There was some dirt in my kids rooms.
argh..sorry had to vent. by the time we are done..we will have had to spend quite a bit of money..and we don't even know how the radon test is coming back yet..Anyhow we said no to most.
Jenne....you have a right to be peaved! If he hadn't asked for a quick close and you met him at your rock bottom, then this guy is in for a reality check.
Call an inspection company and ask them what are the essential requirements for saftey and repair. Cleaning the air ducts, a bigger water heater, and carpet cleaning don't fall in that category to my understanding. I might be wrong. IF they were to say...."we love your house, but my child has asthma and would like for it to be professionally cleaned and have the air ducts cleaned as well" , then it might be a reasonable request....but not for an inspection issue. Keep calm and remember they can ask for anything. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and sending positive thought your way!
When we sold our house the buyers came back with a list of 25 things they wanted us to do. We actually did about 10 of them, but they also wanted electrical work done. We did not and told them we were not going to. There were a few things that the inspector found that we felt should be handled and that is what we did.
Not sure how your contract is worded, but dusty duct work & lack of overhead lights do not fall into the "unfavorable inspection" category. Carpet? Not even a point of inspection.
WEll my buyer came back with seventeen things he would like us to do. We had asked not to be nitpicked when it came to home inspection since our agreed selling price was our rock bottom.
There was a junction cover missing..he asked for that. Which isn't a big deal but it is a nit pick request imho. He asked that all our cooling and furnaced be serviced. He asked that we clean our sump pump. He asked that our ductwork be professionally cleaned . There is some knob on the jacuzzi tub that they say didn't close so we are supposed to replace that. Well they are the ones that broke it. They turned it too tight and it broke off. My husband got it close and just has to glue the cover back to the knob. The want a couple bolts on my deck tightened. I have stairs on the laundry room side that are at an improper angle and that has to be fixed and a slab must be poured. My hot water take is too small for my house, so they want a big 80 gallon water tank put in. I have never ever had any problems with hot water. Oh and this one I love, I guess my house isn't up to code because our living room does not have any light switches. We use a lamp in there. So they want us to have someone come out and put in two light switches and have them wired.
So we are not happy campers..They also asked that we have the carpets cleaned professionally and can only do it when the pets have been removed. This one peaved me too...Is cleaning the carpets really a home inspection point? I don't understand how it falls under home inspection. Anyhow are there a couple of stains on the carpet..yes it's not a new home. But I stay on top of my carpets cleaning them. So what makes me mad is I know how I left my carpets the day of home inspection. We were gone all day and when we came home there was dirt/mud tracked up my stairs , in my hallway and in my room. My room has berber...which is so hard to clean. There was some dirt in my kids rooms.
argh..sorry had to vent. by the time we are done..we will have had to spend quite a bit of money..and we don't even know how the radon test is coming back yet..Anyhow we said no to most.
Jenne, congrats on the offer!
I don't doubt you are annoyed, I would be too. Buyers these days are taking advantage of sellers. Remember that Kharma evetually goes around, so they will probably get theirs.
IIRC, this was someone you knew?
Requests:
junction cover missing Legit
cooling and furnaced serviced we did this before putting on the market
clean sump pump can you do this yourself?
ductwork be professionally cleaned should be on them
jacuzzi knob I would fix
bolts on deck tightened no big deal
laundry room side stairs - fix improper angle / pour slab is this a safety issue?
Hot water heater - replace w/ 80 gal No way
Light switches in the living room - install no way
carpets cleaned professionally I own a steamer & wouldn't pay someone to do it. Can you buy a cheap carpet cleaner / steamer and leave it there for them?
IMO the inspection is for the buyers benefit. It tells them what it a safety issue and what is broken or not. I would fix anything that is safety related and might do a few things just to humor the sellers, like buying a carpet cleaner. For the living room lights, I'd tell them to take a hike.
Are the buyers cash poor? Is that why they are trying to get you to remodel your home? Maybe this isn't the home for them.
If you absolutly need to sell, consider giving them some sort of (small) credit for the off the wall demands. It's probably what they are looking for anyway.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,307,357 times
Reputation: 6471
I agree with Rose.
The junction box is legit. Lay down the law and tell em to enjoy their new home maintenance, This is exactly the kind of BS I mentioned in another thread. Stand your ground unless you really think that spending the money is worth it.
WEll my buyer came back with seventeen things he would like us to do. We had asked not to be nitpicked when it came to home inspection since our agreed selling price was our rock bottom.
There was a junction cover missing..he asked for that. Which isn't a big deal but it is a nit pick request imho. He asked that all our cooling and furnaced be serviced. He asked that we clean our sump pump. He asked that our ductwork be professionally cleaned . There is some knob on the jacuzzi tub that they say didn't close so we are supposed to replace that. Well they are the ones that broke it. They turned it too tight and it broke off. My husband got it close and just has to glue the cover back to the knob. The want a couple bolts on my deck tightened. I have stairs on the laundry room side that are at an improper angle and that has to be fixed and a slab must be poured. My hot water take is too small for my house, so they want a big 80 gallon water tank put in. I have never ever had any problems with hot water. Oh and this one I love, I guess my house isn't up to code because our living room does not have any light switches. We use a lamp in there. So they want us to have someone come out and put in two light switches and have them wired.
So we are not happy campers..They also asked that we have the carpets cleaned professionally and can only do it when the pets have been removed. This one peaved me too...Is cleaning the carpets really a home inspection point? I don't understand how it falls under home inspection. Anyhow are there a couple of stains on the carpet..yes it's not a new home. But I stay on top of my carpets cleaning them. So what makes me mad is I know how I left my carpets the day of home inspection. We were gone all day and when we came home there was dirt/mud tracked up my stairs , in my hallway and in my room. My room has berber...which is so hard to clean. There was some dirt in my kids rooms.
argh..sorry had to vent. by the time we are done..we will have had to spend quite a bit of money..and we don't even know how the radon test is coming back yet..Anyhow we said no to most.
I would have asked for the carpets to be cleaned too; I had our carpets professionally cleaned before closing on the sale of my house in England, and had the entire place cleaned top to bottom by a professional service. They even cleaned out all the cupboards. Our house was dirty when we moved in; there was even broken glass on the floor. I thought the state of the house was unacceptable when we moved in and swore I'd never do that to someone buying my house. I'd have been embarrassed to leave the house dirty.
I don't think having the cooling/heating serviced is unreasonable either; we had the boiler serviced before moving out even though the buyers did not request it, nor did they even have an inspection done.
The request to wire in some sockets in the living room is a bit strange though; I would have said no to that and no to replacing a knob that HE broke.
We also were prepared to have the boiler replaced in the house and had a very reasonable estimate for the work; it would have cost a couple thousand pounds but it would have been worth it to get rid of the house. Then again, we were making about $150k in profit on it that we split in half. In the end we didn't have to, but left details of the estimate for the buyers. The boiler in our house was 25 years old and there are no longer parts available for it, so if it goes, it goes.
If they want the carpets and ducts cleaned professionally due to allergies or whatever, I think that's fine but they should pay for it. I know I would expect to do that.
The hot water tank things is totally bogus. The house has what size tank it has; if they want something bigger, they can put it in. What's next -- asking you to replace a functioning refrigerator with a model they prefer? Give me a break!
Well I know this guy has a lot of $$ . He is moving in two years so he is looking to resell it and is trying to get the best bargain so he can sell it for a profit in a couple years.
The junction box cover is a 2 dollar fix..we said yes to that. Rose, I do own a carpet cleaner...that is how I know what my carpets look like since I am on top of it. He wants it done by a professional...after they tracked mud in my house.
The jacuzzi thing we already fixed. We tightened the bolt. He just doesn't want to have to put this money into the house. We said no to the water tank, the light switches, the ductwork and the carpets being cleaned. I think he should have asked for the carpets in the offer. He came back and now wants us to give him three thousand dollars instead
Just say no......or counter with a $5,000 increase to cover the cost of the repairs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
