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...it is only minor things that need repaired. BUT, one thing that is minor, we consider kind of major: the garage doors (there are two) need to be replaced as their DOG ate a panel on each one. Our agent keeps telling us they don't have to repair or replace or credit us for that and we said we will walk away from the deal if they don't. (Here in VA you can't get out of the inspection for this reason, but we will walk away and use HOA docs as our out) I don't think it is unreasonable to ask...It is not like it is normal wear and tear-there dog ATE them! There are a few small other thing-15 things on the list total. We said we will take care of 5 of them and left them with 10-including the garage issue. Some of their 10 are very small items like checking a light (maybe just needs a bulb) and inexpensive.
ANyway, our agent feels like we are crazy-they did not say this, but we can tell.
What do you all think?
... the garage doors (there are two) need to be replaced as their DOG ate a panel on each one.
I'd be leery of buying any home with edible garage doors, but that's your call, not mine.
Consider getting a quote before you kill the deal. Perhaps the panels can be replaced inexpensively. Your local butcher may even have matching panels in stock.
I'd be leery of buying any home with edible garage doors, but that's your call, not mine.
Consider getting a quote before you kill the deal. Perhaps the panels can be replaced inexpensively. Your local butcher may even have matching panels in stock.
They must have a LARGE dog by the looks of the doggie door...I can relate as we have a lab who ate things when she was a puppy, but we replaced the items she destroyed before we put our home on the market a few years ago.
You are right-we should get a quote first...but seriously, I think it is just wrong not mto fix something your pet destroyed. Heck, even apartment complexes make you pay for pet damage.
...it is only minor things that need repaired. BUT, one thing that is minor, we consider kind of major: the garage doors (there are two) need to be replaced as their DOG ate a panel on each one. Our agent keeps telling us they don't have to repair or replace or credit us for that and we said we will walk away from the deal if they don't. (Here in VA you can't get out of the inspection for this reason, but we will walk away and use HOA docs as our out) I don't think it is unreasonable to ask...It is not like it is normal wear and tear-there dog ATE them! There are a few small other thing-15 things on the list total. We said we will take care of 5 of them and left them with 10-including the garage issue. Some of their 10 are very small items like checking a light (maybe just needs a bulb) and inexpensive.
ANyway, our agent feels like we are crazy-they did not say this, but we can tell.
What do you all think?
I wonder if you didn't see the eaten garage door panels before you made your offer. And if you didn't make your offer based on the overall condition of those items you could see.
I always advise my buyer clients to make the offer based on what they see & what they know. That the inspection is for the things that can't be seen or known in advance, or for further investigation of potential problems that are known about, but that will affect the value of the house or your ability to live init comfortably. Problems found in an inspection are usually a surprise, and therefore warrant some sort of adjustment, whether it be a repair or a credit, if not a total voiding of the contract. You should have seen the garage door panels in advance, and likely didn't need your inspector to tell you that this is not the optimal condition of a garage door. It strikes me that your offer price may have - certainly should have - accounted for the fact that you need to do something about those garage doors. If it didn't, then of course you need to deal with it now.
All that being said, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask for a further reduction, as you probably have the seller in a tough spot. He could fork over the funds just to get the deal done, or he could stand on principal and say no, we had a deal. And in this market, what's he likely to do, even if he hates the idea? If you were MY client, I'd ask you to evaluate whether you aren't trying to get a few more dollars from the seller where you really shouldn't.
...I think it is just wrong not mto fix something your pet destroyed. ...
I understand how you feel, but if there's one bit of advice every agent gives to every client, it's "don't get emotional" and don't try to guess what's really going on with the other side.
There's nothing "right" or "wrong" - this is simply a negotiation, nothing more and nothing less. Either everyone can come to a final agreement or they can't.
I almost lost a deal when I pushed very, very hard to include a refrigerator that the seller refused to leave behind. It just blew me away that the seller was willing to kill the deal rather than give up his stupid refrigerator.
What I didn't know at the time was that the sellers had been fighting over selling. The wife didn't want to move but the husband did...which meant there were negotiations going on between the two of them, too.
I later found out that the wife had agreed to the sale but would not agree to one extra demand - and my insistence on the refrigerator was her chance to kill the deal.
I had another transaction that was particularly difficult - which seemed surprising because we hadn't lowballed and the sellers were receiving a nice profit. I found out later that the sellers needed every penny to contribute to their niece's lung transplant expense. Even the seller's agent didn't know this until after the transaction closed...the sellers were simply very private about this.
I wonder if you didn't see the eaten garage door panels before you made your offer. And if you didn't make your offer based on the overall condition of those items you could see.
I always advise my buyer clients to make the offer based on what they see & what they know...
Good point, as well, Bill.
The original offer certainly could have (and, in hindsight, probably should have) included a line that the deal was contingent on the doors being repaired.
We did not see the damage or we would have factored that in. When we looked the first time it was very dark in the garage as we went in the evening. The second time the home owner was home doing garden work (in order for their HOA to release them as they were in some violations) and they had the garage doors open thus the panels were not down. It was only at inspection did anyone notice.
...it is only minor things that need repaired. BUT, one thing that is minor, we consider kind of major: the garage doors (there are two) need to be replaced as their DOG ate a panel on each one. Our agent keeps telling us they don't have to repair or replace or credit us for that and we said we will walk away from the deal if they don't. (Here in VA you can't get out of the inspection for this reason, but we will walk away and use HOA docs as our out) I don't think it is unreasonable to ask...It is not like it is normal wear and tear-there dog ATE them! There are a few small other thing-15 things on the list total. We said we will take care of 5 of them and left them with 10-including the garage issue. Some of their 10 are very small items like checking a light (maybe just needs a bulb) and inexpensive.
ANyway, our agent feels like we are crazy-they did not say this, but we can tell.
What do you all think?
Don't threaten to walk away unless you're ready to follow through; they could be silly enough to call your bluff. When my ex and I bought our house, the sellers were stupidly asking us for 300 pounds for the used gas range in the kitchen, or else they'd back out of the deal. It would have cost them money to get a Corgi engineer (mandatory under UK law) out to the house to remove the stove if they wanted to take it with them, so we told them to pound sand. Bluff called! This was in a seller's market in the UK.
Don't threaten to walk away unless you're ready to follow through; they could be silly enough to call your bluff. When my ex and I bought our house, the sellers were stupidly asking us for 300 pounds for the used gas range in the kitchen, or else they'd back out of the deal. It would have cost them money to get a Corgi engineer (mandatory under UK law) out to the house to remove the stove if they wanted to take it with them, so we told them to pound sand. Bluff called! This was in a seller's market in the UK.
Yep-we talked about that. Normally this would not be something we would walk over, but when negotiating they said this price (the one we settled on) so they would have some wiggle room with the inspections...so, we feel they should fix it or credit us. AND, this is an expensive home and garage doors are pricey...and we found out it was not their dog that ate it but the previous owner so who knows if they got a credit and then never fixed it.
We did not see the damage or we would have factored that in. When we looked the first time it was very dark in the garage as we went in the evening. The second time the home owner was home doing garden work (in order for their HOA to release them as they were in some violations) and they had the garage doors open thus the panels were not down. It was only at inspection did anyone notice.
Ahaaa. Well then, it strikes me that possibly the homeowner was very aware of the damage, and didn't want you to see it.
Still, be careful about saying you will walk away if you can't get them fixed. Only say it if you really mean it. Is that amount of money enough for you to give up this house?
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