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Well I talked to the city. They said they have worked on those sewer lines before as they have had issues with it. They said it's a risk that we have to take. They have trackhoes that dig up by the sewer line and it could damage the garage. But of course they aren't responsible for any damages. They also said they don't backfill the easements. (Not sure what they meant by backfill).
We're confused. My husband's family as well as mine are saying to walk away.
We asked our agent to first ask the seller to fix it. And then maybe ask for an adjustment in price if she won't fix it. But I don't know.
Oh if you're family is telling you to bail...I would take their advice. For resale value alone I would worry too much about that.
Hmmm- surprised a garage didn't have to be permitted and no one knows when built?
It looks like from the portion of the survey you posted, it runs not only under a small portion of the garage, but also under a paved driveway?? How close does it come to the actual house? And does it go thru the front yard?
When they say backfill, I am sure they would, with dirt......but they sure won't re plant your yard, nor repave your drive, and concrete is costly.
I am really surprised at the location of this easement and how a house was built in proportion to it.
IMHO Unless you can get a screaming price (oops sorry sellers ) I would be a little hesitant. I mean it is 50/50 chance of anything ever happening, but you would need to keep the possibility in the back of your mind.
If the sellers are now aware of this, and it has the potential to cause future buyers to balk, hey, get the price right and enjoy it]
good luck
Hmmm- surprised a garage didn't have to be permitted and no one knows when built?
It looks like from the portion of the survey you posted, it runs not only under a small portion of the garage, but also under a paved driveway?? How close does it come to the actual house? And does it go thru the front yard?
When they say backfill, I am sure they would, with dirt......but they sure won't re plant your yard, nor repave your drive, and concrete is costly.
I am really surprised at the location of this easement and how a house was built in proportion to it.
IMHO Unless you can get a screaming price (oops sorry sellers ) I would be a little hesitant. I mean it is 50/50 chance of anything ever happening, but you would need to keep the possibility in the back of your mind.
If the sellers are now aware of this, and it has the potential to cause future buyers to balk, hey, get the price right and enjoy it]
good luck
Thanks! I feel bad for the seller. She got laid off from her job and is moving herself and her kids out of state for a new job too. We're also 10 days away from closing. But I'm really irritated w/ our agent because we requested the survey from the day we had our inspection which was 2 days after we went under contract. And that was well over a month ago! We had to ask our agent 3 times before he requested one, then the lawyer took awhile to order it. It just stinks to be at the tail end of this and the possibility of us walking away.
I also hadn't noticed the driveway was a part of the easement also. That stinks too. (parden the pun also lol!)
I know experts and a couple engineering friends said this isnt a dealbreaker, but ppl who are nonexperts seem so hesitant. Which would probably be the majority of the pool of buyers.
Sigh to start over will just suck.
Last edited by sheenie2000; 07-21-2009 at 09:36 PM..
I would not give a wit if EVERY family member from mom & dad to third cousin twice removed told me to 'walk away' from a property that I knew was priced attractively and a good value to live in / own over the next 5-7 years. If I listened to 'family & friends' I would not have the CASH I have in the bank right now because BELIEVE ME the "crowd" would not have bought some of the places that I made the MOST MONEY on...
If you are scared on this VERY MINOR enchroachment issue I would be SUPER PROACTIVE about finding out the condition of the sewers, the scheduled work, and the history of problems IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. If you got to know the "director of public works" I am 99.999% sure that he would not allow his crews to bust up your garage. The guys that use the backhoes and powershovels take pride in their ability to leave as little evidence of their work as possible. While technically they probably do have a policy to merely backfill and NOT restore the site with all landscaping / paving I have never seen a happy crew, with concerned homeowners, not make a BIG effort to minimize any damage. Ultimately you could come up with a longer term plan to work to have the easement reduced through some political process and/or work to have your building moved / reconfigured so that their would be no encroachment. Such a change could be very effective in increasing the marketability of your property...
Well the city said they have had issues w/ this sewer line and been out there to fix it.
The other thing is, there are other issues w/ the house. It's horribly maintained, it's going to need a new HVAC system which is a huge expense. We're not getting this for a great price either. Plus the kitchen/bathrooms need complete overhaul. I just am not feeling it w/ all the other stuff that needs to be done. And luck would have it, the sewer line needs to fixed right in the location of the garage and they damage it.
On the other hand, there's not many houses in that specific neighborhood that are in our price range.
Just how "not a great price either" are we talking about? I mean unless you have been living with mole people you might have noticed that housing prices have fallen off a cliff just about everywhere. HVAC replacement can run from about $1500 on the low end to 3x+ if the ducts are falling apart. If there are issues caused by moisture you may even to repair / replace framing.
When you say the place is "horribly maintained" I would ask for specifics. If it is a frame house is the paint really rough? So bad that there is exposed wood? Have some spots 'gone gray' from lack of protection? What about the roof? Any signs of missing shingle tabs? Is the roof no longer water tight? What about windows? Do the leak air or water? Water about plumbing? Anything backs up? Poor water pressure?
I don't care if the place needs interior painting and new carpet and maybe even a new kitchen & bathroom (so long as they are not leaking and creating problems structurally)-- if the things that make the structure SOUND are in good shape then that does not count as "horribly maintained". OTOH if the place has the sort of issues I outlined as SERIOUS then you BETTER be getting A MAJOR DISCOUNT and you better be capable of doing (or paying for) some MAJOR WORK...
The idea of getting a "bargain house in top notch neighborhood" can be a good plan, but you have to be darned sure that it really is a bargain.
uh ohhh....might need to back away , after that last tidbit of info.
go back and re- look at other homes in that neighborhood if ya like it, a deal might still be had
Just how "not a great price either" are we talking about? I mean unless you have been living with mole people you might have noticed that housing prices have fallen off a cliff just about everywhere. HVAC replacement can run from about $1500 on the low end to 3x+ if the ducts are falling apart. If there are issues caused by moisture you may even to repair / replace framing.
When you say the place is "horribly maintained" I would ask for specifics. If it is a frame house is the paint really rough? So bad that there is exposed wood? Have some spots 'gone gray' from lack of protection? What about the roof? Any signs of missing shingle tabs? Is the roof no longer water tight? What about windows? Do the leak air or water? Water about plumbing? Anything backs up? Poor water pressure?
I don't care if the place needs interior painting and new carpet and maybe even a new kitchen & bathroom (so long as they are not leaking and creating problems structurally)-- if the things that make the structure SOUND are in good shape then that does not count as "horribly maintained". OTOH if the place has the sort of issues I outlined as SERIOUS then you BETTER be getting A MAJOR DISCOUNT and you better be capable of doing (or paying for) some MAJOR WORK...
The idea of getting a "bargain house in top notch neighborhood" can be a good plan, but you have to be darned sure that it really is a bargain.
Well it's in between I guess what you are saying about 'horribly maintained.' The dated interiors aren't really a big deal. But the windows are all stuck and don't open. I'm not sure about drafts in the window or if it leaks water. Apparently a new roof was put on but the inspector said to get the whole roof inspected. The plumbing I think is ok. A structural engineer came out (bc there were some randomly placed brick piers in the crawl space) but he said the structure is sound. The inspector said the HVAC system would cost about 3-5K to replace.
I spoke to my realtor. We asked for the seller to fix the issue, if she won't then we need to renegotiate on price. The realtor is mad. He keeps bringing up that the seller has done so much. She dropped her price 15K and is giving us 7500 bucks in closing costs. Plus she repaired all the things we asked her to which cost over 7K. (But when we asked for items repaired, we put like 16 things on a list. We assumed she would negotiate on the repairs and only do a few, we didn't think she would do ALL of the ones on our list).
Anyway, our agent ended the call saying 'be prepared for a legal battle.'
But I spoke to my lawyer and he said you are well within your rights to ask the seller to fix it, renegotiate on price. And if we walk away he said we'll get the ernest money back. As the owner is required to provide a free title w/o any encumbrances and this encroachment is an encrumbrance.
Well it's in between I guess what you are saying about 'horribly maintained.' The dated interiors aren't really a big deal. But the windows are all stuck and don't open. I'm not sure about drafts in the window or if it leaks water. Apparently a new roof was put on but the inspector said to get the whole roof inspected. The plumbing I think is ok. A structural engineer came out (bc there were some randomly placed brick piers in the crawl space) but he said the structure is sound. The inspector said the HVAC system would cost about 3-5K to replace.
I spoke to my realtor. We asked for the seller to fix the issue, if she won't then we need to renegotiate on price. The realtor is mad. He keeps bringing up that the seller has done so much. She dropped her price 15K and is giving us 7500 bucks in closing costs. Plus she repaired all the things we asked her to which cost over 7K. (But when we asked for items repaired, we put like 16 things on a list. We assumed she would negotiate on the repairs and only do a few, we didn't think she would do ALL of the ones on our list).
Anyway, our agent ended the call saying 'be prepared for a legal battle.'
But I spoke to my lawyer and he said you are well within your rights to ask the seller to fix it, renegotiate on price. And if we walk away he said we'll get the ernest money back. As the owner is required to provide a free title w/o any encumbrances and this encroachment is an encrumbrance.
Excellent walk swiftly! It is not your problem about the seller or the agent! Obviouisly that house would have less value in that neighborhood with the encroachment. Sounds like it has many other issues as well.
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) I would be a little hesitant. I mean it is 50/50 chance of anything ever happening, but you would need to keep the possibility in the back of your mind.
