1st time HB. Inspection showed issues. Opinions?

[middle-aged mom]

Informing a buyer of the expected remaining useful life is information, not a defect.

When working as a buyer's agent, I ask for this information before writing an offer. Some sellers do not know. Some seller get some sort of partial amnesia and 20 years ago seem like 10.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by luckyduck2010

1st time home buyer, inspection showed several probs ..what next?!

1. The electrical wiring needs to be redone at the electrical panel, itself. The owner had 7 "double taps" and no main electric shut off, which is required by the local code. About 2-3k to fix

My inclination would be to negotiate this as a requirement. It is a safety issue and you should expect to buy a house that complies with all local building codes.

2. The oil heater is 37 years old, end of life but still works. The water heater is 8 years old, 10 year life expectancy. The AC is nearing end of life. The roof is about 4 years away from EOL.

These would be points of negotiation. You are not buying a new house so you should not expect these items to be new. I assume this house is at least 37 years old. You should expect to be able to get some sort of credit towards replacement of these items but I doubt that the sellers will be buying you a new roof, new water heater and new oil burner, especially if the existing ones still work.

3. There is an 'active' water leak in the master bathroom closet ceiling. Could be the roof or a leak in the plumbing to the bathroom above it.

You should have them fix these. The house should be free of defects when you buy it. It's not a new house so you won't have new stuff in the house, but the house should not have plumbing leaks, roof leaks, etc...


4. There was a window in the basement that had so much outside water pushed against it, that the water line was about 12 inches high against the window. VERY rainy up here in PA right now. No leaks into the house though.

What would be the fix for this? If the water is not there any more and there are no leaks, what would be fixed?

Should we ask the seller to fix these things? Should we walk away? All other aspects of the house are really great! The layout, the flow, the # of bedrooms, appliances, kitchen/bathrooms etc.


We have an agreement that allows us to walk away at this point. I'm curious to know what other folks would do in this same situation?

Thanks for your feedback!

None of the defects mentioned above strike me as "bad news" types of issues. I think the code issues, and leaks should be fixed before you move in. When you take possession of a home everything should work and be compliant with building codes.

You should be able to negotiate a credit towards replacement of the big ticket items, but you are buying an older house. Stuff needs to be replaced over time. You need to be prepared to pay for stuff like oil burners, rooves, appliances, plumbing, etc....but this is a buyer's market and you can probably get some credit for these items if the sale is a regular sale. If it's a foreclosure or short sale you are on your own.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by sheriwx

Yikes. I'd ask them them to get it fixed, have them come down enough on the price to fix it myself, or walk. Probably walk, because I wouldn't want to buy my first home and have all of those issues. I already am paranoid about buying a "lemon".

The house doesn't sound like it has a lot of issues. There is an electrical problem, that can be fixed. There is a roof/plumbing issue that can be fixed. The oil burner, water heater, and roof are old but are working properly. When you buy an old house you get old stuff in the house. Before you buy a house you should be prepared to replace old stuff. That doesn't make the house a lemon. It's just got old stuff in it..

[seattlenextyear]

We got a 60 pages inspection report with a lot of safety and general home maintenance issues like yours: end of life water heater, minor electrical issues, plumbing etc. We didn't really think it was the seller's responsibility to sell us a perfect 25 year old house though. We knew that the house was safe enough to move into and live in for a while, and we could fix and upgrade things at our leisure.

Inspection reports always make it sound like the house is immediately going to fall apart. Our inspector gave us a full report and then a prioritized summary list: things we must absolutely fix vs. minor cosmetic stuff.

That being said, we still used the report as leverage to ask for $3000 towards closing costs.

[North Beach Person]

As far as electrical goes there has to be a main switch somewhere. Electrical codes are funny in that they are constantly changing so you can buy a brand new house and it won't meet the current code but it meets the code in effect when the electric service was installed. As long as the system meets the code in effect when the house was built, or a major change was made in electrical, it is considered code compliant.

I'd be worried about the roof/pipe leak. Your shingles should still be good if they're not cracking, crumbling or curling, but if there's a leak you might be further ahead to replace the roof.

As far as the furnace and water heater go, and someone else said this, they could last another decade, just plan on replacing them then. Replacing both fairly soon would impact your energy use positively. My furnace (oil burner) gave up the ghost at age 43 (1952 model). We immediately noticed a difference in consumption with the replacement.

[Barking Spider]

NorthBeach, Trust me, I have seen plenty of houses that didn't have a main disconnect anywhere.

We as inspectors use life spans in our reports, and they are based on industry and regional averages. For instance, an a/c unit will last longer in Knoxville than they will in Miami.

Most inspector Standards of practice require us to tell someone when a system or component are reaching the end of their expected life. It may be in good working condition, but based on the averages, it is nearing the end of its life.

WE also try to write down all of the deficiencies we see, big or small, because of liability. We are at high risk of someone wanting to sue us for something, so we write stuff down.

Its really not our place to give priorities or cost estimates for the needed repairs. If you had a roof leak, and unsafe electrical, and limited funds, which do you fix first. There are valid arguments for either one.

When someone buys a house that is over 10 years old, there is going to be something in it that is going to need to be replaced fairly soon (unless already done). At 15 years, the list is bigger. Its just part of buying an older house, things wear out and need to be replaced/repaired.

[North Beach Person]

Barking Spider, I concur with what you've said except for the electrical but I'll take your word for it. I've just never seen a house without a main disconnect. As the owner of a house nearing the century mark I'm still finding "surprises" even after owning it for nearly 25 years.

I would imagine that with the recent events that inspection standards have tightened. I just think it's unrealistic for potential buyers to expect sellers to replace systems that are functioning and safe and meet the applicable code even if those systems are older.
A roof leak, plumbing problems, foundation issues, etc. are going to cause the mortgage underwriter to deny the loan. There were some issues when we bought this house and the seller's agent flat out told the sellers that those had to be fixed if they expected to sell the house unless they were willing to wait for an all cash buyer.