Home inspection question (sale, real estate, mortgage)

[Benz63]

hey guys, I am buying a house in north woodmere, and i have done a profesional home inspection(paid $500 for it)

Now, the inspector found some stuff that needs fixing with the electrics such as upgrading outlets to 3 prongs, upgrading the electric box to 200 amp from the current 100 amp,

my question is, is the seller supposed to fix these problems or its upto me to fix them once i move in?

i mean, i read online that a house must be UPTO Code before it can be sold, now , if my inspector found these problems , does that stiill mean that the house is under current electric code?

Is the bank thats issuing my morgage going to conduct another Home inspection using their own inspector and if that inspector finds stuff thats not under code he will make the sellers fix them before the closing?

Thanks

[Heidi60]

How did you find your property inspector? Is he independant or does he have a relationship with your realtor? You don't need a inspector who has any interest in the sale being pushed through. Mortgage companies don't usually have an interest in the inspection but you can use any defects as a negotiating point to reduce the price by the amount of the repairs, if you have a sharp realtor or lawyer negotiating on your behalf.
Regardless, it always wise to have a real estate lawyer oversee the process to ensure your rights are protected. Posters on a public forum can't read your contract, know how to apply the law, or be familiar with your local regulations so it is worth the expense to have a lawyer review what everyone is doing.

[Benz63]

no the inspector had nothing to do with the sale etc, i found him myself independently

[zulu400]

The inspector will just tell you whats possibly wrong with the house (not to code) and probably suggest a few things that are good to have even though the home may not have it but its code compliant.
In your case upgrading amps to 200 seems like a good thing to have, but the owner need not do it as having a 100 amps is still code compliant.
I think you need to look at all the recommendations and then discuss this with the seller. You should be able to identify things that you can demand the seller to fix (its good you are in a buyers market) but there might be few things which the seller will refuse to do (your electric upgrade may fall under this category).

[mongoose65]

I didn't know there was a code for 3 prong outlets OR 200 amp electrical. Those are good upgrades, but I was not aware they were mandatory. I could be wrong but I did lots of work and had a code inspector who practically crawled up my butt to check my colon and those things never came up. Are you sure that's not just required for NEW construction?

[LIgirl74]

The homeowner would be responsible for upgrading or replacing the electrical box if they had water in it. When I was buyign my home, that was the case. They gave us a credit at closing for that cost. However, all of the items you noted, is not the responsiblity of the current owner. I'm not sure but if you are going FHA, I know they are more strict about certain things than going conventional. If you are going with a conventional mortgage, things will be just fine with all that the inspector found. However, FHA loan, well, that's a whole different ball game.

[James1202]

Originally Posted by Benz63

hey guys, I am buying a house in north woodmere, and i have done a profesional home inspection(paid $500 for it)

Now, the inspector found some stuff that needs fixing with the electrics such as upgrading outlets to 3 prongs, upgrading the electric box to 200 amp from the current 100 amp,

my question is, is the seller supposed to fix these problems or its upto me to fix them once i move in?

i mean, i read online that a house must be UPTO Code before it can be sold, now , if my inspector found these problems , does that stiill mean that the house is under current electric code?

Is the bank thats issuing my morgage going to conduct another Home inspection using their own inspector and if that inspector finds stuff thats not under code he will make the sellers fix them before the closing?

Thanks

Home inspectors often try to be diligent without being nitpicky as they often rely on real estate agent referrals as much as, if not more than, being called independently by home buyers. They don't want to kill the sale but also don't want to be negligent.

The electric service drop amperage is generally a "nice to have" item to prevent light flicker. As long as your outlets have a long slot (neutral) and a short slot (hot/power) they're okay for small appliances and lights. Most small appliances require a long/short slot. However, one shouldn't bypass the third grounding plug on larger, metal cased, appliances (ie. shop-vac, refrigerators, dishwashers, etc.) with an adapter as electrocution could result if the wire in the applaince comes loose.

These are not necessarily code issues but it's also not up to a home inspector to determine whether or not a house is up to code (prohibited by NYS Home Inspector licensing law). Only the Town Building Inspector determines whether or not something is to code for that particular Township (which could be equal to or more stringent than the NYS code). A home inspector generally will, however, point out an observed "safety" or "convenience" issue without calling it a "code" issue.

As for who pays: I would prefer to do the work since the seller may not be concerned with having it done properly or in the best/most workmanship-like manner. I would use these issues as a negotiating point.

Whether or not the bank will hire an inspector will depend on...oh, heck, you think the bank cares? It's possible but not at all likely.

[kayo_michael]

I bought my house 2 months ago, and the whole house minus kitchen was 2 prong knob&tube. 100 amp service. Some outlets had masking tape over them because the bakelite receptacles from the 1920's had cracked and shorted. I renegotiated the sale price based on the findings by my home inspector, and proceeded forward with the sale.

The seller was not responsible for fixing this problem.

[James1202]

Originally Posted by kayo_michael

I bought my house 2 months ago, and the whole house minus kitchen was 2 prong knob&tube. 100 amp service. Some outlets had masking tape over them because the bakelite receptacles from the 1920's had cracked and shorted. I renegotiated the sale price based on the findings by my home inspector, and proceeded forward with the sale.

The seller was not responsible for fixing this problem.

Wow! Knob & Tube? I haven't seen that since I did a renovation of a house in WNY about 8 yrs. ago. The K&T wasn't visible unless one went under the drywall. From the outlets one would get the impression the wiring had all been replaced. Instead it was all spliced.

[rocafeller05]

Upgrading to a 200 amp breaker is a waste of money unless its really needed. If I was the seller and the buyer told me to upgrade it I would tell them to hit the road.