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we are 1st time buyers, in THIS market we are wondering how much renegotiation we should attempt based on the home inspection findings below...any input would be appreciated. its a colonial 3br 1 1/2 ba, approx 60yrs old.
termite - new mud tunnel evidence found, requires baiting traps but was told it is not a big deal, does not look like a big issue etc. will get 1 yr warranty with treatment etc.
hot water tank is at end of life
roof has 3 layers & no gutters - we were told to replace in next 3-5yrs
gas boiler is 30yrs old and was told lifespan is 30-40 yrs
room with hot water tank/gas is not to code with no fire ceiling/protection
pipes in finished basement have a LOT of condensation. no evidence of mold etc & dehumidifier is staying in basement but that's just a bandaid. eventually will need to redo basement.
oil tank is buried in front yard and seller doesn't have any record of it was abandoned properly. we plan on requesting that they obtain certif of proper abandonment from nys dec company to protect us so that if we ever sell we dont have problems
Seller is obtaining a CO for a deck. they are apparently working with an expeditor. we plan on putting in contract that if CO cannot be obtained that the contract is a no-go.
sidewalk in front of house is buckled. we are being told we should ask them to fix it because if someone falls we get a lawsuit
We are hoping they will be willing to either reneg or offer up to fix/replace some things. these are major home expenses that we will have to incur in the first 5 yrs of living there so we are concerned if they decide not to renego that we couldn't move forward.
wow, thats alot of problems. DONT use a baiting system for the termites, i would tell them you want chemical treatment. You are looking at roughly 6-8k for the roof, about $2k for a boiler, sidewalk will be expensive, if they are not willing to fix these things, you should have them reduce the price of the house. Good luck
IMO (having bought and sold a number of houses hereabouts, over the years) some of the items are negotiating points and some are probably not, unless the sellers are either generous or desperate.
Keep in mind that the sellers will still have the option to have the items taken care of at their expense, rather than reduce the price, if that's what they want to do. Of course you don't have to agree to that option if you don't want to, but if they say "We'll fix them, we won't reduce the price" and you say "We want a price reduction instead, we don't want you to fix them" .... then the deal will probably die.
Definite negotiating points:
The termite issue, although it sounds as if that's going to be taken care of.
Roof/gutter issue, especially since there are NO gutters which means the strong possibility or even probability of moisture issues in the basement (if there is one). Three layers of roof is one too many for sure, and you don't know what surprises may be found when you have to rip all 3 layers off to redo the roof.
Boiler room not to code is something they either must repair or give an allowance for the buyer to repair; no question about it.
Abandoned oil tank with no documentation.
CO for the deck, as you already know, is a deal-breaker if they don't get it.
Probably not negotiating points:
Hot water tank age. As long as it's still in satisfactory working order the sellers aren't required to replace it or give an allowance for it.
Gas boiler age. Same comments as hot water tank age.
Condensation on pipes in basement. For every professional opinion you may get who says it's a potential problem, the sellers could get one saying there is no problem. A real grey area of contention that will be difficult to come to an agreement on.
Buckled sidewalk. This will depend on whether the sidewalk is on the seller's property or within a town easement. In other words if it's a sidewalk that runs perpendicular to the street curb, only a short distance away, it's probably Town property and in that case it may be the Town's responsibility to repair. But each Town is different and so you should check speficially with the one this house is in. If the sidewalk is a walkway that runs from the street to the front door, then it's owned by the sellers. They aren't required to repair or give an allowance for fixing it unless they want to (and if it's that bad, it's probably been there so long that they probably don't care).
I have a sore spot for the whole, get the inspection then negotiate, tactic. If there is something that is misrepresented or if there are real problems found, fine things should be taken care of. But saying that the heating system is old or there are the hot water heater..... well guess what, this isn't new construction and an inspection report isn't a punch list.
Only real issue I think you have out of this inspection is the oil tank. All others are realitively informational for you to know about your house, they aren't real problems.
Its not like there aren't significant problems with most of LI's housing stock. If it isn't the roof, its the windows, or the heating unit, or the central air unit, or the terrible job they did on the basement finishing, or the unpermitted addition, unpermitted shed,
I don't think the items raised on home inspections are meant to be used as negotiating points, but basically a representation of house/property condition. Anyone looking to use things like "old water heater" as a way to negotiate down the price is likely going to get nowhere quick.
That said, it's still valuable to get an idea of what you're buying. On a smaller scale, when I look at a used car and have my mechanic check it out, I want him to tell me what he thinks I'll be replacing over the years that I own it. Knowing full well that it's a used car with many years of use, I still want to get an idea that the car runs ok, but I may have to replace part XYZ in a year.
I just bought a 40-year old house last year, the home inspection noted that the water heater was practically brand new - that was a nice bit of news
The condensation on the pipes in the basement is caused by science. Hot air hits cold pipe, condensation is formed. It doesn't indicate that there is any problem or need to panic.
Termites are another thing to not get jittery about. Your home inspector should tell you if the termites *Caused* any damage. That's what you should be concerned with. Killing termites is easy.
I bought my house in 2002 and the engineers list was incredible. The homeowner denied any and every request to fix things or reduce his price.
The house is still standing today.
I don't think the items raised on home inspections are meant to be used as negotiating points, but basically a representation of house/property condition. Anyone looking to use things like "old water heater" as a way to negotiate down the price is likely going to get nowhere quick.
That said, it's still valuable to get an idea of what you're buying. On a smaller scale, when I look at a used car and have my mechanic check it out, I want him to tell me what he thinks I'll be replacing over the years that I own it. Knowing full well that it's a used car with many years of use, I still want to get an idea that the car runs ok, but I may have to replace part XYZ in a year.
I just bought a 40-year old house last year, the home inspection noted that the water heater was practically brand new - that was a nice bit of news
EXACTLY! We had an offer on our condo and accepted it. The buyer had an inspector come in and b/c the inspector told him that the CAC was original (runs perfect and get it maintenanced for longevity 1x per year, as well as change air filter 1x per month), the guy wanted another $10k off the price! I can tell you right now, if the item works, then why fix it or ask for money off. That is the pride in owning a home! If you can't afford to fix these things, then don't buy it! I purchased the condo knowing this was old. That really annoyed me. The reason for getting an inspection is to make sure the structure and everything is in good condition. I could understand if he said the CAC was not working but really! It works like new!
I would not use the HWH or anything like that as an option to look for a discount if it works well. JMO
You've only stated the results of the report but we really can't tell if the price you've agreed on already reflects the overall condition of the house or not
You've only stated the results of the report but we really can't tell if the price you've agreed on already reflects the overall condition of the house or not
I think that is a great comment. We cannot debate if any point from the list is worth asking for a price reduction or not on the basis of the info provided. Its really vague, but who knows, maybe the owner said let me ask for more and will reduce later when the inspection report comes out....
I'm sure the owner said to the buyer, agree to a higher price we can always lower it at the home inspection....
the owners have a house that is what it is. You put an offer in on the house for what you're willing to pay. Very little of whats in the report is shocking, half or more of the homes on LI will have similar reports.
Either you feel that you got a fair deal, or this significantly impacts your feeling on the house.
if this deal goes south and you're in the market again, my advice to you....
unless you're planning on buying new, I would expect getting an inspection report with information similar to this and reflect that in what you're willing to pay from the outset, because as a seller, after accepting an offer telling my that my heating system, although works fine is old and you want money off for this, is just going to make me angry.
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