Home Buying Deal Breaker(s)

[sal1181]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

Same as everyone else, termites would be my main concern but a good pest inspector will give you an answer .... assuming the damage is visible/easily accessible. It could be major and active, or it could be minor, or could be something that happened a long time ago and had no structural impact.

The other stuff is just mechanical and would not put me off if it was the right house/right location and priced well with comps ....and you have some $ set aside to deal with it.

If everything listed needed to be replaced at once, which is highly unlikely, you are probably looking in the ballpark of $25-30K depending on a lot of variables like size/complexity of roof etc. In my experience, with the exception of the water heater, most of the listed items last well beyond their depreciated/expected life.

Our neighbors boiler is still chugging along at 35+ years - certainly could make a case for replacing it based on efficiency/age but it works fine.

I just bought my house this past February and my boiler must be at least 30 years old. Works just fine as well.

[BostonMike7]

I'd have an inspection done for the termites/carpenter ants. That would be make or break depending on what is found. Some of the damage could be superficial, or it could be in the major load-bearing beams. When I used to be an electrician, I got to crawl around in a lot of dirty dark crevices and used to always see signs of wood-destroying insects... past damage or current. Home-owner usually never had a clue. Often times it was just some studs in one wall and could easily be fixed. (although requiring the wall and studs to be demoed and rebuilt)

As for boilers, the three boilers in my grandparents Somerville triple decker are Coal-fired boilers converted to oil. They date back to around 1890's. Still work beautifully (although horribly inefficient).

[Amanda333]

It all depends on your local real estate market: sellers market or buyers? Cost of house and cost of repairs?

Where I live most houses have had termites at some point (100 year old homes, high water table - most of us have 1 to 3 sump pumps and full french drains). Plenty of homes go for full list price even with main beam damage by termites. Its not that hard to repair (assuming you would hire a licensed contractor).

Near me tear downs sell for over $900k, so $5k to fix a main beam, let's say $10k to repair other damage - its short money if the house is (say) $1.5mm and otherwise what you want. But if the home was, say, $250,000, and the repairs would be $20,000, then that's a different calculus.

Termite damage is actually interesting around here: the first time/younger buyers are scared off by it, so the older or more experienced buyers often get a good deal. I've seen it happen 3 times recently.

I would pay a friend who is a contractor to view the damage with me. HTH!

[in_newengland]

One house I bought back in 2000 had termites but very little damage--they were just in the sill where the garage connected to the house. The sellers had it treated, we had it treated every year, and nothing every happened. When it was time to sell, it sold.

I just helped sell a relative's house that was treated every year for termites. It seems that as long as you keep up the treatment contract, it's not a problem.

Both houses were located in areas with sandy soil and that seems to attract termites, I was told.

[the_axis]

On our recent house hunting adventures we discovered an unexpected dealbreaker: cat urine in an unfinished basement. I always thought that it was just a matter of giving the floors a good clean to get rid of the smell, but we started researching and apparently it's not nearly as simple and often requires replacing the floor (even sealants won't keep that smell in as cat urine will survive just about anything, including the nuclear apocalypse).
The house we looked at with this issue had forced hot air and AC in the basement, so the smell would spread all through the house. It was so bad that we could barely breathe in the basement, and the kicker - the current owners had lived there for 5 years and never owned cats, so "just open some windows and let it air out" was not going to do much.

[such sweet thunder]

Originally Posted by Amanda333

It all depends on your local real estate market: sellers market or buyers? Cost of house and cost of repairs?

This is my experience. In my last housing search completed within the last year nothing was a deal breaker except for foundation/structural problems. The real estate market is so hot right now that I think there something to be said for just getting in the race.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by AdiKaba

I am in the market to buy a house. I received the inspection report which listed the following major findings:

• The A/C system is old and fully depreciated. Anticipate repair/replacement in the near future. The A/C system is at the end of it's life expectancy.

• Heating unit is FULLY DEPRECIATED and is at or beyond it's life expectancy. Upgrades, Repairs or Replacement should be anticipated.

• Water Heater appears to be fully depreciated and is past life expectancy. Replacement should be anticipated.

• The roof is old and shows signs of wear, anticipate repair/replacement in the near future

• Wood destroying insect damage was observed including possible termite, carpenter ants and powder post beetles. YOU MUST HAVE A QUALIFIED PEST INSPECTOR INSPECT COMPLETE PROPERTY INCLUDING EXTERIOR, INTERIOR, ATTIC, GARAGE AND ANY OUT BUILDINGS NOW!

These are all heavy ticket items. I am planning to negotiate but also considering to walk away given the near term major expenses.

Any inputs would be appreciated.

Personally, I don't think any of this is very scary (let's hold the termite issue to the side for a second). All you're telling me is that these elements of the house are old. This would only concern me if you were buying a new house. As long as these systems are still functioning as intended then they're not a problem. As your inspector said, budget for replacement. You may need to replace some of these things tomorrow or you may not need to touch any of them for years. You just never know. In any market, it can be tough to get money for an old system that's functioning properly. However, in a seller's market like this it can be even harder.

The termite issue doesn't scare me because you haven't given me enough info to scare me. How extensive is the infestation? Does any of the wood they've damaged actually need to be replaced? If so, how much will repairs cost? It shouldn't be too hard to get the seller to pay for a year of a termite plan and to get them to pay for repairing any damage especially if it's structural. However, if you're going to run from a house that has or has had termites in it around here then you're going to find yourself running a lot. Like most problems, it's fixable. You just need to realize that if you buy this house you're going to need to maintain a termite plan with an exterminator. So that's an extra maintenance cost.

Originally Posted by mmyk72

If you're looking at an old house, you can't expect the AC, furnace, WH to be new... unless seller had to replace them due to recent failure. Just because they are fully deprecated doesnt mean they won't run for another 5+ yrs. With limited choices on the market, you may not get much 'discount' from the asking price just because the systems are old but still functional, assuming there are other prime features about the house like location, size, recent updates, etc.

Well put. People don't go through the house and update everything just to sell it. That wouldn't make any sense financially. If you're buying a "used" house expect to get "used" components.

Originally Posted by sal1181

The termites are a major problem that would be a deal breaker for me. Everything else though AC, Heating system and roof are things you should have noticed before submitting an offer. The property is most likely priced to reflect that or at least I hope it was.

I don't know how you can say this is a major problem without more information.

Originally Posted by sal1181

I just bought my house this past February and my boiler must be at least 30 years old. Works just fine as well.

Same here. When I bought my house the boiler was about 30 years old. I've since replaced it. However, I didn't do it because it failed. I got a lot of incentives to do it and the extra efficiency of the new unit motivated me to do it since I was having some HVAC work done in the house anyway.

Originally Posted by Amanda333

It all depends on your local real estate market: sellers market or buyers? Cost of house and cost of repairs?

This is a very important consideration! You have to ask yourself . . . if I pass on this house what are the odds that I'll find something in better condition and how long will I have to wait to find it? In today's market those answers could easily be "low odds" and "a long time."

Originally Posted by the_axis

On our recent house hunting adventures we discovered an unexpected dealbreaker: cat urine in an unfinished basement. I always thought that it was just a matter of giving the floors a good clean to get rid of the smell, but we started researching and apparently it's not nearly as simple and often requires replacing the floor (even sealants won't keep that smell in as cat urine will survive just about anything, including the nuclear apocalypse).
The house we looked at with this issue had forced hot air and AC in the basement, so the smell would spread all through the house. It was so bad that we could barely breathe in the basement, and the kicker - the current owners had lived there for 5 years and never owned cats, so "just open some windows and let it air out" was not going to do much.

Cats peeing in a basement can be a definite issue. Concrete is very porous and the urine soaks in.

I know a developer who bought a house in a Needham a few years ago that had the same issue. He tried for a while to get the smell out because he just wanted to renovate the house. He couldn't get the smell out so he ended up tearing down the whole thing and building new.