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I think this is NOT a detailed enough home inspection report. I much prefer the reports that have LOTS of photographs indicating any "problem areas" that are the kind of documentation that you can quickly take to a professional and get them to say , definatively, 'this is typical for homes this age and you should just budget for normal maintenance cycles' OR 'this shows evidence of damage / improper material / techinque and should addressed a either as a credit to the buyer or by the seller prior to close'.
I have seen LOTS of inspectors that , frankly, are not very helpful. If you are buying a 15 year old house and the water heater has a 10 year manufacturer's warranty that DOES NOT mean the water heater has to be replaced before the new owners move in. If there iare shingles that show NORMAL wear and proper installation I would not expect any competent, honest inscpection to say anything other "roof is in appropriate condition for its age".Period. As soon as the inspector crosses the line and says "will need to be replaced in X years" that is like my vet crossing the line and going from saying "You know Roover is 10 now, she should be on Senior Formula dog chow..." to "Roover is 10, blue tick hounds rarely live past that, you should thing about getting a puppy..."
This is not to say that the whole report is useless. It is good to know that some of the outlets are not properly grounded. Any sane seller should fix that, it is generally easy and cheap to either do one's self and have verified or just get out an electrician. There are other items on the list that fall into that category.
Finally I am going to "wag my finger" at the posters that are suggesting you " run, run,run away..." WITHOUT knowing the PRICE and availability of alternatives. In many parts of the country inventory is TIGHT and if the sellers has ALREADY priced in the fact that,in the main, this house sounds to be TYPICAL for its age, then asking for concessions may be a way to continue to be renter for a loooong time. Folks, homes are not ALWAYS listed for sale in TIP TOP SHAPE and when sellers are satisfied getting a price that reflects there are generally buyers that will be happy to take advantage and make improvements on their own. For some buyers that is an EXCELLENT way to buy UNDER market value, make some MINOR investments of time / money and FLIP for big profits!
This sounds a lot like our SoCal house purchased in 2005. It was built in the 50s. From the report, the house sounds fine. Most of the fixes are small and inexpensive. Many of the items listed in the report are more FYI than a need for repair or replacement.
=============== Easy/Cheap Fixes
=============== Outlets Garage Wiring Water pressure Gutters -- need cleaning Downspouts -- many SoCal homes built in the 50s, 60s and 70s don't have gutters or downspouts. The fact that this house has them, in some ways, makes their condition immaterial. Pool Drain Cover -- go to Leslie's and pick up a new one. It really is that easy. Pool/Spa timer box -- go to OSH and buy a new one, ~$5. Garage (gaps around pipes) Garage door anti-entrapment -- this is typically an easy fix Landscaping Drywall in the Harry Potter cupboard-under-the-stairs Chimney cleaning Laundry -- missing leak pan
=============== FYI Items
=============== Water heater -- it's old, but still working Furnace -- it's old, but still working Ducting -- asbestos ducting materials are typical for this era of house in this region and are not considered dangerous so long as they are intact. A/C -- it's old, but still working Dead Rodents -- be thankful they are dead. Rats are prevalent in SoCal, more so than mice. Also, many parts of SoCal are overrun with pavement (aka sugar) ants. The come in the house when it is very rainy or very hot. Get a good industrial strength spray and spray outside the house once a year and you will be ant free. Roof -- it's old and will likely need replacing soon. Many older homes are sold in this condition. If the roof is not leaking, just know that you should be saving ~$10-$15k to replace it. Pool Surface -- it's fine. It doesn't look pretty, but it's not leaking. Plan to save ~$10k to replaster and update the pool drain to meet code (the pool company will add another pump return at the bottom of the pool to fix the suction problem mentioned). Pool/Spa Enclosure -- These are not required by code (in LA County) unless you are running a daycare out of your home. When we had kids, we installed a removable mesh fence with self-closing gates and it cost ~$1500. Garage (water stains on walls) -- sounds like the water heater sprung a leak at some point. Our brand new (expensive and well regarded) water heater sprung a leak within a month of installation. Some water heaters last longer than others.
=============== Expensive fixes
=============== Pool & Spa heaters -- I'd ask for a credit for these. The heaters themselves shouldn't be more than a couple thousand dollars. I don't know how much installation is, we did that ourselves. Pool GFCI -- I'd ask that this be repaired or credited.
Hire a pool company to come out and inspect the pool and spa. Ask for quotes for the work that needs doing.
Everything else seems typical. I don't think you will find many homes in SoCal that don't need similar work done to them. The toughest part about buying your first (or even second) house is that you expect everything to be new and ready to go. But, if everything is operational, even if it is old, then there is no reason to ask for a credit or replacement. Think of it like buying a used car... Even though you know the car is 10k miles from needing a new transmission, tires, brakes, battery, etc, you don't expect all of that to be replaced or credited when you buy the car.
i wouldn't just run run run.
not to generalise...but some home inspectors do "overstate" certain issues.
if you are buying an old house....you prob should have already budgeted in big items like roof, furnance, water heater, septic etc into your offer price anyway as you are likely to need to replace them quite soon.
go try to get some quotes or ask the listing/buyer's agents if they've already obtained any quotes for the various items that require fixing. most good listing agents would've already done a lot of legwork to check on these stuff.
I would get an electricial out to see what is going on with the wiring and see what must be fixed now for safey and what can be left alone.
I would get an HVAC company to check the AC as well as the furnace.
Get a roofer to check the roof.
so what about the water heater...you get one every 10 years or so anyway. Gutters...so what.
Replaster the pool might be pricey. Get someone out the quote that...I think it can be into the thousands.
The roof and pool might make me reconsider. BUT THIS DEPENDS ON THE PRICE OF THE HOME. If you are getting a super good deal, the home was likely priced given the known condidtion of these items.
if the home is priced similar to all other homes then I would reconsider or try to get credit from the seller for these items, after getting the above pros out to evaluate the home
I worked a couple summers as an electricians helper on big commercial projects in Chicago so I have a pretty accurate view on what really is a "get this fixed now!" thing vs "not the way a pro would do it, but not gonna kill you" situation. Without pictures it is impossible for anyone to really state which side of the danger line is or is not being crossed.
The buyer ALREADY PAID for an inspection and it does not seem that it was detailed enough for me or anyone to really use it to evaluate the home. It is stupid to accept such an inspection and if the inspector was recommended by real estate agent and I was the buyer I would want my agent to split the cost of a real electrician, a real roofer and maybe a real professional pool builder too. that might cost a couple a hundred bucks to get a detailed evaluation / estimate from them. (if the agent knows guys who've done this for other clients it might be less, but the key is the level of detail -- ask for something that would be appropriate to make a potential insurance claim not just "look out the window of my truck ballpark Guesstimate" -- you want a breakout of likely materials and firm quote on labor, I know guys that will give either one, depending on how well they know the person asking and how likely they feel it is that an insurance adjuster will ok repairs...)
If the agent only recommends GOOD inspectors that produce detailed reports with enough photos to accurately determine what needs attention and what is typical for a home of this age (and at this price point) THEN the agent will have happier buyers / smoother transactions.
If the buyer picked this inspector on their own I think they just learned the most valuable lesson about home buying / selling / maintenance -- ONLY go with people that have sterling referals!
Quote:
Originally Posted by sware2cod
I would get an electricial out to see what is going on with the wiring and see what must be fixed now for safey and what can be left alone.
I would get an HVAC company to check the AC as well as the furnace.
Get a roofer to check the roof.
so what about the water heater...you get one every 10 years or so anyway. Gutters...so what.
Replaster the pool might be pricey. Get someone out the quote that...I think it can be into the thousands.
The roof and pool might make me reconsider. BUT THIS DEPENDS ON THE PRICE OF THE HOME. If you are getting a super good deal, the home was likely priced given the known condidtion of these items.
if the home is priced similar to all other homes then I would reconsider or try to get credit from the seller for these items, after getting the above pros out to evaluate the home
I agree with Chet and Cali- we are selling and had an "overzealous, paranoid" home inspector (I know, I've bought and sold 5 homes) on our current home we are selling and he said things that were down right Inaccurate. My blood still boils just thinking about it. Some of these are normal for a home built prior to 1970, especially the wiring. If you think it's a good house, and he has pictures, also, were you there for the inspection? Did he make it seem like it had MAJOR problems??/ I would ask for a combination of the homeowner fixing things, and a credit or reduction in price depending on how much you want the house.
Many a home inspector is called "overzealous, paranoid" because they write a thorough report to try to cover their own liability for being accused of leaving something out, or not reporting a condition.
The electrical items are common for an older house, that may have had older 2 prong outlets (ungrounded), and then someone puts in a 3 prong outlet because they want to plug in modern stuff. Either put back the 2 prong outlets, or have an electrician run a new circuit to where you need grounded outlets.
The reverse polarity is important to correct, but is a very simple process and doesn't cost much at all.
Same with the exposed Romex in the garage. Putting it in conduit doesn't cost that much.
Old water heater is just that - old. Plan for replacement.
The high water pressure is corrected by replacing the pressure reducer valve. Again, a fairly inexpensive repair.
The diminished flow when using multiple fixtures IS a problem. Since the house has copper pipes, then it is probably an older galvanized service line between the meter and the house. This involves digging up the yard and installing a new water service line. This can become costly depending on how far they have to dig, and what's in the way.
The HVAC needs a tune up, and maybe replacement. The return issue may be an easy correction, or may not. The asbestos ducts may or may not be an issue. Hard to tell without a lot more information.
Sounds like it needs a new roof and gutters.
Sounds like the pool needs a fair amount of work.
Garage..stains may be from roof or flashing leaks, or water heater leaks. Without photos or a better description, impossible for me to tell. Fire wall issues are probably easy to correct.
Deferred maintenance and repairs were probably obvious to you as you walked around the house.
While there could be some high costs involved here, there is nothing that would make me want to run away, such as foundation issues, or major structural defects.
It all boils down to a business decision. Does the purchase price reflect the costs of remediation? Is your budget prepared for the costs of remediation? If the house is priced, say, $25,000 below market, and the costs to fix are $22,000, you are still ahead, AND you have a new roof, HVAC, etc. Its a good deal. However, if you don't have the $22,000 to make the repairs, then its a foolish purchase. (I just used arbitrary numbers)
When you buy an older house, you have to assume you are getting some older systems that may need to be replaced in the future. Sometimes that "future" is a month, sometimes its a couple years.
jimyunis:
The inspector is just telling you everything that is wrong. You don't have to fix any of it, and live in it normally. Its up to you. He is just providing you the information.
My blood still boils just thinking about it. Some of these are normal for a home built prior to 1970, especially the wiring
The inspector's job is to point stuff out based on today's code. So if your 1800's house still has spool and wire, the inspector is going to point it out. Same with wiring from the 1970's. What was normal back then, is not normal now, and the inspector will list it. Its up to the buyer if he wants to update it or not and its up to the seller if he wants to offer a credit. It brings the house to its true value, not what you "think" its worth.
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Rats are prevalent in SoCal, more so than mice. Also, many parts of SoCal are overrun with pavement (aka sugar) ants. The come in the house when it is very rainy or very hot. Get a good industrial strength spray and spray outside the house once a year and you will be ant free.
Yes, but...
