Need help - anyone familiar with Wisconsin forms (or similar) (plumber, negotiations)

[ktsweets1]

Here is a brief summary of the inspection report (there IS more stuff):
Major repair & replacement -
Roof - garage, re-roof as soon as possible, correct roof deficiencies to prevent damage to structures & finishes. garage door malfunction.
Flat/low slope roof - asphalt shingles improperly applied, appears to be a low slope roof
Bathroom - damage deterioration of shower walls, window rot
Interior - older/worn windows needing major maintenance
basement/foundation - suggest further evaluation by foundation specialist

Potential Safety hazards -
Concrete porch/stoop - improper rise/run, trip hazard
Wood porch - hazardous wood porch/deck (loose railing, pulling away from property), consult carpenter
Electricial - there are electrical hazards present (limited # of outlets, open ground outlets, miswired outlets, evidence of non professional installation)
Laundry - gas line not capped, plastic dryer venting (fire hazard)
Furnace - there appears to be friable/damaged asbestos like material present, recommend asbestos specialist

And then there was another 2 pages of DEFERRED cost items - EVERYTHING is at or near end of useful life (furnace - even though advertised as NEW, AC, water heaters, etc), missing screen doors, etc. One of the bedroom pictures shows a bowing/sagging ceiling.

Originally, I was worried about lead, but now I just feel like this is probably a lemon, and we don't want it anymore. However, we don't have a buyers agent & my feeling is the listing agent will try to bully us saying these things don't meet the definition of "defect". But, why should I shell out more $$ for specialists (electricians, plumbers, foundation specialist, lead/asbestos testers, etc) just to confirm this home is not in acceptable condition?

[jojow]

Personally, unless this is an incredibly cheap house AND you have the cash to fix all that, I would walk away.

If you really want out, you don't need to "discuss" it with the listing agent at all. Just do whatever is necessary in your state to terminate the contract. If it's just a form you need to send in, just sign it and send it to the listing agent. There won't be anything left to discuss.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by ktsweets1

I'm just wondering if I'm going to get pushback from realtor on walking away from a property after a bad inspection. I feel like he is going to get pushy about what is a "defect" or not. This is brief summary of what was found:

Major repair & replacement -
Roof - garage, re-roof as soon as possible, correct roof deficiencies to prevent damage to structures & finishes. garage door malfunction.
Flat/low slope roof - asphalt shingles improperly applied, appears to be a low slope roof
Bathroom - damage deterioration of shower walls, window rot
Interior - older/worn windows needing major maintenance
basement/foundation - suggest further evaluation by foundation specialist

Potential Safety hazards -
Concrete porch/stoop - improper rise/run, trip hazard
Wood porch - hazardous wood porch/deck (loose railing, pulling away from property), consult carpenter
Electricial - there are electrical hazards present (limited # of outlets, open ground outlets, miswired outlets, evidence of non professional installation)
Laundry - gas line not capped, plastic dryer venting (fire hazard)
Furnace - there appears to be friable/damaged asbestos like material present, recommend asbestos specialist

And then there was another 2 pages of DEFERRED cost items - things at or near the end of their useful life, missing screen doors, etc

I'm just wondering if these issues are "sufficient" to walk away?

well the realtor doesn't have a say in your decision. Remember when the deal is done he gets to go home with his commission check and you get to deal with the repairs.
Electrical as you describe it CAN get expensive,
A re roof is 10-12k depending if its a complete tear off or just reroof over old material.
If YOU feel the house needs a lot of work, you can get a group of trades to meet you at the house and give you bids on their respective trade repair,

But ultimately YOU need to remember that at the end of the day its your wallet that is paying for the whole thing. I've done plenty of remodels and it can get expensive. Whatever bids you get add 10% to all of them. If you know how to work on houses its one thing but if you need a pro to do it all cause you can't/don't know how it will get expensive pretty fast

[ktsweets1]

Yeah, good advice. And, it's not cheap enough to justify all the repairs needed (not even close). I just need to stop stressing.

[rational1]

> you don't need to "discuss" it with the listing agent at all.

You do need to read the contract carefully to find out what is cause for termination AND exactly how you should go about terminating. It may be advisable to get a lawyer for this. Too bad you don't have a buyer's agent.

Roof, foundation issues sound like big red flags, impossible to estimate how much fixing them will cost. With the exception of the furnace asbestos the other safety issues are not that big a deal, although they should be addressed. Unless it's a real bargain this does not sound like a good house.

[BirdieBelle]

It sounds like you're looking at an old, worn-out house.

If the price does not reflect that, and they aren't open to negotiating, walk away.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by ktsweets1

Here is a brief summary of the inspection report (there IS more stuff):
Major repair & replacement -
Roof - garage, re-roof as soon as possible, correct roof deficiencies to prevent damage to structures & finishes. garage door malfunction.
Flat/low slope roof - asphalt shingles improperly applied, appears to be a low slope roof
Bathroom - damage deterioration of shower walls, window rot
Interior - older/worn windows needing major maintenance
basement/foundation - suggest further evaluation by foundation specialist

Potential Safety hazards -
Concrete porch/stoop - improper rise/run, trip hazard
Wood porch - hazardous wood porch/deck (loose railing, pulling away from property), consult carpenter
Electricial - there are electrical hazards present (limited # of outlets, open ground outlets, miswired outlets, evidence of non professional installation)
Laundry - gas line not capped, plastic dryer venting (fire hazard)
Furnace - there appears to be friable/damaged asbestos like material present, recommend asbestos specialist

And then there was another 2 pages of DEFERRED cost items - EVERYTHING is at or near end of useful life (furnace - even though advertised as NEW, AC, water heaters, etc), missing screen doors, etc. One of the bedroom pictures shows a bowing/sagging ceiling.

Originally, I was worried about lead, but now I just feel like this is probably a lemon, and we don't want it anymore. However, we don't have a buyers agent & my feeling is the listing agent will try to bully us saying these things don't meet the definition of "defect". But, why should I shell out more $$ for specialists (electricians, plumbers, foundation specialist, lead/asbestos testers, etc) just to confirm this home is not in acceptable condition?

I'm not a big believer in pushing people to have an agent, but a good buyers' agent with experience in old homes would have easily seen half of this stuff, or more, and given you some good guidance what you were getting into before you wrote the offer.

Yeah, this place sounds beat.

[Electrician4you]

Bring a buddy who is in the construction trades. Or bring a buddy. Sometimes a second set of eyes can find things you will miss and you may walk before opening negotiations due to condition of house

[silibran]

Unless you want a project that will consume your life, walk away. Find your own realtor from now on.

[ktsweets1]

I just can't explain all the bad decisions that keep happening on this (bad) deal. I'm so untrusting of this agent but I don't KNOW what's right or wrong or "normal" for real estate, and keep making mistakes. We went in to the office to submit our notice of defects and somehow ended up signing mutual release of cancellation of contract. only issue? the SELLERS hadn't signed it yet. I told the agent that if it's not signed first thing tomorrow that we are submitting a notice of defects, which he said "sure", but now I don't know if we even CAN? I mean, I think so, since the release isn't effective unless all parties sign (wb-45 if anyone is familiar)...