Inspection issues with owner and relo co. (accept, price, property)

[Sarah.H]

Hi- This is my first time posting, though I've been lurking around for awhile. My husband and I are buying our first home in South Carolina's upstate, and our offer has been accepted on a house that is being sold through a relocation company. As far as we can tell, the ownership hasn't transferred to the relocation company yet, but as part of their involvement, they ordered a slew of inspections in February, and we now have the inspection reports. We do have our own inspection scheduled for Monday, but I'm trying to assess the sellers inspection report before then.

Our realtor has explained, and I've read here, that it is important not to nit-pick concerning seller repairs. My dh and I are not handy, however, and we don't really know what repairs really need to be addressed before closing. Here are the problems that the relocation company's inspection found. We would love to hear any of your thoughts about these items:

Roof- 15 year roof is 14 years old and has hail damage, cracked shingles throughout, flashing missing around chimney. "Roof has reached end of intended design life." This being the most glaring issue found, our realtor has already contacted the seller's realtor concerning it, and he has responded that they had an independent roof inspection performed, and the roof was found to have several years of life left in it. This seems unacceptable to me.

2 Loose toilets.

Coliform test positive (no other detail).

Septic: No inlet T, outlet T should be replaced, system flows in from side of tank (I have not idea why that is an issue).

Garage door opener failed to reverse when encountering an obstacle.

Electric: Missing cover plate for attic insulation box, garage outlet missing cover plate, exposed wire splice at well pump.

One of the upstairs bathroom's fan is venting into the attic.

Well's pressure tank is short cycling.

Pool: needs a new liner. Several areas of heaving/settling in the concrete deck creating a tripping hazard. Inoperable pressure gauge at pool filter.

It may be of note that the house was built in 2000, and was listed for $235,000, while we contracted for $220,000. The sellers purchased the home in 2009 for $230,000 (and also appears to have a 30K HELOC, so we figure that they think they've already given us a good deal and won't want to put any more money into the house.

[cully]

So I wonder if the relo company is purchasing the house? And with this news would get it cheaper?

Relo companies can be tough...even on "their" customer. I don't understand how they listed the home already without their home inspection that would let them know how much they should buy the house.

It may be they are not going to purchase it but just handle it, cover it till closing. Still, you need to look at how the price they listed it for and the price you agreed to compares with others in the neighborhood, particularly with this new info.

Your own home inspector can tell you a lot. Some are so non verbal but I love it when we get a good one who is not scarey and wants to share how things work and how long they have to 'live'.

[Sarah.H]

Cully- I was wondering the same thing. We are dealing directly with the owner still, but are right at the three month mark when many relos take ownership. I don't know what their particular arrangement is.

Re the comps, I think this is difficult property. Very few similar homes have sold in this rural area in the past year, and the home has a few issues that I think may make it undesirable for some people (ie very small bedrooms compared to comps. old laminate in the kitchen compared to other homes in neighborhood).

Luckily, the inspector I have hired for next week is a real talker, but I'm not sure we even want to go through with our inspection if the seller won't consider replacing the roof.

[davebarnes]

1. Roof needs replacing at seller's expense ("hail damage, cracked shingles throughout, flashing missing around chimney"). If you have the CASH and they will lower the price by $amount-required-to-replace, then consider that.

2. You are allowed (and should) to ask for everything to be fixed. Someone ("realtor...important not to nit-pick" is duplicitous and NOT working in your interest.

3. I write these words as someone who sold a house and fixed the items on the list. As a seller you have to expect these issues. You fix them if you want to sell.

[aus1ander]

The two major red flags for me are the positive water culture (coliform test) and the roof.

I assume this house has a well? The coliform test suggests there is E.coli growing in the drinking water supply from the well. You will need to have the well and septic system professionally inspected to determine where this bacterial growth is coming from. Don't accept simply shocking the well--it needs to be inspected.

You probably need a new roof. I would lower your offer to take this into account after you have your own inspection done.

[Silverfall]

In my opinion.

Roof-big deal and needs to be replaced.

2 Loose toilets-not a big deal. Probably just need a new wax ring which isn't hard, even for non-handy people.

Coliform test positive (no other detail)-could be a big deal. While it can be treated with chlorine, you need to know why it was in the system. If the house across the street is a farm, you might have regular contamination issues.

Septic: No inlet T, outlet T should be replaced, system flows in from side of tank (I have not idea why that is an issue).-I've never heard of the system flowing in from the side. It seems that would impact the ability for the whole tank to be used for separation. I'd want more information.

Garage door opener failed to reverse when encountering an obstacle.-Not a big deal. Typically just an adjustment of a screw.

Electric: Missing cover plate for attic insulation box, garage outlet missing cover plate, exposed wire splice at well pump.-Not big deals. You can screw on a cover plate. Exposed splice needs to be capped and put in a box. Electrican can do it here for $100.

One of the upstairs bathroom's fan is venting into the attic.-Big deal out here. This causes moisture to be pulled into the attic which can allow mold to grow.

Well's pressure tank is short cycling.-might just be mineral buildup. The tank needs to be serviced.

Pool: needs a new liner. Several areas of heaving/settling in the concrete deck creating a tripping hazard. Inoperable pressure gauge at pool filter.-I don't know anything about pools. They are rare out here.

[jackmichigan]

The presence of fecal coliform, most likely Escherichia coli or E. coli, indicates that the well water is possibly contaminated from the septic system (could be other sources, too). It's kind of a big deal. The house may need a new well with water pulled from a different depth or a more distant location. I'd say that the roof is a pretty big issue, too. Pool liners aren't cheap, either. Need I say more?

[Suncc49]

Roof, upwards of $5,000.00 that you will have to spend depending on linear sq ft up there

Pool liner - expect $20,000 or so there to repair that, also it is quite premature to be needing so much repair

E coli - not good, need to get well investigated

[Sarah.H]

Thank you so much for all of the replies! It looks like there is a consensus concerning the roof and well, and I will have someone out to investigate the well. Incidentally, our realtor says that the roof is a little complex and will be at least $10,000.

We did know about the pool liner when we went under contract. It's a small pool and I was quoted 3-4K, which we will cover. We will have a pool contractor out to look at the deck, however.

I was able to speak with a sewer service today, and they said that the inlet position is acceptable.

[jghorton]

It seems like you are assuming that you are "getting a good deal" because the property was listed at $235K and they accepted your offer of $220K. But, frankly, the asking price doesn't mean as much as some folks imagine.

In your particular case, it sounds like you could drop another $20-$30K on the roof, septic, well and pool. At $220K, that would make your cost $240K-$250K (if your inspector doesn't find anything else. If your Realtor hasn't already run some comprehensive comps, you need to get that done now, before your inspection, to ensure that you know what you are buying. Their previous advice that you should not 'nit pick', in light of a rather serious list of known deficiencies, sounds more self-serving, than client-focused. (You are using your OWN Realtor on this ... aren't you??).