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Hello all,
Just had an inspection on a home we put an offer on. For the most part the inspection (as expected) went well, other than a few issues, outlined below (with pictures associated with the numbers):
[1] The lead flashing on the pipe (which is on the roof) appears to be leaking, leading to [2]
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[2] One of the upstairs bedrooms' closet has some water damage on the ceiling
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[3] The chimney also appears to be leaking. Notice the flashing on the chimney covered with the tar. The inspector found some buckets in the attic (which were very dry on the day of inspection), which may suggest some level of leaking in the past
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(3) A basement zone isn't functional (the house has three heating zones, on the day of the inspection the basement one didn't appear to work. The inspector says it could be the thermostat or the valve)
(4) A bathroom vent appears to release in the attic (which apparently causes ice dams and is bad).
We're thinking about asking for $7500 back, but I've been reading on Reddit and really it could cost a lot more (or less). Looking to get some advice. Much appreciated! We're first time home buyers and don't really know how serious these issues are. The house is built in the 60s, and like most Boston area housing is old and has a few issues.
ask your Realtor/Buyer's Agent. that's what they are there for.
the first issues could/should be relatively minor .... or more expensive. they also may indicate the roof is near its useful life, since what seem to be prior repairs are no longer doing their job.
the HVAC issue, should just be repaired by the Seller
Not sure where you get 7500. It could be 1000 for spot repairs on the roof and a few hundred for the heating. OR, as Bo says, the roof could need replacing.
You can ask 7500 if you are in a slow market. You won't get it unless the owner knows the roof is bad. If you are in a tight market you might want to have a roof contractor take a look and give an estimate.
I'm assuming your offer was accepted and you are now in escrow, with the closing subject to the inspection being satisfactory to you? Rather than ask for a $7500 reduction, I would insist on obtaining an estimate from a mutually agreeable licensed contractor even if the closing date must be extended. It is in both parties' interests to know the actual scope of the problems - it's in the sellers' interests even if they end up having to re-list the home. What you are describing could be anything from "no big deal" to "oh, my God!" I will never forget getting an inspection on a pristine-looking home in Connecticut where the inspector "didn't like the look" of a small puddle in the back yard. A few days later, a city health official called me and said it was "the biggest mess I've seen in 25 years." We backed out, and over the next few weeks I essentially watched the home being dismantled as I drove by. You really need to know how bad these problems are. If the seller won't cooperate, I would say the inspection was not satisfactory and move on. (You could end up fighting over the refund of your earnest money, but probably not if the inspection disclosed those problems and the sellers won't cooperate in getting an estimate.)
The seller's came back to us and aren't willing to make any concessions. They originally lowered the price for us by $25K, so I'm not shocked. The question now is what to do. Our agent hasn't been helpful (arguably useless, but that's another discussion) so we're researching on our own.
A few options we're considering:
1) Walk. We'd rather not since we like the house.
2) Call a roofing contractor. We're not 100% sure they'd be able to give us a good estimate on this issue, TBH. Any advice?
3) Do a second inspection. I doubt this would be helpful, but it's something being considered.
4) Go with the house anyway. The idea here is that the issues won't exceed 25K so it's fine.
5) ??? Any of your advice/suggestions would be much appreciated!
ASK the seller about the stained ceiling in the bedroom. Ask them when it happened, and if they have done any repair to remedy it. If they can't say or haven't done anything to it, then have a roofing inspector do a general inspection of the roof. Decide from that, whether you can afford the repairs called for, if any. Could be the stains are for a problem that no longer exists or has been repaired. Ask.
The rest of the items could probably be repaired for not a lot of money by either the same roofer, or a good general contractor, including connecting the vent up through the roof in the attic.
The HVAC could be looked at by a HVAC repair company... if it's cheap, great, if it's expensive, I would consider just using space heaters for that area.
why would you think a roofing contractor would not be able to give you a good estimate? If they roof needs repairs, they'll tell you how much (approximately) those will be. If you need a new roof, they'll give you a quote for that.
Personally, I think you handled this incorrectly by asking for some random amount of money without justification of why you feel the value is less than anticipated when you made your offer.
You should have also gotten a quote from an HVAC contractor for that issue.
And so on - it's not the seller is automatically going to give you every penny you ask for but at least they understand where you are coming from. As it stands, it just seems like you want to get the house for less money than you offered. The fact that they refused means that they are ok with you walking away, so it depends on whether you want the house or not, and if you want to throw away more money on a second inspection is up to you although I have no idea why you think that would be a beneficial option.
we didn't actually ask for $7500, we just listed some of the major issues from our inspection report with the estimated costs for repair, but I'm generally in agreement. we only just had the inspection yesterday so now we're looking at contractors. perhaps it was too early to ask for concessions.
I am not sure which state you are in, but in Minnesota, when you put your request in writing after the inspection, you are reopening your purchase agreement. Which means any backup offers can slip in and knock you out of the game. We advised clients only to ask for MAJOR things subsequent to inspection.
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