Please Define Due Diligence Process (disclosing, square footage, foreclosures, negotiating)

[Crashj007]

Originally Posted by luckeeesmom

<>Some items like water heaters (especially when upstairs) are lower cost and replaced more on a preventative basis before they fail because depending on where they are located they can fail and flood the house. <>

When my water heater in the garage failed recently I discovered that many homes have the water heater upstairs or even in the attic and access can be impossible. When the house was built the stairs or hatch was setup for the size of the appliance back then. Due to federal standards water heaters are much bigger now because the insulation is thicker. This may require signifigant structural work to replace the unit!
"yikes!"

[SWFL_Native]

So the inspection took 6.5 hours today. To be honest my brain is drained. No real structural safety or environment issues.

There are a ton of cosmetic issues that will add up. Things like a broken master shower handle that broke off and broke multiple tiles. Vanity cabinets that don't close properly all of the fire alarms need to be replaced. Outside trex decks but the supporting wood is untreated and starting to rot. The decks all have pvc fencing that is extremely wobbly and could be a safety hazard for our you children.

We need to have a windows guy come out as several of the windows had tracks that were warped. We spent a ton of opening and closing windows. We also need to have someone come give an estimate on the garage door as it was backed into and the opener engine might be burned. Well need to get an hvac person to assess the heating and cooling but the roof is good.

The entire basement needs to be gutted. My wife is ready to bail based upon all the cosmetic issues but I'm still confident. Hope to get a contractor to walk through to give us an estimate. All three bathrooms need significant work so we'll see.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

So the inspection took 6.5 hours today. To be honest my brain is drained. No real structural safety or environment issues.

There are a ton of cosmetic issues that will add up. Things like a broken master shower handle that broke off and broke multiple tiles. Vanity cabinets that don't close properly all of the fire alarms need to be replaced. Outside trex decks but the supporting wood is untreated and starting to rot. The decks all have pvc fencing that is extremely wobbly and could be a safety hazard for our you children.

We need to have a windows guy come out as several of the windows had tracks that were warped. We spent a ton of opening and closing windows. We also need to have someone come give an estimate on the garage door as it was backed into and the opener engine might be burned. Well need to get an hvac person to assess the heating and cooling but the roof is good.

The entire basement needs to be gutted. My wife is ready to bail based upon all the cosmetic issues but I'm still confident. Hope to get a contractor to walk through to give us an estimate. All three bathrooms need significant work so we'll see.

6 and half hours for an inspection? How big is this house? That's crazy long unless this is a HUGE house.

Remember an inspectors job to find every little thing that is wrong. The sellers may not give you anything back because of these issues. You could easily see that tiles are broken and a garage door was damaged when you made your offer.

Why does the basement need to be gutted? Remember, you're not buying a brand new house. You're buying a used house. EVERY single house will have issues! I built a house and a week after we closed, the central air DIED in SC in April. It was in the 80's in our house. The builder had it repaired the next day under our warranty. Even that house had several issues that came up during the inspection. Most were silly little things like someone didn't screw on a light switch plate tight to the wall.

[SWFL_Native]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

6 and half hours for an inspection? How big is this house? That's crazy long unless this is a HUGE house.

Remember an inspectors job to find every little thing that is wrong. The sellers may not give you anything back because of these issues. You could easily see that tiles are broken and a garage door was damaged when you made your offer.

Why does the basement need to be gutted? Remember, you're not buying a brand new house. You're buying a used house. EVERY single house will have issues! I built a house and a week after we closed, the central air DIED in SC in April. It was in the 80's in our house. The builder had it repaired the next day under our warranty. Even that house had several issues that came up during the inspection. Most were silly little things like someone didn't screw on a light switch plate tight to the wall.

I don't have the full inspection report and the 100s of issues are starting to blend together.

-All fire alarms need to be replaced
-two of sinks in the bathrooms are not attached to the cabinets can pick them up
-windows will open in some cases but almost impossible to close in others due to warping
-partial missing base board in three bedrooms remaining have cracks or broken
-four bedrooms closets have damage to the built in railing shelf systems in the closets
- missing about four spindles in the staircase
- outdoor some rock surface areas to home missing mortar
- front porch 2x4 supports slit with some cheap stop gap to keep them from falling. Felt stable but could be future support issues
- all rain gutters need to be extended away from house. Potential gradient issues on water draining sloping back into drive way and possibly into garage causing cracks.
- all decks (5 in total) have loose to wobbly pvc support railing that could be a safety issue for children.
- trex deck wood support untreated starting to show rot.
- soil in rear cement pad washing away creating stress cracks
-support beam for a deck off the master three stories above ground is loose and can be shaken by hand (it wobbles). Likely deck support also tied into joist so unclear if a structural issue.
-two rooms up tip and toe in the basement there are no framing around door or closet. Basically in basement did min requirement to throw up a closet to call it a bedroom.
-front steps staring to separate from house foundation due to water draining and erosion of soil underneath.
-garage door not working
-basement fireplace not functional, inspector could not even locate is a gaeline exists
-open hole in guest bedroom falling to laundry room. They call it a laundry Shute but a safety hazard for young children.
-soffit damage in front and rear of house. No noticeable water leaks or mold from the attic.
- master bathroom doors will not close
- guest bedrooms door will not close, needs to be sanded down to fit opening
- several bathroom and closet cabinet doors will not close or are loose (current hole stripped)
- spiral staircase that adjoins second level deck is wobbly when walking down and the area where it's connected into trex causes clear flex in the boards.

Probably 100 or so more issues just like this to varying degrees. They said it would take until the weekend or Monday to get the full report. Yes the house is huge and the basement does need to be gutted but that will likely have to wait until the other items are repaired. Some of these may sound like small issues but in aggregation it adds up.

[luckeeesmom]

Well now you have your list (or soon will have it!) What are your ultimate plans for the house? Are there things that you planned to update right at the beginning or were you planning to move in and live as-is for a while? Are you handy and able to do work yourself or will you be hiring contractors for any updates you have planned?

[Bungalove]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

I don't have the full inspection report and the 100s of issues are starting to blend together.

-All fire alarms need to be replaced
-two of sinks in the bathrooms are not attached to the cabinets can pick them up
-windows will open in some cases but almost impossible to close in others due to warping
-partial missing base board in three bedrooms remaining have cracks or broken
-four bedrooms closets have damage to the built in railing shelf systems in the closets
- missing about four spindles in the staircase
- outdoor some rock surface areas to home missing mortar
- front porch 2x4 supports slit with some cheap stop gap to keep them from falling. Felt stable but could be future support issues
- all rain gutters need to be extended away from house. Potential gradient issues on water draining sloping back into drive way and possibly into garage causing cracks.
- all decks (5 in total) have loose to wobbly pvc support railing that could be a safety issue for children.
- trex deck wood support untreated starting to show rot.
- soil in rear cement pad washing away creating stress cracks
-support beam for a deck off the master three stories above ground is loose and can be shaken by hand (it wobbles). Likely deck support also tied into joist so unclear if a structural issue.
-two rooms up tip and toe in the basement there are no framing around door or closet. Basically in basement did min requirement to throw up a closet to call it a bedroom.
-front steps staring to separate from house foundation due to water draining and erosion of soil underneath.
-garage door not working
-basement fireplace not functional, inspector could not even locate is a gaeline exists
-open hole in guest bedroom falling to laundry room. They call it a laundry Shute but a safety hazard for young children.
-soffit damage in front and rear of house. No noticeable water leaks or mold from the attic.
- master bathroom doors will not close
- guest bedrooms door will not close, needs to be sanded down to fit opening
- several bathroom and closet cabinet doors will not close or are loose (current hole stripped)
- spiral staircase that adjoins second level deck is wobbly when walking down and the area where it's connected into trex causes clear flex in the boards.

Probably 100 or so more issues just like this to varying degrees. They said it would take until the weekend or Monday to get the full report. Yes the house is huge and the basement does need to be gutted but that will likely have to wait until the other items are repaired. Some of these may sound like small issues but in aggregation it adds up.

Honestly, 90% of those items should have been noticed by you if you did a thorough job of looking at the house and checking things out for yourself before you made the offer. It's not enough to go through and just look at the paint job; you have to open closets and cabinets and test things out for yourself.

[SWFL_Native]

Originally Posted by Bungalove

Honestly, 90% of those items should have been noticed by you if you did a thorough job of looking at the house and checking things out for yourself before you made the offer. It's not enough to go through and just look at the paint job; you have to open closets and cabinets and test things out for yourself.

That may be your perspective but in a 30 min tour of a house that is 5k sqft in a day where you're touring 7 houses it's nearly impossible to gather this amount of detail. In our market people are making offers without even seeing a house. So us making an offer after 1 visit and doing comp comparison is acceptable due pre-contract research.

People are using due diligence as a means of primary research. On top of that we are first time home buyers and asked out realtor several times during the walk through what are we missing.

So maybe your expectation is that we should have seen it but we didn't and neither did he.

[cully]

By fire alarms, do you mean the smoke detectors you can buy at a chain hardware store, 3 for a certain price, and put them up yourself easily? Or is this house's hardwired?

The warping, baseboard issues, swollen doors makes the house sound like it has been closed up in the heat for quite some time.

Things like damaged shelves, missing stair spindles sound like some crazy partying. Maybe add to that the garage door issue.

Mortar issues, cracks and foundation issues sound like deferred maintenance issues.

And a couple of things indicating someone desperately trying to fancy it up a little for resale with the start of a basement bedroom and start of a basement fireplace.

Don't want to page back or I'll lose this...you may have already addressed is this house a long abandoned foreclosure?

Have you checked with the neighbors for their stories about the place? No meth hopefully.

If you can get your wallet,mind and time around the house it could be great. Lots of little things. Hey, have you had a structural engineer check out the foundation and give estimates for foundation for all ...porches, etc. That would be a telling thing for me.

Also, you need to consider these things if you are getting financing and then would have a lender's inspection of the condition they want to back.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

That may be your perspective but in a 30 min tour of a house that is 5k sqft in a day where you're touring 7 houses it's nearly impossible to gather this amount of detail. In our market people are making offers without even seeing a house. So us making an offer after 1 visit and doing comp comparison is acceptable due pre-contract research.

People are using due diligence as a means of primary research. On top of that we are first time home buyers and asked out realtor several times during the walk through what are we missing.

So maybe your expectation is that we should have seen it but we didn't and neither did he.

No one said you could only spend 30 minutes looking at a house! You can view for 2 hours if you want! You could also have multiple viewings which is quite common.

Every house I've ever put an offer on, I spent a minimum of 1 hour the FIRST time I visited. It's pretty normal for me to spend over 2 hours in a house my first viewing if I'm very interested. I go through the house with my realtor first. Then I go through it on my own. I take photos and measurements. I open everything up and close it. I have a notebook that I write notes in.

Your realtor's job isn't to tell you what you're missing. They don't know what you're missing. The first house I bought, I spent 3 HOURS in it and wrote my contract in their driveway. I went back a few days later for 2 more hours. Then I was there for the inspection which was 2 hours. That was my first house. Yup, I spent a lot of time, but it was on me to make that time and check everything out before signing my name on a legally binding contract.

[Bungalove]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

No one said you could only spend 30 minutes looking at a house! You can view for 2 hours if you want! You could also have multiple viewings which is quite common.

Every house I've ever put an offer on, I spent a minimum of 1 hour the FIRST time I visited. It's pretty normal for me to spend over 2 hours in a house my first viewing if I'm very interested. I go through the house with my realtor first. Then I go through it on my own. I take photos and measurements. I open everything up and close it. I have a notebook that I write notes in.

Your realtor's job isn't to tell you what you're missing. They don't know what you're missing. The first house I bought, I spent 3 HOURS in it and wrote my contract in their driveway. I went back a few days later for 2 more hours. Then I was there for the inspection which was 2 hours. That was my first house. Yup, I spent a lot of time, but it was on me to make that time and check everything out before signing my name on a legally binding contract.

This is so true. OP, it's your choice to buy a home in what must be. a hot market and a time crunch for you; however, it's also your responsibility to take in as much detailed information as possible on each house tour. Taking cell phone photos is extremely helpful when touring multiple houses in a short period of time, because houses start to look similar after awhile unless they are all custom builds. TBH, I would imagine that some houses would pretty much lose their appeal on first look, therefore you'd spend less time touring them. That would free up more time to look at those that appealed to you more as soon as you saw them, unless you are just looking at generic cookie-cutter houses in a standard builder's development.