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Sorry, for being late in responding. The situation is still unfolding.
We are in PA. Our RE just said that buyer will walk away with good faith money if we don't agree to his terms.
Big ticket items...new driveway, new front porch, new sidewalks on the side of the home...
Ha, f'ing ha.
What is wrong with buyers these days?
Quote:
Originally Posted by christeen
That's how we viewed the home inspection. The house we're buying has a lot of smaller items that need to be fixed, several were safety like wiring. We asked them to fix all but a couple. Several the seller is able to do himself. We tried not to be totally unreasonable (though I don't know if our sellers would think so). The total cost to the sellers will not be huge relative to the price of the house, but we are paying full price for a house that did not appear to have any problems and was not disclosed as having any problems. So we, and our realtor, felt justified asking for almost everything to be fixed. We also are repairing some things ourselves that were not on the report but recommended by the inspector, like adding a coat to the driveway and front walkway to make them less slippery. That's actually an expensive job but we didn't feel we should ask for it since it wasn't on a report and they actually just re-did that area (though why someone would put such a slippery surface in where people would walk, esp in the rain, I don't understand -- I'm afraid of lawsuits as you can guess ).
What is slippery to you might not be slippery to me, or it could go the other way around. As a buyer, I wouldn't ask for a driveway to be coated or something done about a walkway, unless it was say a walkway that parts were coming up and were a tripping hazzard, but then again, those are visual and I would have offered accordingly.
An inspection is someone's opinion on things that 1) need to be done now 2) need to be done eventually or 3) are things you might want to do later, such as new windows. An inspection is not something to negotiate improvements getting done. If someone wants new, do like we did & buy new. When you are buying a used house you have to expect things to come up.
If a buyer asked me for almost everything on a list, I'd probably tell them to pound sand, depending on how good the offer was to begin with. Telling us you paid full price means nothing if the house was priced decent to begin with.
As a seller, I've had things come up that I honestly did not know about, and a few things we did not have to fix nor did they ask but we fixed anyway because I still had to live there for 2 months.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christeen
But keep in mind you'll now have to disclose all these things to the next buyer (assuming one comes along) and possibly fix them anyway. Whenever I see a house come back on the market after it was pending, I assume there was a problem w/ the inspections (unless my agent says it was a financing issue or something), and that would definitely make me think twice before looking at the place.
Sorry such a long response, hth.
Depends on the state they are in and whether a copy of the inspection was given to the seller. The buyer (or person paying for the inspection) owns the report and does not have to share it.
In this market, it wouldn't bother me if a house went back on the market. There are a lot of buyers out there having remorse and looking for any reason to get out of it as well as buyers who watch too much HGTV and expect the seller to update the house because that's what's "in" now. What ever happened to a house that you bought and put your own elbow grease into? People would die if they bought the house my ex & I did 15 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poltracker
Seems like those things would be patently obvious when the buyer viewed the home. He should have made his offer based on what he saw. I can understand safety issues or unseen items, but this sounds like a buyer with unrealistic expectations (having you remodel before he buys it more or less), or someone looking for an excuse to get out. Probably not a bad idea to let him go while you can or call his bluff. Read your contract carefully.
Exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MoonlightCellist
Our frustration is that these cosmetic items were already taken into account and we priced accordingly.
The same style house next door with new siding, windows, garage door and driveway is listed at $189K.
The same style house around the corner is listed at $193K. It is not updated.
We priced at $180K. Lowered to $160K. (Appliances are included unlike the other 2 homes. We also have an above ground pool.)
We agreed to $150K with $9,000 toward closing costs. Making it $141K final price.
But in our opinion he wants repairs made on items that were already "credited" in the sale price of the home.
Our RE said she's been arguing with their RE all day. She feels the buyers are being completely unfair.
Thanks for letting me vent....
The pool, while a selling feature to you, would not be to me. I actually passed a few houses up due to a pool.
Anyway, from what you wrote, they were getting a fabulous deal as long as comps support what you say. If it does, I would have told them safety items only, go buy one of those other houses & enjoy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MoonlightCellist
Buyer's RE called ours. Buyer won't give a response til the FHA appraisal comes in. We still put house back on market.
Don't you love it? I wished we were allowed to see what ours appraised for. Our buyer got a damned good house for $207, so many new things in the last 6 years. They knew they could not touch another house for that price that was as mechanically sound as ours. We've been gone 2 months, I miss the old house.
Buyer's RE called ours. Buyer won't give a response til the FHA appraisal comes in. We still put house back on market.
Excellent plan IMO.
The appraisal on one of my past homes came in well over the list price; or, to put it another way, a big chunk o' change above the accepted offer. (We just wanted to get it sold and move along). Then the buyer tried to get us to perform a couple thousand dollars' worth of extras above that. Puh-leeze. We responded with a polite "no" explaining that we felt we'd already given enough concessions. Our agent said "nice try anyway" The sale went ahead.
Excellent plan IMO.
The appraisal on one of my past homes came in well over the list price; or, to put it another way, a big chunk o' change above the accepted offer. (We just wanted to get it sold and move along). Then the buyer tried to get us to perform a couple thousand dollars' worth of extras above that. Puh-leeze. We responded with a polite "no" explaining that we felt we'd already given enough concessions. Our agent said "nice try anyway" The sale went ahead.
The buyer's agent told us - exulting that all was going well
Wouldn't matter to me either way. I'd already informed my agent we'd done plenty, and as it turns out, I was right
You know, like the Stones say, "You can't always get what you want...."
The house I'm buying appraised at 200k, I'm getting it for 147k. Needs a new roof. Yes, I tried to get the seller to pay for the new roof. They politely informed me that their house was dirt cheap and too bad, no new roof. Hey, didn't hurt to try. But I'm no dummy.....I'm still getting a good deal.
This buyer just wanted SOOOO much. What next, your first born? I'm glad you kicked them to the curb!
You know, like the Stones say, "You can't always get what you want...."
The house I'm buying appraised at 200k, I'm getting it for 147k. Needs a new roof. Yes, I tried to get the seller to pay for the new roof. They politely informed me that their house was dirt cheap and too bad, no new roof. Hey, didn't hurt to try. But I'm no dummy.....I'm still getting a good deal.
This buyer just wanted SOOOO much. What next, your first born? I'm glad you kicked them to the curb!
I'm gonna have that song stuck in my head today. LOL Did you ask for a new roof with the threat to walk away if they said no?
I'm gonna have that song stuck in my head today. LOL Did you ask for a new roof with the threat to walk away if they said no?
In dealing with this property, which is a heck of a deal, I didn't want to put any threats on the table. But I did tell my RE agent that I wouldn't be able to do it unless they paid for some of the roof. That way, she knew I was serious. Of course, I have reserves for the roof, but just wanted to look out for numero uno.
When the seller (actually, bank, it's an REO) came back w/ tuff tooties, take it or leave it, I wasn't going to balk. I mean, I knew what I was getting and I knew even w/ putting a new roof on it, it's still a great deal. I figure, why PO the bank to the point that they'll say, "To heck w/ this girl, let's go with those other offers...."
They had three offers come in right behind mine, but they countered mine before they saw the other 3 offers come in after the weekend, so they legally were obligated to sell me the house if I accepted their counter. Didn't want to tread too hard....but like I said, I tried. No point in pushing people to the brink....reasonable stuff, sure. But to keep going back and forth over every little thing....too much at risk. This house is perfect for me, so I didn't want to drag it out. Your guy sounds like a Class A imbecile and just figured you were desperate enough to do it. Last laugh's on him, I guess.
What is slippery to you might not be slippery to me, or it could go the other way around. As a buyer, I wouldn't ask for a driveway to be coated or something done about a walkway, unless it was say a walkway that parts were coming up and were a tripping hazzard, but then again, those are visual and I would have offered accordingly.
You're right. The inspector pointed it out too, actually, but didn't think it was so serious a hazard as to put it in the report, which is the main reason we didn't ask for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
An inspection is someone's opinion on things that 1) need to be done now 2) need to be done eventually or 3) are things you might want to do later, such as new windows. An inspection is not something to negotiate improvements getting done. If someone wants new, do like we did & buy new. When you are buying a used house you have to expect things to come up.
If a buyer asked me for almost everything on a list, I'd probably tell them to pound sand, depending on how good the offer was to begin with. Telling us you paid full price means nothing if the house was priced decent to begin with.
Our inspector seemed to limit his report to 1 and 2, not things like new windows if there's nothing wrong w/ the current. So we weren't negotiating improvements, but things like wiring problems, leaks, roof & chimney repair (not roof replacement, which is something we know we'll need to do in a few years). Yes, the price was fair, but it was based on the house being in the excellent condition it appeared to be in and as it was marketed. I also think paying full price mattered since it seems most sellers list with the assumption that there will be some negotiating down. If we'd lowballed and gotten the sellers to a really low price then it would be hard for us to ask them do repairs on top of that. If the sellers didn't think our requests were reasonable, I think they would've just said no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
Depends on the state they are in and whether a copy of the inspection was given to the seller. The buyer (or person paying for the inspection) owns the report and does not have to share it.
Good point, I forget these things are driven by local laws.
Last edited by christeen; 07-27-2008 at 04:17 AM..
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).
The sale went ahead.
