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we just put in an offer on a house that was accepted after a couple of weeks of going back and forth--all while still looking at other homes.
anyhoo, now the seller is saying that if anything comes up on the inspection that may be a pricey repair, he may not be able to pay for it. he's moved to another state and so we're getting all this from his realtor. we do want the house (otherwise we wouldn't have had such a lenghthy negotiation period), but the seller NEEDS the house to sell (he had it on the market last summer, took it off and placed it back on almost 2 months ago; we're the first to put an offer on it as far as i know). this is our first home purchase and we are using our VA benefit for the purchase. wouldn't it be in his best interest to just shut up and color and repair any defects now rather than having the contract fall through? as someone who doesn't do inpections for a living, the house looks great and sound. i guess i'm under the impression that the VA will not guarantee a loan on a house that needs major repairs. can anyone please enlighten me?
we just put in an offer on a house that was accepted after a couple of weeks of going back and forth--all while still looking at other homes.
anyhoo, now the seller is saying that if anything comes up on the inspection that may be a pricey repair, he may not be able to pay for it. he's moved to another state and so we're getting all this from his realtor. we do want the house (otherwise we wouldn't have had such a lenghthy negotiation period), but the seller NEEDS the house to sell (he had it on the market last summer, took it off and placed it back on almost 2 months ago; we're the first to put an offer on it as far as i know). this is our first home purchase and we are using our VA benefit for the purchase. wouldn't it be in his best interest to just shut up and color and repair any defects now rather than having the contract fall through? as someone who doesn't do inpections for a living, the house looks great and sound. i guess i'm under the impression that the VA will not guarantee a loan on a house that needs major repairs. can anyone please enlighten me?
As a seller myself, my feeling is that the price I accepted is as the house is. If the house needs work done to pass VA, it shouldn't be the responsibility of the Seller. If your negotiations went on so long, chances are, the Seller is at their bottom line or maybe doesn't want to become a short sale or maybe even thinks you are getting a great deal. I am tired of Buyers in this market assuming that ALL Sellers NEED desperately to sell and therefore they can be strong armed into doing extras. NOT EVERYONE IS IN FORECLOSURE OR A SHORT SALE! Plus if you are the first offer on the house, the Seller might not feel he has given the house enough time to let it go at such a reduced price and also pay for extras.
It is very hard to find a house you love so if you love the house, don't risk loosing it. If however there turns out to be actual major defects in the house then pass on it. I as a Seller am more inclined to fix what's wrong with the house and add 25% to the cost to repair it for my time spent and then put it on the market for a higher price announcing all the new work done to it.
I realize you as a Buyer is looking for the best deal but you have to also take into account that once the seller sells his house, it's gone and there is no way to change his mind if he then realizes he could have sold it for more money. The Seller is out to get the best price possible in MOST cases.
VA is not FHA. VA guarantees the loan - NOT the condition of the house.
Make certain that your contract gives you the right to hire and pay for your own home inspection as well as an out, if such inspection reveals serious problems.
Sounds like the seller is tapped out and cannot afford to make any repairs.
As an aside, have you/your agent determined if this seller has sufficiecient funds to close? If this seller owes more than you are willing to pay, plus his own closing costs, there will be potential downstream problems.
FrozenAngel, are you familiar with the VA process? if so, then fill me in with some knowledge. otherwise, quit assuming that ALL buyers are out to fleece sellers. yes, we're looking for the best deal (who wouldn't?) , but we play fair, too. as far as concessions go, all we asked for was 1/2 of our closing and a home waranty. i guess inspection findings will dictate how we proceed. and yes, he NEEDS to sell the house as he made that abundantly clear during our negotiations.
MAM, he does have funds to close as far as we understand, however, we were told he didn't want to leave the closing empty handed. we are paying for our own inspection (i wouldn't have it any other way). i agree with your statement about the seller possibly being tapped out, but i can't make any assumptions on his financial state. and we are working with an agent.
i'm going to hope for the best during our inspection because i would like everyone to leave closing satisfied with a successful transaction, albeit a bit bumpy in the beginning.
Last edited by thechappells; 04-30-2009 at 10:14 AM..
thank you MAM. i knew a VA appraisal was just that, but i was under the impression that if things didn't pan out inspection-wise, we couldn't proceed.
if i were a seller, i would make every effort to sell a house that is in good--if not great--condition. i guess i got alarmed when he mentioned he didn't want to pay for repairs. as far as i'm concerned, it's still his house until we get to closing and i would think he'd want to close and move on. and if that's "strong arming", so be it.
Just as there is "want" and there is "need", there is also "failed to appraise" and "not fit for collateral".
If the appraisal will not support the PRICE you agreed to pay, odds are slim it will because of something that can be "repaired", 95%+ of the time is that there are no comps to support the price.
When helping a buyer with VA benefits I do recall that he had a desire to shop some really "slummy" areas for bargains. I had to warn him that even he got the place SUPER CHEAP he would have a hard time getting the lender to agree to financing as the amount of work needed was such that there would NEVER be the potential for the house to be collateral toward its own renovation. I suppose if the owner had such a place, and they agree to MASSIVE amounts of repairs before sale then the lender would be OK, but that would require that the seller literally had a warehouse of lumber, windows, roofing, carpet & paint already paid for, and THAT is not something that I have seen...
SO -- I guess the issue is if you think the defects are SO GRAVE that VA will not accept the house as collateral why do you wanna buy it?
i actually wouldn't buy it if defects were so grave. i guess the seller threw me for a spin stating what he had. i'm just beginning to think he's gettting tapped out financially trying to maintain two households in different states. the area that we are buying is not "slummy" by any means.
I can understand. Anytime you as a buyer of anything get the "I ain't putting a dime into this" it can trigger a sense of worry. If it were a used car you would be well within your right to walk.
Heck even a "pre-owned luxury wrist watch" or something would scare the pants off of me if it had no warranty.
Homes are not like that. The normal "stuff" that needs a bit of attention OFTEN gets "deferred" by owners, much more so when times are hard and the need to sell is greatest. Perversely in a rising market owners might not feel bad about putting in all the finishing touches, becuase with home equity loans it was EASY to do that and STILL make money on the deal!
You gotta realize that sellers in financial distress want OUT in a really BAD way and if you start asking for anything from "their end of the deal" that is already sliced so thin there might not be ANYTHING left over (due to their own woes...) that essentially EVERY house on the market now should be looked at as though it is "AS IS" -- not saying there are NO homes with warranties, and no sellers that would "take care a few items" from an inspection, but RIGHT NOW that is the EXCEPTION!!!
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