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Thread: House inspection reports, what do you do?

  1. #1
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    House inspection reports, what do you do?

    we have put in an accepted bid on a house near my kids in Maine. We got it inspected yesterday and there are some things wrong with it, according to the report. We still have not gotten the septic report or water quality report. This is just the house and garage.

    Garage has knob and tube, improperly installed wiring. House has one panel that is fuses, rest circuit breaker. But report says is may be hard to insure with any fuse panel.
    Report says roof was improperly installed, metal over asphalt shingles directly, no buffer.
    Chimney is in need of repair and inspector says would not close without escrow, it's a safety issue.

    What would be your response to such a report? (Husband and I are already in disagreement over this.)

  2. #2
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Can you ask your home insurance agent? Sometimes those reports are a little more scary than reality.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

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    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    Personally? I'd probably walk away at this point. I'm thinking re doing the electric and the roof and the chimney is going to be big bucks. But you could also get some estimates on how much the repairs will cost, and see if the buyer would accept that amount less.

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    Those other reports are still coming, correct? I expect it would be one thing if you found those ok and another if both of those failed.
    Was your offer contingent?

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    The house we bought had some things in the report that were safety hazards. Our realtor had us submit an offer that would cover the difference of said repairs - or at least the worst ones. They accepted. We have had to spend a lot more than anticipated to correct the others. It really depends on how badly you want that particular house, what the market is like in that area (can you offer less?). Really, how much stress and hassle do you want to deal with??

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Yeah, I'd first get the advice of the realtor to see how things are typically handled, but my gut feel is that you ask for a significant price adjustment to cover electrical and roof. I'm thinking 20k.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    These are such helpful answers, all of them. I find myself running the gamut from offering less to walking. But it is too early to get into it with realtor until we get the other tests, as something horrible about the drinking water would be a total rule out anyway.
    My own personal style is like Pinkytoe says, how much stress can I handle, and the answer is not much, so I tend to walk. My husband's style is like Catherine's, but he already wants to close this deal, and I want to get some second opinions. He wants to close it because he loathes looking for houses, not because he is in love with this one.

  8. #8
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    Float, we really should call an insurance agent out there--our homeowner's does not write there. But I would want them to state they could insure it with the wiring as is, because these folks won't fix it, and I don't have the money to fix it immediately.

    See, now I feel like saying to husband, fine, you come up with the money for all these fixes, I'm not putting a cent into these fixes--but that is a ticket to major marital disharmony, maybe a split.

    But seriously, that is how I feel about it.

  9. #9
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Float On View Post
    Can you ask your home insurance agent? Sometimes those reports are a little more scary than reality.
    Agreed. We used the i spector who in our neighborhood is known as “The Deal Killer” by real estate agents. He can always find something wrong to get ypu out of the deal if you get buyers’ remorse. We plunged ahead, ignoring all issues, but that doesnt mean we arent paying attention. DH is taking ladders to Hermann this week to attack squirrel holes in our house, for instance.


    But all of these issues are certainly concerning if the real estate will be a major part of your assets and if you have to get a mortgage. You are of an age as to have lived in old houses so you know there are always multiple problems with old houses, but these may be beyond your pocketbook.

  10. #10
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Two observations:

    - The presence of knob and tube is not a show-stopper if it can be proven to be not in use. In fact, in some parts of the country, I'm guessing k&t that passes inspection is insurable. There is k&t in the attic of my rental place (inspector had pictures of it) but it was verified to be abandoned (rest of the house has circuit breakers and three-wire outlets). I had no issue getting the place insured.

    - Do not accept as a negotiation the seller paying for the repairs directly. Their incentive is to get the heck out of Dodge with as little damage as possible so they'll choose the lowest bidder or the tradesperson available the soonest. Their goals are not yours; don't negotiate away a proper fix to the problems.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

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