Pre-contract inspection revealed several issues- what would you do?
We had a pre-contract inspection done. The inspector identified and line-itemed $87k of issues that need to be fixed, stating some as critical and others as potential. (Heimer Inspectors). The biggest ticket items seem to be: – old plumbing system- needs update – old sewer system- needs update – needs new roof – stair risers…
We had a pre-contract inspection done. The inspector identified and line-itemed $87k of issues that need to be fixed, stating some as critical and others as potential. (Heimer Inspectors). The biggest ticket items seem to be:
– old plumbing system- needs update
– old sewer system- needs update
– needs new roof
– stair risers all uneven so we need new stairs
– evidence of leaks in basement which need to be addressed
How does a buyer typically address this with the seller? This is an old home, like almost all homes in Brooklyn- so are these problems customary?
Also, it seems that all old homes would have old sewer and water pipes- does the owner just take the risk that they are not living there when they finally break? Or do most owners try to replace them? And when buyers buy homes that have not been updated as such, do most negotiate this into the price?
Any advice would be appreciated. I’m particularly curious as to what other people do, as some of these items seem to be ones that would surface on any pre-contract inspection of an older home.
No worries OP…on to the next potential purchase. We all learn by doing so no big loss in the long run. Good luck!
Sometimes you walk away and the seller says bye bye.
End of story!
There’s no back-up offer, 5:20. The seller is just a tough negotiator. And it worked. He won. You can sign the contract as you say, OR you could say yourself “Fine, good luck, deal’s off. Let us know if you change your mind”.
Anybody who has had to negotiate as part of their profession (lawyers, agents, etc) know that the one who wins is the one who threatens to walk away and means it.
The seller might be offended at taking $10,000 off the price but if the house sits on the market another month or two he’d be lowering the price another $10K anyway. Do what makes you feel comfortable though.
Dan- OP here. Heimer was fine. Seemed to be relatively thorough (but I have no point of comparison really). The report was 80+ pages long and pretty alarmist, but I did follow up with a question to the actual inspector and he explained things more thoroughly (on a particular point). They charged us $855 for a 3 story plus underground cellar.
Thanks to everyone for the comments. As it turns out, we did ask for $10k in what I thought was a very nicely worded email (as in, kindly worded) and the seller’s response was “the deal is dead”. We have no idea whether he was just looking for an excuse to get out, or what. The agent said he took offense to it b/c of the amount of work he had already done.
So… all things considered, I’m pretty regretful that we asked for anything. And I guess I’m a bit upset at how alarmist that inspection report was, all things considered. If you can read those reports with a strong grain of salt, I would recommend it. WE are first time homebuyers and pretty shocked that we are potentially losing the place over a $10k ASK (we didn’t even demand, just asked, nicely, and explained how we were going to eat a bunch of the costs ourselves, yadda yadda).
Anyway, we have the contract so we are signing it tomorrow and hoping he reconsiders once he has a signed contract in hand. But clearly we might lose the place over something very trivial.
I tell this story in the hopes that it might help another couple wondering what to do with the inspection report. Our situation doesn’t apply all the time of course, but I guess we are living proof that it really is a gamble. (Incidentally, I do not AT ALL understand how a seller can be soooo emotional that just a request for $10k kills a deal. I suspect there was a backup offer that was more attractive anyway).
I’m thinking about using Heimer Inspectors. Can you tell me what your experience was using them…good/bad/indifferent? Also if you are comfortable sharing what was the cost for the inspection?
I’m looking at several properties in Williamsburg/Greenpoint and really need an excellent inspector.
Thanks in advance!
Dan
SO, the seller did NOT claim to have done a “gut rehab.”
If that is correct, the issues the OP raises are, more or less, common to most old houses and I, for one, have wasted my time writing about “red flags” that seem not to exist.
No hard feelings towards the OP–buying a house is a nerve wracking process, and having doubts is to be expected.
OP here – maybe I used the word “gut” too loosely. It has been been renovated and updated- probably primarily cosmetically. The electrical has been updated but beyond that with the mechanicals, it doesn’t seem like much has been updated. We are indeed worried about settlement issues on the top floor b/c it has a slant (as in, are they ongoing or are they just settled now at a slant). But we did get this place at a discount and we were told by our lawyer that there is an “all cash offer” waiting in the wings. Now, I don’t know whether we can trust this but our lawyer said he was pretty sure there were. Of course for how much we don’t know. Anyway, I think we have decided to ask for $10k, to address the roof and basement. We will have to take our chances on the plumbing and sewer, in the knowledge that we will likely have to update them at some point.
Sounds like a small time developer renovation to me. “Gut rehab”…yeah right!
11:41,
That is exactly the problem. I don’t think having the problems the OP pointed out is especially unusual in old houses, but the seller’s claim to have done a gut rehabilitation, while leaving the old mechanicals, raises all kinds of red flags.