Issues with home inspection for new home?

Question

I am buying a home 12/27/07. Had the home inspection yesterday. There were some issues with the plumbing (toilet, 1st and 2nd bathroom), dishwasher backed up into the sink, garbage disposal was no good, heating system may possibly need to be replaced.

How do I negotiate this? Do I simply ask for new feature or ask them to bring the price down $5/6000.00?

Please advise.

Answer 1

I recommend that you do what is most preferable to you.

In most cases you will do a better job of the repairs if you order them yourself.

I recommend that you have the house appraised by an appraiser who is a member of The Appraisal Institute (MAI designation) as a second opinion on the fair market value of the house.

If the appraisal is less than the amount that you offered (which it very likely will be) I recommend that you give the seller two choices:

Either

1. Agree to reduce the contact to no more than the fair market value as determined by you appraiser (not the lender's appraiser) less the estimated cost of the repairs. or..

2. Agree to cancel the contract and direct the escrow company to return your deposit to you.

If the agents involved in the transaction tell you that you cannot do that, I recommend that you hire an attorney who specializes in real estate law.

Ask your attorney to send letters to all of the agents involved in the transaction instructing them to:

1. Stop trying to give you legal advice since they are not attorneys licensed to practice law and they are now engaging in activity for which they are not licensed.

2. Educate them on their proper roles and proper behavior that is expected of them in this transaction.

You may show my reply to the agents involved in the transaction. I would be interested to see their response.

Congratulations on your new house!!!!

(edit) I see a number of responses that are not correct.

For example the dishwasher backing up into the sink means that the dishwasher was installed without a code required air gap. Essentially the dishwasher installation does not meet code.

With an air gap if the dishwasher backs up the water will come out of the air gap fitting, it will not back up into the sink.

A plumber will be required to repair and correct the installation and install an air gap so that it does meet code.

Without an air gap if the dsiposal is clogged, raw sewage can flow back into your dishwasher. This is obviously a health hazard. You do not want your dishwasher contaminated with raw sewage.

The heater is a more serious problem. If your heater is gas or oil fired it has a device called a heat exchanger. If that heat exchanger is cracked, even in the slightest, that can cause carbon monoxide to enter your house through the heating system.

Carbon Monoxide is a very dangerous poison. Small amounts can kill you.

When the inspector said the heating system may need to be replaced that usually means that the inspector has doubts about the integrity of the heat exchanger. Small cracks are not always visible to the inspector. If the inspector suspects that the heat exchanger may be cracked that means the heat exchanger is no longer safe.

Usually it is so expensive to replace the heat exchanger, it is more cost effective to replace the entire system.

Merely because the heater still works does not mean that it is safe. If your inspector said the heatiing systme may need to be replaced, that means that the heating sustem MUST BE REPLACED.

Do not rely on a home warranty company to replace the heater after you move in. Most homw warranty companies are worthless.

Home warranties are more of a marketing gimmick for real estate agent rather than protection for you.

Since the inspector has doubts about that heating system I would have it replaced before you move into the house because of the hazard of carbon monoxide from a cracked heat exchanger.

If the seller does not meet your requirements for repairs or reduction in price, I recommend that you cancel your contract and direct the seller to order the escrow company to return your deposit.

In the event that you cancel the contract and the seller refuses to order the title company to return your deposit I recommend that you first have your attorney send the seller a letter outlining the seller's duty to order the escrow company to return your deposit.

If the seller still refuses to order the escrow company to return your deposit, then I recommend that you direct your attorney to take legal action against the seller and all of the agents involved with the transaction for the return of your deposit.

Also direct your attorney to ask for damages against the seller in addition to the deposit to cover your attorney fees and to punish the seller for improperly failing to order the escrow company to return your deposit.

The real estate agent who said you cannot get our of your contract based on the needed repairs is typical of the attitudes that I see among real estate agents.


That is one reason that I use attorneys to educate real estate agents with respect to their duties and legal obligations that they often ignore..

Real estate agents are very poorly trained. All they know is sales and techniques to bluff people.

Real estate agents have no clue what the law really is. They are not licensed to practice law. They do not even have the right to tell you what they think the law is.

You have the right to disapprove those reports and cancel your contract. The seller has the right to make the reapairs, or lower his price to persuade you to stay in contract.

If the agents involved did not provide you with the proper language in your contract to do that, then your agents were negligent in teir representation of you and you need to take legal action aganst your agents to recover your damages for their negligence.

What I see here is precisely the reason that I only hire an attorney who specializes in real estate law to represent me.

Real estate agents are not competent to represent your interests.

I have been doing this for forty years. I have canceled a number of real estate contracts over issues like this. I have always been very aggressive with the seller and the sellers agent about having my deposit returned. I have always managed to get my deposit back when I have canceled a contract over issues such as this. In some cases it did require some effort on the part of my attorney to educate the seller and the agents involved.

If any of the parties, the seller or the seller's agents give you any trouble over this I recommend that you show them my response to your question.

Then I recommend that you hire an attorney who specializes in real estate law and show him all of the responses here and get his reaction to some of the replies, and ask him to start educating the seller and the sellers agents about what their duties and responsibilities really are.

Also, a hint, I have never met a real estate agent. REALTOR or seller who knew how to write an enforceable contract.

If the seller and the agents give you any trouble, I have never met an attorney who specializes in real estate law who could not break a contract written by a real estate agent, REALTOR or seller, because they do not know how to write enforceable contracts to begin with.

Answer 2

What is in your contract?

Does your contract have a home inspection contingency? If so, what was the dollar amount of repairs that you stated in the contract that would allow you to walk away from the transaction?

Home inspection contingencies are NOT blanket "fix it all or I'll walk" agreements. People very often make that mistake.

Dishwasher backing up into the sink: That just means the drain needs to be cleared out.

Toilet: To replace an entire toilet, won't cost more than $150 per toilet.

Garbage Disposal: $50 to 100

Heating system: If it's WORKING, then you don't have grounds to get out of the contract based on that....the standard is "performing the function for which it is intended". Just because it's old, doesn't mean you can assume it will tear up tomorrow...if you are worried about that, then buy a home warranty.

So far I've calculated about $500-600 worth of repairs.

That will NOT get you a $5-6K negotiation, and a sharp Realtor will know you can't get out of a contract based on that...they will have the right to repair any petty stuff, and all of that is petty stuff.

Answer 3

I don’t know your state’s laws, but *fingers crossed* hopefully you read your contract so you know your rights in this situation. If you aren’t sure of your rights, hire a real estate attorney to explain to you how this process works in your state. Chances are you need to submit your request for repairs or concessions to the seller in writing within a specified period. They can agree to your request, counter your request, or reject your request. The time limits on this process and how it affects the contract can get very tricky so I highly encourage you to seek professional representation.

For your own benefit, next time you buy a home (or if this deal falls apart), hire a buyer’s agent. The seller usually pays their commission and then you have an expert available to help you deal with such issues. This is not the kind of issue you want to face alone.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I wouldn't ask for the price to be brought down , but I would ask for them to have the items fixed before you close. We had this issue on a home that we bid on. Then you know that the items are fixed and in working order. If they just knock off $5000 then what if there is more to the problem and it costs you much more. You dont' want to get in over your head. Good luck!!

Answer 5

Hopefully your offer to purchase contained a contingency for inspection purposes. Assuming it does, you can negotiate either way. You can ask for a reduction in price to cover the repairs, or you can ask that the seller do the repairs prior to closing. Be aware, however, that the seller has the right to refuse to do either, with the result being that you can walk away from your offer and start looking again.

Answer 6

I would ask for them to get it all taken care of , so that you don't need the hassle about finding a new heater when you move in. But then on the other side it might be better if you decide what will be bought....

Answer 7

confident, through fact whilst the appraisal is achieved they use the main modern sales on residences on your community as a assessment. If there are distinctive financial enterprise owned residences, the value of the community will decline. and additionally through fact there are such a number of of foreclosure, the financial enterprise would see your community as a severe possibility very own loan area. additionally, in simple terms usually residing house fees have fallen everywhere.