Guys, I have no guidance right now . I'm in the act of purchasing a home and I'm at the inspection stage. The home is well taken care. The plumbing is in excellent condition, it has 3-zoned oil heat, new remodeled kitchen, all hardwood floors on the 1st level, in ground pool, 4 bathrooms, fenced yard, close to shopping. It's great for the most part and my wife loves it already however there are some defects: The major problem is the roof is leaking near the chimney. The inspector stated the roof might need to be replaced soon as one side of the roof is worn althought it's only 13 years old and the norm is 20 years... I KNOW the seller won't replace the whole roof but I won't sign the deal unless the roof is at least fixed. But should I just settle for fixed vs replaced ? I don't want to blow the deal. Other problems include the deck which is very large and lovely. However, it should be reinforced for safety reasons. It's been nailed to the house verses bolted also it's not secured down to the cement footings and could pose potential safety hazard if there are a lot of people on it (which won't happen much anyway). There are minor things that need to be done (electircal stuff, hand railings to be installed, etc...) but I wouldn't mine taking on those responsibilities but I'm not sure what I should normally expect when deciding who pays for what and not blowing the whole deal. I don't know what to do at this point and I don't want to piss the seller off too much as they are going pay 3.5% of my closing cost. However, I do not want to walk into MAJOR problems with a house I'm about to sign my life away on either. Where do you draw the line ? Who should fix what etc.... I don't even know who to trust! I don't trust my buyers agent because we all know they just want to close the deal asap so they can get paid so I feel the agent might be biased. I wish I had someone I could confide in but I'm kinda on my own as eeryone's else interest is in closing this deal. Cnetter's please help : ( I'm a first time homebuyer and don't know SMACK. I'd hate to miss out on what could be a great deal and house but also I'd hate to walk into a CASH Garbage disposal.
If its possible, contact a local contractor and have a estimate done on how much the work will cost. At least then you will have a number to bargain with.
I agree. Get an estimate, know where you stand. What kind of mortgage are you getting? If it's an FHA, they may make the seller fix most of the things before they will approve the loan. We even had to paint the concrete around the base of our house!! Once you know how much it will cost, you can negotiate. Maybe you'll get it fixed but they reduce the sale price by a commensurate amount. It also depends on the market where you are. Here, it's a seller's market. Many homes sell the first day they go on the market, often for MORE than the asking price. If that's the case, the seller has no incentive to do anything--they can cancel the deal and go on to the next offer, which will probably be better. But if you're in an area where houses aren't selling well, they will be more willing to negotiate to get the property sold. Good luck!!
Check the Town building permits for the permits that were pulled for the re-roofing 13 years ago, and the porch construction. If the work was not done by a licensed qualified contractor, there may be MORE problems later on. Get a qualified licensed contractor to go over everything completely, if there are obvious problems NOW, there may be hidden problems later. Double check for any recent work, like the pool, to make sure it wasn't done by unqualified or "do-it-yourself" contractors.Especially check the wiring to the heating systems and pool pumps, double check the insulation around the fireplace flue, there may be a GOOD reason the roof is deteriorating there FIRST.
Of the things you list, the roof is the most notable deal breaker. It is very likely that the roof was done cheap. Most roofers have warranty to cover their work. There is no good way to be comfortable with the deal other than walking away. You can ask them to fix the roof. The problem is minor. You can hire a general contractor and have them walk through the house again with the inspector report and tell you what they think about the reported problem. Offer to pay cash, like $100 for professional opinion on the list of work to be done. Why the roof is aging fast is an important question. But overal, the problems seem minor.
Food for Thought - Inspectors tend to bend over backwards when they list defects. That is simply because they are protecting themselves from lawsuits. I agree you should get the roof fixed. Now - I don't know about other states, but in TX we have a Disclosure law. Now that the homeowners know about the problem, they would have to disclose it to any other buyers. So, you can use this as a negotiation tool. Basically, if they don't fix it, and its a deal breaker, they are going to be in the same boat with another person, however, they would have to disclose it to a potential buyer before they have a chance to fall in love with it. Check Seller Disclosure laws in your state to see if the same or similar is true.
Hi, When we bought our current house, my husband, our real estate agent and my father went along with the inspector for the four+ hours that it took. Our agent then drafted the things she and them felt that needed fixed by the seller. They agreed to them all. But, we had none that were very expensive. This sounds identical to my house! 4 bed/3.5 bath, 1+ acre., pool, three zones, basement, etc. Be sure to have them go over the pool maintenance with you and other appliances or extra's. Even though we had a pool before, every pump seems to have there own minds. Also, before you use the pool tools. check them. Ours were worn out and damaging the pool. Good luck on the house. Michelle
Guys, I need one more opinion. I've narrowed it down to just negotiating the roof repair with the seller. However, the seller is already putting 3.5% towards closing cost which is about $7,000. Should I just have him fix the roof leak, or play "hard" and tell him to replace the whole roof. According to the inspector, the roof will need to be replaced soon as it is worn/wearing out. He tells me roof jobs are about $5000 (which is not to unbearable for me). If you guys heard different let me know. Now if I wasn't asking the seller to pay anything toward closing then I would definitely demand the roof be replaced first but now I'm wondering is it going to far to ask for a roof replacement, vs a roof fix taking in consideration that the seller is already paying $7000K toward closing. For what it's worth, current market analysis revealed this home is priced just right or better compared to similar homes which have sold in the area.
I would now get a 2nd opinion from a roofer specifically. Remember a home inspector is somewhat a jack of all trades. The price of roof jobs will vary. Is it a composition roof? How many layers are already on it? Any decking that would need to be replaced? Do you want 15, 20, 30, or 40 yr shingles? I would find out what soon means before pushing one way or the other. Also, talk to a few roofers. Many will tell you you need one right away! Another thought, is to find out what it would cost to get the leak fixed, have them pay that much, and then you spend the balance on a new roof.
In your contract, did you have an agreed upon amount that the seller would have to pay for repairs that came up in the home inspection? For example, in mine, any repairs totaling up to $250 would have to be paid for by the seller. If so, the seller MUST pay at least for this amount of repairs. If the repairs cost more than this amount, you can still ask the seller to pay all or part of them - but if they don't then you can walk away from the contract with no liability (get a repair estimate first). But this is where you want to guage your market, which no one here can help with but your agent should be able to: If it is a slow market (the whole neighborhood sells slowly or this house has been on the market for 6+ months, has already had a contract fallen through, etc...), and you and the seller are "far along" in the contract in terms of the time invested - you may feel "risky enough" to ask the seller to contribute $1000 (20%) toward the roof. Give the seller a copy of the page of the report detailing the roof issues. The above is assuming that the seller is paying closing costs that are truly deducted from the list price and not a higher purchase price that includes his/her closing contribution. Is the fact that the seller is paying part of the closing costs a very good one for you, or is it par for the course in your neighborhood (every seller everywhere does this anyway)? Then I would buy the house if it is really what you want, if it appraises for what you want and you think that your paying for 80% of the roof (later on) is fair. In order to make a deal be good, both parties should walk away thinking they got a good deal for ____ reason. If that reason is taken away from the party, they may not want to follow through. And it is only fair that a mortgage leave both parties feeling that they got something valuable from the transaction. If you paid for 80% of the roof or all of it, in a year, will you feel that the transaction was valuable for you or will you feel taken? Act from that. Btw, what does your AGENT say?
Marci, The only provision in the contract about the seller paying $1000 amount toward the cost of repairs is for the radon system which is installed and in working condition. In fact the radon report is excellent and exceeds EPA standards. I thinkt he reading was 0.6 vs 4.0 which is the EPA warning level. As far as my realtor, I don't take everything he says to heart because face it: he wants to close the deal. Eventhough they are supposed to look out for your interest, I don't trust anyone when money is in it for them. He thinks the seller won't go for a roof replacement due to the seller 3.5% assist on closing. But of course he didn't ask yet. I came to the board for consumer opinions. At least we kind of look out for each other and there is no money at stake for you guys ;p and therefore no biased opinions. Other notes: I initially offered the seller his full asking price on the condition he paid 3.5% toward closing which my borker thought that was a good deal. He stated most sellers expect maybe to get 5% less than their asking price. So at least you guys know where things started from a deal standpoint. This will give you guys more info to judge how this roof issue should be negotiated. Thanks
Regarding roof. I would suggest that you call a roofer. Have someone recommend a roofer. Again find somebody who can give an honest opinion and not interested in making a sale. Note that roofing cost ranges depending on who you hire and the type of material used. Your roof is old but it doesn't sound like it needs new roof. I think simple repair would do. PS... Is the half of the roof that is aging fast under or near a tree??? If so, I have been told that trees, leaves can reduce the life span of roofs.
my 2 cents. If he signed the hud statement, than technically, the price of the house should have reflected the roof repair. If any roofer tells you a 20 year roof is going to last 20 years, run! Climate and coverage(trees) plays a large factor. If you like the house, just have him patch it. If you can afford the 5k, then look into metal roofing. Far superior than asphalt or fiber, and will last 50+ years. They make them in shingle or slats, although if you have an ice dam problem, go with the slat.
