# Inspection & Re-negoiation



## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

So my inspection is still ongoing - the general inspection revealed 4 areas that needed closer inspection they were:
1) HVAC - 2 HVAC systems 1 is non-functional - the other is limping - HVAC contractor/inspector recommends both be replaced - waiting on written report with pricing.

2) Roof - Still waiting on written report but minor repairs need to be made but roof only has 1 - 2 years left before it will need to be replaced

3) Foundation - RamJack is supposed to come today the rear 2 corners have cracks in the bricks - right rear 1/2 inch the left rear has 1 1/2 inch cracks - need to figure out what's going on and how much the treatment is going to cost. Inspection today.

3) Plumbing - The 3 toilets are early low flush models that are not functioning correctly and there is some weird water pressure issues in the house. Inspection today.

So I'm thinking about all of this right now - later today I'll add more to this thread - kinda in a rush this morning.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2011)

There is usually a provision that says your offer is contingent on the inspection. Does yours have something?


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Yes it does I am still waiting on $$ to repair/replace some of the issues then I have to decide what to do - I will come back here and post again when I have these numbers.


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Looking at the four points you listed, two things come to mind.

The first is that you might have problems counting,:happy2:!

The next thing is, are you prepared to deal with all these issues?

Systemic HVAC, systemic plumbing, and foundation work ( which is, by its very nature, systemic) take time to fix and if it's not done correctly . . .

Also, how old is this house? You might need to upgrade the wiring, as well, and judging by what you've said about the rest, you probably will.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Well the house is only 14 - 15 years old - the life span of a typical HVAC system and the roof has experienced some rougher than average weather - the foundation - well don't really know.

I currently live in a 100+ year old house so this is most defiantly an upgrade as far as pretty much everything goes!


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Okay, at 14-15 years old, the foundation, at least, shouldn't be having any problems.

The HVAC should be okay, but there should only be one of them, if this is a single family house. If this is a single-family house, then why are there two systems? (Naturally, this doesn't apply if this is a duplex.)

The life on materials for roofing is (or should be) good enough that you should have another 5 years left, at least.

Since the problem with the plumbing is the low-flow toilets, that's not a big issue.

With the other problems, though -- I think you need to find out who the builder is, and investigate him with the BBB, if he's still in business, because the foundation _shouldn't_ be having problems, not this soon, and neither should the roof.

Fifteen years will put you mid-late 1990's, give or take, so it was built during the housing boom. Given that, and the problems with the house, there's a good chance that the builder wasn't as conscientious as he should have been.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

The 2 systems is due to the house being 2 story 1 system for upstairs, one for downstairs.

The roof has experienced 2 Hail storms and at least 1 tornado that passed within a couple of miles, other than that I don't have a good reason why the roof is experiencing a shortened lifespan.

I agree the toilets are not a major problem.

The soil is commonly called "Black Jack" it's a fertile soil but has a lot of expansion/contraction properties and the soil/foundation prep probably just was not up to par at the edges of the pad - but truly I don't have a clue. It could also be that there were not enough wall - ties embed into the brick work - again I have no clue but RamJack guarantees that those areas will never shift again (lifetime warranty).


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Well the 4 areas I originally posted about were really the only major things found - there were a slew of minor things - polarity reversed in some outlets, ceiling fan blades drooped in about 5 outdoor ceiling fans, very noisy florescent lights in the barn and workshop, etc etc

The seller when presented with the list asked if I would accept a lower price on the house in lew of them fixing anything so I decided that I would ask for:
All of the RamJack Quote
All of the Plumbing Quote
1/2 of a new roof Quote
1/2 of a new HVAC System Quote

Total is around 22k - I am hoping they will either accept my offer outright or come in at 15k or higher.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

I just heard from my buyers agent. The seller's real estate person thought I was high - they are going to have a GC give them an estimate, GC is coming out over the weekend.

The 4 things I listed above were just the major stuff.

They will probably "repair" the HVAC and Roof; the roof repair is only a couple of hundred dollars but then I'm left with a roof that will only last for another year or 2 according to my roofer who inspected it.

The HVAC repair will probably come in around 3-4k but then I'm left with 15 year old equipment which the HVAC guy along with everything I found on the internet said the equipment is at it's End of Life.

I'm not worried about the plumbing or the Foundation work coming in less then my quote to them.

What the seller is not taking into consideration is all of the other "stuff" that was not in my 4 major points. Dry Rot on the breakfast/sun room fascia, electrical wires not in conduit when it should be, various lights not working, electrical plugs with reversed polarity, girders cut to 50% or more for plumbing that need piers on each side, etc...

My offer was with me basically ignoring the host of minor things the home inspection found since I feel I'm capable of those repairs myself, I just really wanted the major stuff fixed.

My Realtor said to not expect to hear a counter offer of if they are going to fix everything themselves until Tuesday so I'm left hanging in the wind till then.

If they do the repairs themselves do I then have to pay for a re-inspection to make sure the stuff is truly repaired? I have only bought 1 house and I bought it as-is so I didn't have to worry about them fixing anything. How does this part work?


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

It might be wise to walk away from this house, unless there's something really great about it -- lots of land or something, or maybe the perfect location.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

50 acres fenced, 5 stall barn, workshop, house - $440,000
House, barn, workshop are only 14-15 years old.

House sits in the middle of the 50 acres surrounded by other large > 80 acre tracks of land / farms. Location is 14 miles from office and 6 miles from my other farm property.

The price is 90k less then the seller bought the house for in 2006.

Toward the bottom of this post are 3 pictures of the place, 2 of the barn, and one of the house.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sp...dness/459027-real-estate-long-background.html


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Okay then, I revise my earlier opinion. 50 acres at an affordable price doesn't come on the market all that often.


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## Lonesomelov (Jul 14, 2009)

Wow! Things are a little different in Missouri. You can lock in your interest rate without a signed contract for starters. I looked at the pictures and after reading your description of the property and the finds from the inspection, I would walk away. $440,000 for the house and 50acres is obscene compared to what is available here in Missouri. 

Just my .2, I am a licensed realtor in Missouri.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

You sure have some tough choices... I agree, that's a lot of cash... I'm getting more land than that, and a house that has a good outside, but bad interior, septic, well, and several very good condition outbuildings, along with a old pre-civil war era log barn in good solid condition, and a hand worked stone block root cellar, all for less than $100K.

Granted, it's no where near anywhere, and it will be a drive to any where I'd be able to find a job, but it's where I won't be bothered by people.. like we were looking for... 

Now if I wanted somewhere near my job, then yes, I could start seeing a higher inflated price, and start overlooking some of the work that needs to be done.. 

But in your case here, I think for all that needs to be fixed, and at the price you are looking at, I think I'd have to do some very serious soul searching... What is it worth to you? Are you willing to take a chance of being into the place for a lot more than you could resell it for? Is it a retirement home, or an investment, or somewhere you just want to live for a while?

Sounds to me like the sellers aren't in any hurry to get sold. Yes, they are losing money on the sale, but it also sounds like they are willing to spend money to get more money, so to me, that says they aren't hurting for cash, and a fast easy sale isn't in their vocabulary.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Land prices here are pretty high - I'm pricing the land @ 4k per acre - most land is being asked for between 6 - 8 K per acre with no improvements.

The house I put a sticker of 200k for it.

The barn and workshop I put the 40k to it.

The insurance company based upon the specs valued the house @ 289k

I'm waiting to get the appraisal back from the bank still.

The house is 38 miles from downtown Charlotte, NC, the Charlotte Metro area which the house is included in has a population of almost 2 million.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Bank appraisal came in at $450,000
Seller is giving a $15,000 concession for repairs which my lender said I needed to take off the sale price instead of any sort of cash back - no problem.

So new price is now $425,000


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

So does this mean you are still in the game, or are passing on it considering you're going to need to either do, or pay for all the work that needs to be done?

Sounds like after it's bought, and after all the repairs are done, there's not going to really be much of any equity... 

But then again, an appraisal is one mans best guess opinion.. A place is really only worth what you, or someone else is willing to pay..


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

I am still in the game, I think I am paying the correct price or close to it for the property.

With the interest rate vs inflation, and income the property can produce I am in good shape going forward.

If we do have another housing deflationary period it will not effect me as I do not plan on selling.

I believe I can accomplish most of the repairs for much less then the estimates with sweat equity which I enjoy.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Cool to hear.. Wish you the best of luck with it... Hopefully, the place we're buying will be our final living place too, so it's not about equity or not, but so long as the land and home makes us happy.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

FINALLY - closing tomorrow on this property!

First bank gave me a pre-approval letter on the property and locked in a 3.25% interest rate, then could not get financing on it (aka they couldn't sell it due to the amount of land they told me) and offered me an in-house loan with a variable interest rate. I said no-thanks and went to a mortgage company that is used to dealing with land sales.

It took much longer than I wanted even with them and have had to jump through numerous things that I would have thought they would have told me I needed to provide to them much earlier in the process. This delayed the mortgage approval process several weeks so instead of closing before Christmas and being able to present the house as a kinda of Christmas present - this delay kinda ruined this year's Christmas for me as I have been stressed over this closing for weeks and couldn't really get into Christmas as much as other years.

The rate (3.375) is not as good as the original (3.25%) so it's costing me $20.00 per month more in interest expense but I'm still satisfied and happy to be closing tomorrow and am looking forward to getting out of the city.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

Closed and DONE! Mine all mine! Happy Happy Days!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Congratulations! I am glad everything worked out to get as close to your satisfaction as possible.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Deleted


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

PICS we need pics!!


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