And so it begins, just listed a house

[Lizard Queen]

What the...? Since when have buyers started asking for stuff like that? I've never even heard of redesigning a crawl space.

[Deleted]

Mar 8, 2022 20:55:32 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

Mar 8, 2022 20:53:06 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Inspection on our house was last week. We received the requests from the buyer today. 
The inspector listed the roof as having 5 - 10 years remaining, so the buyers want the roof replaced. 
The inspector also listed the crawl space as being difficult for him to navigate, so the buyers want the crawl space redesigned. 

My husband rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head. 

Good for your DH. Tell them they can take it or leave it 😄

Yeah, I’m what I would describe as a “nervous” buyer. But I would think that I’d be good if I knew I had at least 5 years to prepare to replace a roof. And difficult is not the same as impossible. And how often would I have to have someone navigate the crawl space if the house is in good condition, would be my thinking.

But I’m no expert at buying houses. I’ve only ever bought 2. The second taught me more than buying the first one.

Still, if the price was comfortable for me and I really liked the house…… and those were the biggest issues…. I probably wouldn’t quibble about them.

But then again, I didn’t quibble too much about the fireplace/chimney issues too much after the fireplace was wet the day we had the inspection done on a rainy day. The sellers only offered a $1k credit after insisting they used the fireplace and nothing was wrong with it. We’ve spent over $4k fixing it so far, and will spend at least another $4k before I feel like it’s safe to use. So maybe I don’t have the best judgement and maybe no one should listen to me lol.

[CCL]

Mar 8, 2022 20:58:54 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

What the...? Since when have buyers started asking for stuff like that? I've never even heard of redesigning a crawl space.

Yeah. I've never heard of that either.

When we sold our other house, the inspection report mentioned the furnace and air conditioner were nearing their end-of-life. I guess they thought I would just give them an extra $10k or something. They worked fine, so I told them take it or leave it.

[seriousthistime]

Mar 8, 2022 20:53:06 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Inspection on our house was last week. We received the requests from the buyer today. 
The inspector listed the roof as having 5 - 10 years remaining, so the buyers want the roof replaced. 
The inspector also listed the crawl space as being difficult for him to navigate, so the buyers want the crawl space redesigned. 

My husband rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head. 

The buyers of my house wanted a new roof when I sold in 2006.  The roof was obviously, visually, at the end of its useful life.  The buyers wanted it replaced.  My answer was that the condition of the roof was factored into the price. 

Their inspector also said that the handle to turn on the gas for the fireplace starter was plastic and they wanted it replaced with metal so it wouldn't melt.  The house was 20 years old and the handle hadn't melted in all that time, but their inspector said it was plastic and had to be replaced.  I had to call a plumber because it was a gas line. The plumber came out and said it was metal.  He took out a magnet and showed me it was metal. So I told the buyers that, and they insisted their inspector come to the house again and prove me wrong.  He tested it with a magnet, and sure enough, the inspector said, "Well, I'll be damned.  It IS metal." Thanks, dude. 

[laterbloomer]

Exactly how do you redesign a crawl space?

[finnime]

That's a good one, Knee Deep in Water Chloe. Redesign the crawl space!

I'm happy that the buyers of my house are foregoing the inspection. It's worth $$ just to not have to deal with it. Our roof is over 20 years old, as is the hot water heater. To replace the hot water heater would require getting the chimney relined. The chimney should be swept in any case. Plus the windows that have fogged up in the sunroom, and the few 2-prong outlets remaining, it's nice to not be conerned. There are always myriad things that someone could decide they don't like.

[raeoflyte]

In this market it is crazy for buyers to get too picky on the inspection.

[Opti]

Mar 8, 2022 20:53:06 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Inspection on our house was last week. We received the requests from the buyer today. 
The inspector listed the roof as having 5 - 10 years remaining, so the buyers want the roof replaced. 
The inspector also listed the crawl space as being difficult for him to navigate, so the buyers want the crawl space redesigned. 

My husband rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head. 

It sounds like buyer's remorse, and they want out of the contract. They can redesign the crawlspace if they want should they purchase the home. I've only heard of discounts being given for roofs, and I'm sure that was priced in your listing price by the realtor. Do you have other potential buyers in the wings?

[TheOtherMe]

I have heard of unusual requests but how do you "redesign" a crawl space?  That's absurd.  If he wants redisgned, he can figure it out.

I don't see why you should replace a roof with 5-10 years of life left.  

The first offer on my parents' house included replacing a 5 year old roof.  Hard no.

The eventual buy didn't have an inspection so I know they got lucky.  I know there was lead paint in that house.

[Deleted]

Mar 8, 2022 22:15:18 GMT -5 CCL said:

When we sold our other house, the inspection report mentioned the furnace and air conditioner were nearing their end-of-life. I guess they thought I would just give them an extra $10k or something. They worked fine, so I told them take it or leave it.

My attitude has always been that anything visible to the buyer as they checked out the house- cracked sidewalk, fogged windows, older HVAC- should have been obvious when they made the offer and factored into the offer.  I did cut the price of one place I sold by $2,500 to repair some termite damage found on inspection.  I was unaware I had termites and would not have expected the buyers to notice it in the rafters of the basement.

DH and I DID buy a house with older HVAC and we knew it- they failed and had to be replaced in the next year. You pay your money, you take your chance.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

 My grandmother's house has a crawl space in place of a basement.  The only reason to be going in it is because of a tornado and I'm not going to be overly concerned with it's design at that point.

I wouldn't replace a roof that has 5-10 years left either.  If you can afford to buy a home you can afford to save to replace the roof in ~10 years.

[tractor]

I would have suggested the find a skinnier inspector, maybe he was too fat to fit in the crawl space 😊 With the way things are in this market, I think you'd be safe saying "no" and they can either step up to the plate, or it goes to the next person in-line.

Spring selling season is just getting started.

[bean29]

My thought was maybe they just wanted an out too.  That said though, my Dad was an electrician and he discouraged us from buying houses without a full basement, b/c they are a PIA for Plumbing and electrical repairs.  We had a partial crawl space underneath the front entryway in our first house, and a very nice crawl space underneath the stairs in the Bi-level house we owned.  A partial crawl space underneath a smaller area, is one thing, but if it is underneath the whole house, IDK.  In the midewest, houses without a basement are not unheard of, but I would say a good 80-90% of houses have at least a partial basement.

Could be they wanted to make changes to something like the kitchen or bathroom and were told it would not be as easy as they thought?

[seriousthistime]

Knee Deep in Water Chloe, I'm sure your realtor will advise you, but normally inspection issues that can affect the sale of the house are limited to structural/mechanical/electrical/plumbing or similar.  The design of the crawl space is probably not something to torpedo a sale. 

[raeoflyte]

Mar 9, 2022 9:05:33 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have heard of unusual requests but how do you "redesign" a crawl space?  That's absurd.  If he wants redisgned, he can figure it out.

I don't see why you should replace a roof with 5-10 years of life left.  

The first offer on my parents' house included replacing a 5 year old roof.  Hard no.

The eventual buy didn't have an inspection so I know they got lucky.  I know there was lead paint in that house.

Everything built before 1978 has lead based paint. I'd say it's really before 1980. Peeling paint should be addressed but otherwise just something to be aware of.

[raeoflyte]

Almost all contracts can be exited by the buyers just for their earnest money. I guess if they're trying to get out and keep that money they could try to play games. Earnest money is getting pretty high in a lot of areas, but it should be money you can walk away from if needed.

[TheOtherMe]

Mar 9, 2022 12:43:45 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Mar 9, 2022 9:05:33 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have heard of unusual requests but how do you "redesign" a crawl space?  That's absurd.  If he wants redisgned, he can figure it out.

I don't see why you should replace a roof with 5-10 years of life left.  

The first offer on my parents' house included replacing a 5 year old roof.  Hard no.

The eventual buy didn't have an inspection so I know they got lucky.  I know there was lead paint in that house.

Everything built before 1978 has lead based paint. I'd say it's really before 1980. Peeling paint should be addressed but otherwise just something to be aware of.

That house was built in 1920 and you could see the layers of paint on the woodwork and windows.  It was definitely peeling.  

[TheOtherMe]

Mar 9, 2022 12:45:45 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Almost all contracts can be exited by the buyers just for their earnest money. I guess if they're trying to get out and keep that money they could try to play games. Earnest money is getting pretty high in a lot of areas, but it should be money you can walk away from if needed.

I was surprised when I bought this house how the seller wanted in earnest money.  That was about the only thing in the counter offer.  We had put what the realtor said was the normal earnest money and what I put down for a Boulder condo about 5 years previous.  I did decide to walk on that one because of the inspection, but the furnace had issues with carbon monoxide and the seller refused to fix.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

We've sent our response to the buyers regarding the requests from the inspection report. They have until Friday afternoon to either agree or withdraw. I'll be super annoyed if they've just wasted three weeks of our time. If they withdraw, we do not keep their escrow money. 

[finnime]

So, huh, this is interesting. A buyer wants to see our house tomorrow. He knows it's under contract, but wants to see it anyway. I figure at worst we'll get a backup offer, so I'm good with it. It's just interesting that he wants to see it.

The house that went for sale in my neighborhood this week is asking $880,000. They have easily a million dollar house. So it's interesting.

[seriousthistime]

Do you know why he wants to see it, finnime? I guess I'd be worried he's trying to case the house for a potential break-in. But then I tend to be overly cautious.  

When is your closing date? Will you go for a house hunting trip before closing?  I bet you have said all this someplace in this thread or elsewhere.  I am bombarded with information about a friend who is selling her condo after a horrible ordeal with getting documents in time (but finally closed today, I think), her purchase of a different place a few months ago (also a horrible ordeal), and my own low-key but stressful purchase of a condo out of state, and the very high-key and stressful ordeal of the sellers of that condo.

And Knee Deep in Water Chloe's real estate deal...

All these real estate transactions are jumbling up my mind.

[finnime]

We've got a closing date drafted of April 19. Given that he's working with an agent and going through all the proper motions, I'm not very concerned that any nefarious is afoot. After closing we are going to stay temporarily with a friend in northern Virginia until DH has some medical affairs taken care of (he has cataracts, for one). After that we'll go north and stay with my sister for a while until we find a home or she gets tired of us. It's very unlikely she'll tire of us. THen, we may stay in a long-stay hotel. I've been tracking real estate in the town we'd like to live in for quite a while. We have an agent there looking out for us.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I'm annoyed, but our real estate agent is telling DH that I need to not be overly stressed yet. 

After the inspector's report, the buyers official request list included
--having the roof inspected and any wayward portions fixed
--having a foundation company come out to inspect the foundation to determine if the standing water under our house reported by the inspector is a foundational issue. 
--replacing the water heater (which we just replaced the heating coils six months ago)
--fixing the laundry room sink (which we disclosed upon listing and have been trying to get a plumber to come out even before we listed)
--cleaning out the gutters and trimming back some trees (yeah, okay, that's fine)

We countered with something to the effect of 
--we'll replace the water heater (spitefully with something less than what's in there)
--clean out the gutters and trim the trees
--no to the foundation because for the love of all that is holy it's fine; the inspector showed up on the seventh consecutive day of rain. 
--$3,000 credit on the buyers' closing costs to deal with the roof. 

Nope. They're insisting on the foundation being further inspected. They want a full week (so next Thursday) to have the foundation inspected and then decide if they want to walk away. 

I said we should just let the buyers go and move on. 

The realtor says we can do that, but now that there's an inspector's report saying we have standing water under our house and would have to disclose that and have it inspected and (possibly) dealt with anyway. 

According to our agent, the buyers really do want the house. 

I hate everything right now. 

[finnime]

Ugh. I'm sorry, Knee Deep in Water Chloe. I'm glad our buyers have no such contingency. They did their own inspection (without an inspector) pre-offer.

[geenamercile]

Chole I am sorry that this is so stressful for you.  I do think out that whole list the only thing I would want to make sure of as a buyer would be the foundation, that would be a walking point for me.  And with a report saying it could be an issue, I would want it doubled checked too, if for any reason so I could make a informed choice on if that is something I felt comfortable tackling.  I hope the foundation report comes back clean for you and the buyers.    

    For the roof unless there is a leak somewhere, I wouldn't have thought of asking for a roof with 5 to 10 years left to be replaced, hot water heater either.  I certainly wouldn't have asked for trimming and gutter cleaning.  If the laundry room sink was disclosed as you fixing it, I would have most likely wanted reassurance that was still being planned.    

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Sale is kaput.
Showings resume tomorrow.

[raeoflyte]

Mar 11, 2022 14:13:09 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Sale is kaput.
Showings resume tomorrow.

That's the worst part of selling. Im sure you'll get another good offer though!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

For someone who wanted a house they sure seemed to be throwing up a lot of conditions.      That could backfire on them bigly in this market.  Oh well I am sure you will find another offer soon enough.


We have issues with water in the basement when it rains too much.  There is nothing we can do about it because we live close enough to the Missouri that it effects the water table.  Nothing wrong with the foundation there is just literally no where for the water to go.  Fortunately that's pretty well understood if you live or want to live in the West end of Council Bluffs.

It's why you don't see a ton of finished basements in our area either.

[finnime]

Mar 11, 2022 14:13:09 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Sale is kaput.
Showings resume tomorrow.

Ouch! I'm sorry. That bites.

[geenamercile]

I am sorry Chloe.  Since you have to disclose the water in the basement thing would it be worth just getting the inspection done, or waiting to see if someone else takes it as is?