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House buying question...

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
I'm supposed to close on a house at 9 am tomorrow. I never mentioned it because I fully expect something to get f*#ked up, as it appears to have happened.

One thing to fix was a leaking shower pan. Around that was a damaged sole plate, which was noted on the inspection. It also stated there was a damaged sole plate at the rear of the house. It was listed as below...

E. Walls (Interior & Exterior)

Comments:

Damaged sole plates at the rear of the house by the back door and in the corner by the shower.


They did not fix the sole plate near the back door. We are to close in the morning. After taking several things that my agent (who I think dropped several balls) I'm just pissed. Is this a time where they didn't comply to their part of the contract and you can walk away, or do I just have to suck it up??? I will make sure they fix it if I buy it, but I wonder what breaks the deal for them.

What a pain in the f*#king ass this whole deal has been. I would always rent, given the circumstances. :rant:

Any good advice is appreciated.
 

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
Yep - your contract should be null and void if they didn't fix these things. Either get them to pay the value of your repairs + time in closing costs or have it fixed before you close.

I had to put off the closing on an office condo that I recently bought because of a similar situation. Just make sure if it gets delayed that you communicate this to the lender because they can also withdraw their loan.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,137
16,532
Riding the baggage carousel.
you cant close without signatures, go in there in the morning and bring these items up. if they arent corrected or written in the contract to be done in a certain time frame you dont close....

trust me, they will take care of it quick especially in this market
:stupid:
Make them fix it. I assume at some point they signed something saying they would fix the noted discrepancies? Even if they didn't, I personally wouldn't sign sh!t until its fixed. Don't be afraid to walk away, Like GFF says, its a great market to be buying, you have the advantage in this situation. Especially if water damage is involved, that's a huge headache and expense that you don't need especially after just purchasing the place. And if your Realtor has dropped the ball and this place doesn't work out, kick them to the curb also. The Realtor works for you. Make him earn it, especially in this market.
 

maddog17

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2008
2,815
105
Methuen, Mass. U.S.A.
was it written in the contract that those things would be fixed? not sure how or if housing laws are there but here in mass, things that are on the inspection don't have to be fixed if the seller doesn't want to do it. it must be agreed on ahead of signing the P&S agreement. if your seller agreed to fix those and didn't then you should be able to walk away from the deal. otherwise i'd probably ask for some type of credit towards you getting it done by someone who you trust to do it right.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
Here in California if it's in a contract they must do it before you sign off on it. If you're having trouble with your agent, go directly to his/her broker (boss).
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
was it written in the contract that those things would be fixed? not sure how or if housing laws are there but here in mass, things that are on the inspection don't have to be fixed if the seller doesn't want to do it. it must be agreed on ahead of signing the P&S agreement. if your seller agreed to fix those and didn't then you should be able to walk away from the deal. otherwise i'd probably ask for some type of credit towards you getting it done by someone who you trust to do it right.
They signed an amendment. It noted two places in the inspection, which was translated to a plural of sole plates on the amendment. They appear to have repaired the one at the shower, but not the rear wall. They fixed one, not two. They had the inspection noting both locations, so they shouldn't be able to claim ignorance. Regardless, it should be fixed. My contract appears to have an a) or b) choice. A) is to give 15 days to fix it, or B)terminate the contract and receive my earnest money back. I'm not sure if I have to allow the 15 days. I also think they have to leave curtains and rods, which they appear to have bastardized, basically. I'm paying more than I really want, but like the house. However, since they reversed their choices on some verbal things (which I know I can't do anything about), I'm not just going to continue to let them f*#k me around. I don't have to buy a house right now.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,514
7,056
Colorado
Prices will continue to go down as banks bring more REO / non-foreclosed properties to the mkt. That being said, I do expect rates to go up... It's you market though. remember that.
 

RUFUS

e-douche of the year
Dec 1, 2006
3,480
1
Denver, CO
They signed an amendment. It noted two places in the inspection, which was translated to a plural of sole plates on the amendment. They appear to have repaired the one at the shower, but not the rear wall. They fixed one, not two. They had the inspection noting both locations, so they shouldn't be able to claim ignorance. Regardless, it should be fixed. My contract appears to have an a) or b) choice. A) is to give 15 days to fix it, or B)terminate the contract and receive my earnest money back. I'm not sure if I have to allow the 15 days. I also think they have to leave curtains and rods, which they appear to have bastardized, basically. I'm paying more than I really want, but like the house. However, since they reversed their choices on some verbal things (which I know I can't do anything about), I'm not just going to continue to let them f*#k me around. I don't have to buy a house right now.
There is more than one house out there. You cannot get emotionally attached to this one. If you don't like how things are going and you can't get things done quickly and correctly, walk.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,514
7,056
Colorado
Not here in the Bay Area, sale are up as well as prices.
You really don't want to see the on-hold foreclosure numbers in the Bay Area. There is a reason why we are still holding cash and saving, not buying.
 

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
Co-worker is in the process of buying a home. Given just these experiences, Mandi and I must've gotten off nicely. Our purchase was very smooth.

But anyway, if they haven't kept up their end of the deal, do not sign.

Who paid for the home inspection?
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
:stupid:
Make them fix it. I assume at some point they signed something saying they would fix the noted discrepancies? Even if they didn't, I personally wouldn't sign sh!t until its fixed. Don't be afraid to walk away, Like GFF says, its a great market to be buying, you have the advantage in this situation. Especially if water damage is involved, that's a huge headache and expense that you don't need especially after just purchasing the place. And if your Realtor has dropped the ball and this place doesn't work out, kick them to the curb also. The Realtor works for you. Make him earn it, especially in this market.
Excellent advice here! I hope everything works out for you. We had some issues with our closing as well and it didn't cost us anything (except time and headache) and worked out in our favor! Good luck!
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
You really don't want to see the on-hold foreclosure numbers in the Bay Area. There is a reason why we are still holding cash and saving, not buying.
*Every* single article you read on housing prices / market has some quote by a person along the lines of "We're struggling now, but we're going to keep trying to make the payments until the market recovers in a couple years and we can sell..." There's a lot of foreclosed homes on the market right now, with more coming on in the next couple years. But even more than that, there's a TON of people just waiting for any increase in housing prices to dump their home for a profit (or less of a loss). As those homes come on the market, it'll keep prices low for years to come. Case in point:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574388683272200844.html

Mr. Bass says a client recently rented out his 4,700-square-foot house after failing to sell his home, which he listed for $790,000. Now a tenant pays $2,995 per month—a shortfall of $2,000 from the $4,995 mortgage payment. The homeowner "feels that two years from now, the market will improve to the point where he can recapture that," Mr. Bass says.
If everybody's waiting for the market to improve a little bit before they try to sell, prices aren't going anywhere (up) anytime soon.

Of course, with 5% mortgage rates and an $8,000 first time home buyer's credit, it might still make sense to buy something now in the right market. But I'd be shocked if housing prices appreciate any more than 3%/year for the next 10 years minimum...
 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
Its still amazing to me that people like you can buy a house.

But I guess in Texas everything is bigger and cheaper since its such a awful place to live.


But seriously, good luck or something...
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
Negotiate a cost for the sill repair, take it off the purchase price and have it fixed after you buy - you may get a better repair out of it.
This man has the CORRECT answer.

The seller will try to get by with the cheapest repair possible. Which means you'll likely have problems sooner rather than later with it again.

When we bought our house the inspection noted a crack in the heat exchanger in the furnace. Instead of insisting the seller put in a new furnace we got them to agree on an "allowance" which basically amounted to a lower purchase price. And we got a GOOD furnace instead of the cheapest-a$$ furnace the seller could find.
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
Well...we bought it. Turns out they had a repair guy there when we were over this morning. It is one of my customers that was doing the work. I felt ok with it. They also agreed to leave the curtains rods so Julie was happy. Still a pain in the ass.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
Well...we bought it. Turns out they had a repair guy there when we were over this morning. It is one of my customers that was doing the work. I felt ok with it. They also agreed to leave the curtains rods so Julie was happy. Still a pain in the ass.
Congratulations and welcome to the "I have no time to do anything but maintain my home" club!
 

maddog17

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2008
2,815
105
Methuen, Mass. U.S.A.
They signed an amendment. It noted two places in the inspection, which was translated to a plural of sole plates on the amendment. They appear to have repaired the one at the shower, but not the rear wall. They fixed one, not two. They had the inspection noting both locations, so they shouldn't be able to claim ignorance. Regardless, it should be fixed. My contract appears to have an a) or b) choice. A) is to give 15 days to fix it, or B)terminate the contract and receive my earnest money back. I'm not sure if I have to allow the 15 days. I also think they have to leave curtains and rods, which they appear to have bastardized, basically. I'm paying more than I really want, but like the house. However, since they reversed their choices on some verbal things (which I know I can't do anything about), I'm not just going to continue to let them f*#k me around. I don't have to buy a house right now.
walk away then. it's a buyers market right now and you should be able to find something that you like but is also at a price you want to pay. don't deal with any BS when it comes to fixing stuff. i learned that in my first purchase. i was told the basement didn't get water only to get water a few months after we were in the house and my neighbor told me they had always gotten water because they had hoses out to the street. my fault for never getting it in writting.


edit: ooopsie. guess i should read thru all the posts b4 posting. congrats on the house! as long as your happy with it then it's all good. plus your paying the mortgage not me so in the end you have to be happy with it.
 
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