For those of you who have done this recently, I need to pick your memory. We just signed a contract to sell our home and had the inspection done on Saturday. He found some significant water damage under the kitchen floor (crawlspace) and several floor joists had rotted.
It's not as bad as that sounds as there is no loss of support and I can repair that myself. The leak that caused it, however, is somewhere in the wall and could be expensive to get fixed.
Here's the question. We have a $250 limit in the contract for what we will repair. This will go over that. I think both parties still want to proceed, but who's responsible for negotiating who's responsible for this work? Who generally makes the first move?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
If the deal was contingent upon the results of the inspection, they now have the option of withdrawing from the purchase if you will not pay for the repair. Putting a limit on the amount you'll pay for repairs essentially does nothing, unless you got them to somehow -- and this would be an IDIOTIC thing for them to do -- agree that their contingency would only apply to repairs under that amount.
Posted by RyFitz13 (Member # 6582) on :
Yup - Tom's got it...
Basically, their contract probably states that they'll buy your house for x amount of money, contingent on the outcome of the home inspection. After the inspection, they can, among other things:
a) produce a list of things they want you to do to the house prior to closing - you can do these to satisfy their requirement, or choose not to and see if they pull out of the deal.
b) try to renegotiate the price with you in an effort to get the money back that they'll have to spend to repair any damage
Either way - the ball's pretty much in their court. They can ask you to do stuff (ie, repair water damage, repair the leak itself, etc), but unless they ask you to do it, and you agree, you have no obligation to do anything.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
I know Tom. They have the option to pull out, but if they really want the house, they can pay to make the repairs or a portion of them.
They're aware of the fact that we had several other appointments set up the first weekend we put it on the market. They were the first ones to look at it.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Like the above have said, it's usually up to the buyer to come back with a new offer, or withdraw completely.
-Bok
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Heck, I'd say get the repairs done regardless. Even if they do pull out, at least the problem will be fixed and the house will be that much more valuable.
Or take it on the chin and spend a little bit of money to secure the current deal. A bird in the hand....
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
To add to the story, the buyers want to move here because their best friends just bought a house about 3 doors down. We actually showed them the house before we put a sign up or an add in the paper. We actually raised the price a bit from what we told them, but accepted their offer (full price).
Based on the calls we got and the desparate sound of some of their voices, I'm certain we could get more than their offer, but we did take theirs. As afr said, a bird in hand...
Even if they back out, I will repair the damage, but I'm certain I could recoup it from a higher sale price.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Happy Belated Birthday, Zan!
(I would have started a thread or something, but I was out of town.)
How goes the progress on the new house? How long 'till you're closer to us?
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
It was amazing how fast they got the slab poured, wall up, roof up, etc. Now things slow down while they work on the interior. They're telling us August, but I'm betting on September at the earliest. I don't think I've heard of many home builders who were pessimistic with their date of completion.
Posted by Jalapenoman (Member # 6575) on :
If you do not currently have the money to repair the house, and the buyer insist that you pay for reasonable repairs, many contractors will do the work and get paid as part of the sell (so that you do not have to have the money up front). This is called a mechanic's lein.
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