A little house news: the inspection happened today, and we've gotten the summary by e-mail. It's a little discouraging, although I'm hoping that we'll rebound, as this house was feeling increasingly right for us. But the inspection report reminds us of all the reasons why Politica thought we'd never love th house: there are various hinges not working right, there are cracked windows, there are some rotting clapboards around the house, there are windows that don't open, and various other signs of a house that was not built incredibly sturdily in the first place and that hasn't been particularly well-maintained. We already knew we'd start redoing the bathrooms and kitchen appliances and flooring. The inspection report reveals problems with electricity (the biggest issue is that the main fuse box isn't properly grounded), and a host of various other problems that will take time and money to fix. Sigh.
We'll be working on our response to the inspection later--hard to know what the seller's going to want to do, but we'll find out.
Next, the appraisal. Still waiting on that.
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8 comments:
Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear this news. Not having bought a house before, I don't quite know what it means -- is there a possibility of the seller coming down in price to compensate?
I know an electrician. He's chosey about the jobs he takes and can be bad at calling people back but he's good. Let me know if you want his info. Goooood luck! (Formerly NSLS)
Oh, my. There is always a little something. I hope it all works out!
Fingers still crossed!
Fingers crossed here.
The last house I bought (that sounds way more fancy than it should) had a pre-inspection. Same inspector, full report available for anyone who wanted to look (and I did). It was GREAT.
Ugh. Not all of these problems are intractable -- if the wiring is otherwise mostly OK, the electrical can be straightened out for a couple grand, for instance. We had a bunch of non-operational windows upon arrival, and a guy DBA the Sash Man got 'em working like they did in 1930 for something like $60/pop. I'd expect Germany has someone of that ilk.
The main thing is what the general situation of being not-well-built can do to the appraisal. So I'd suggest adding up the total to fix the problems well (assuming they don't imply tearing the place down and starting over) and seeking a price concession. A point of leverage is that these issues ought not to be lost on a careful appraiser, and so it may be worth it to the seller not to let the deal fall through on *that* front.
Anyway, best wishes for getting past this phase of the home-buying experience. It'll happen!
Hope the appraisal goes well.
If it makes you feel any better, old houses with loads of character also have disappointing inspection results. Russell and I are thankful that a beautiful house built in the late 1800's is not ours! The inspection indicated a roof that needed to be torn off and replaced, bowing in the foundation, re-grading of the hill to direct water run off elsewhere, and after that - the rotting woodwork and upgrades to electricity seemed minor hiccups.
Although it is perhaps dissappointing, it all sounds quite manageable to address.
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