Hi, I’m under contract for a home from 1954 that was offered and accepted for 5k under listing (190->185) contingent on inspection and appraisal.
The inspection turned up some safety things, but nothing that was an immense red flag. First time home-buyer so I’m not sure how to proceed and just wanted more opinions.
Things that came up in the inspection-
- end of life furnace with a leak currently (still functional but 22-23 years old)
- 2023 water tank that has a venting issue (part of the CO2 pipe out the top is slanted downward and condensation led to rust. No seal on the pipe into the chimney)
- A lot of exposed wires in the basement, all capped. Only grounding in the house seems to be 2 outlets in the kitchen and one of those special outlets beneath the interior panel
- end of life AC we can’t test as it’s too cold (22-23 years old)
- potentially a medium-large tree close to the back of the house that is dead (tree hangs partially over the house)
- bathroom that vents into the attic, and potentially the roof lifted (inspector took pictures of the roof from the ground). Inspector thought roof was maybe 15 years old – didn’t get a date so obviously not within the last 5 years.
- recommended a sewer line inspection
My real estate agent recommended we send specialists (HVAC, arborist, roofer, sewer scope, maybe electrician) out there and try to extend the inspection window. If something like the HVAC comes back as needing a part that doesn’t exist anymore – only then try to negotiate a credit or money off the price. Otherwise, just roll with it as the inspection dint show anything immediately terrible.
Obviously real estate agents have incentive for deals to move quickly and cleanly, but I bear the risk if within the first 2 years I would need a new furnace, AC, and other repairs that all add up.
Is it normal to try to negotiate after the inspection?
The 185k + closing costs was my first offer and was accepted within hours. The home was listed for like 90 days and only came down like 7k in price (197->190-> sold 185). I don’t know what a fair negotiation would be and obviously don’t want to lose the home – but being realistic the furnace and AC are already past life expectancy and will likely need replaced.
Is it expected that when you have an older home like this that the seller helps bear some of the risk since they didn’t replace a few larger ticket items before selling?
Negotiating Post-Inspection after Under Asking Price
byu/smkorpi inRealEstate
Posted by smkorpi
22 Comments
Your agent’s advice is pretty solid actually – getting specialists out there is the smart move before you make any demands. The fact that you got it 5k under asking after 90 days on market suggests the seller might be motivated to work with you on reasonable stuff
I’d focus on the big ticket items (furnace/AC replacement costs) and maybe the electrical if it’s a safety issue. The dead tree and sewer scope are good leverage too if they find problems. Don’t go in asking for credits on everything though – pick your battles on the stuff that’ll actually cost you money in the next year or two
Not sure why the post cut off at the end..
since they… didn’t replace any of those big ticket items before selling.
In terms of the older systems, age is not a defect. The house was most likely priced with the older systems in mind, and if they are functioning, at least in my state, it is not grounds to ask them to be replaced. That being said, you should certainly be able to ask for defects with the systems to be fixed, and you may want to try to negotiate a home warranty for a year paid by the seller. A lot of of the things that you mentioned are very common, I don’t know how your state works, but generally speaking, we don’t bring in specialist, we just ask for the seller to rectify the items prior to closing and provide invoices from the contractors who did the work. In my state at least, it’s not common to bring in specialist unless they are doing additional inspections. For example, bringing in a sewer line specialist to scope The sewer line is very common. None of these items are massive ticket items without getting into replacing systems, and they all could be things you ask to be repaired prior to closing. I think the bigger question is, did your real estate agent ask about the ages of the systems prior to going under contract or take a look at the systems when you toured and gave you a sense that they were older?
Its market specific. I would see these issues and more on 1.5m houses over 1000sf with no reason seller would pay.
“My agent recommended we send specialist and extend deadline.”
“Obviously agents have incentive to move things quickly”
I hope you know your agent is recommending the correct route. They sound like they have your best interest.
That being said:
1. Furnace is defective. Ask seller to replace.
2. Ask the seller for a home warranty because you can’t test the A/C
3. Wires are capped or exposed. Can’t be both unless the actual coating is missing and is exposing the wire. If that’s the case, ask the seller to correct.
4. Always do sewer scope.
5. Is the tree a safety issue or Insurnace issue? If so, ask the seller to remove it.
Keep in mind you offered on the home with the expectation that you have functioning mechanicals and a safe home to move into.
Send your extension, then get additional inspections. After that, send your response and negotiate appropriately.
The Realtor is suggesting the right course of action.
I have had transactions where we did additional inspections from the licensed ___________ tradesperson that said things the inspector flagged were really not a big deal. Or things that they flagged needed to be addressed. That is what adequate follow up inspections and extended the inspection period are for.
Distrusting your Realtor is unwarranted in this situation, they are giving you sound advice.
You can get a home warranty that will cover the furnace, A/C etc if it goes belly up.
Get a specialist out to make sure that they are serviceable in the short term.
Is it priced for that condition? Meaning if the items were in better shape or new, would it be selling substantially higher?
Just as a reminder, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If the house is priced low, the market because of condition, then you cannot expect the seller to update everything that needs updating for the same price.
You expected everything new in this 1954 house?
It’s all one big negotiation and your agent is finding out more information by bringing in specialists.
Hopefully you can negotiate a few grand more. No, the seller is not going to buy you a new HVAC system.
In the end it’s all a calculated risk and you have to decide if the price matches the current known and unknown condition.
So basically either you ask for those things to be fixed or the price of them getting fixed deducted from the asking price and it’ll be negotiable to a point
I’ll be blunt. Those are all either things that work (which, in most localities, aren’t fair game to complain about) or they are very common/minor problems.
If those are the “big ones” on your report, you’ve got a relatively clean inspection report and should react accordingly.
But listen to the advice of your own personalized counsel.
There is no fair price. There is only a price you are willing to pay.
The first thing you need to decide is if you are willing to risk losing the house in order to get a discount.
If you *are* willing, then I suggest simply walking away from the transaction.
Tell their realtor (or have you’re realtor tell their realtor) that you were really crestfallen after the inspection as the amount of money you were setting aside for repairs turned out to be not nearly enough. Then respectfully, sadly ask to cancel the contract, and *let them propose* a discount to try to save the deal.
Haggling over repairs is a pain in the ass, but most sellers won’t blink at a last-minute $10,000 price cut if it saves the deal.
You can send them a “request for repair”. List the big ticket items and the cost. Ask them to replace/repair before closing or credit the amount off of the price. It’s pretty common, but be sure to frame the request as “we didn’t know this when we made the offer”.
Your agent is being very professional and that’s the right way to go.
When it’s evaluated by a professional you can come back and make them fix it to lower the price. I don’t see any reason not to do so unless you don’t want the house.
You can still walk away if they don’t negotiate with you.
I’m assuming it’s market specific or maybe I’m an a**hole negotiator that people hate to see coming. 90 days on the market I’m offering 10k under asking simply for that fact it’s been on market so long, before any inspections. I might get lucky and the seller is desperate and they accept it. In your case that HVAC system alone is probably going out in 2 years, so at minimum I’m asking for that amount off the price. But that’s just me. I’m never worried about “offending the seller”. Just my opinion as a millennial homeowner.
A professional might say I’m nuts or unrealistic, to each their own.
In hot markets we would bid over asking price so we get an acceptance over the other bidders and then get contractors and specialists in to try and negotiate back down.
We just bought basically this house. Ours is 1930s, the basement and extension are ungrounded, the HVAC is 26 years old and the water heater is 22 years old, and we found a hidden septic tank that was made out of an old cistern when the house was supposed to have sewer.
My recommendation is definitely get all the inspections so you know what to expect. We didn’t get a sewer inspection and if we had it would have saved us $23,000. If the inspections show the issues to be bigger than you can handle either request more off to help pay for the repairs, ask for the repairs to be done before close, or walk. That’s all pretty standard no matter the age of the house. Generally I think don’t ask off for things you obviously knew about when you made your offer.
Are you still within your inspection contingency window?
Furnace has a leak at end of life span not worth the repair I would ask for a new one. What was leaking?
Do you mean the shingles are lifting right not that the whole roof has lifted? You may not be able to get homeowners insurance if there’s bad roof issues. This has been a huge issue across the country.
Water tank venting must be fixed by sellers big safety issue smaller cost potentially.
These could be thousands in repairs do you have money to fix all of them if the seller says no? These do need to be addressed by seller just cross your fingers that they say they’ll pay. They may already know about them even so the next buyers going to find out anyways.
Right on. Did you test for Radon? not sure where you’re at but in the Midwest, it’s pretty prevalent so we always try to test for that. It takes 48 hours minimum typically. Ask your agent about that.
Otherwise, my advice to you is to just ask. It doesn’t hurt and you don’t know what might come of it. I’ve scored some crazy deals for my buyers by just putting the question out there, and sometimes the sellers will just go for it without pushing back. Had this been a multiple offer situation, the circumstances would be a little different.
Yes, it’s normal to negotiate after inspection and it’s in your real estate contract. Your options are explained there. In some state you have the option to walk away, in other states only if defects are hazardous. Either way, this house is a money-pit, but most houses are. Things all have to be fixed, replaced, and upgraded. Now you ask for what you think you can get and see what happens. Part of the negotiation is to access the motivation of the seller.
Just as an fyi I live in a 1941 house so I understand older homes.
Your agent is correct, you should extend the inspection window and get specialists. Take this from someone that didn’t get a sewer inspection and lived to pay the price for years later. btw, YES, it is normal to negotiate after the inspection. Your offer is based on a home in good working order and legally to code. Period. Just because the house is old, doesn’t mean the systems should be old. No one would expect the water heater to be 72 years old just because the house 72yo. All this points to deferred maintenance, so beware.
That furnace and a/c are way beyond life expectancy. I would ask for a discount, you don’t want the seller to put in the cheapest equipment to skirt by. For the other stuff I’d have them fix it with permits. That way you can be sure it’s fixed to code (unlike it has been). With the tree I’d ask that it be removed by a licensed and bonded arborist–not their mow and blow dude. Also those roof and sewer inspections will bring up lots of important stuff that you should discuss with your realtor whether a fix or discount is in order.
Just remember it’s in the sellers best interest for you NOT to do any of these inspections. Any findings legally have to be disclosed to subsequent buyers if you decide to back out of the deal. Check with your realtor, if they haven’t disclosed any previous findings to you, that means you’re the first offer or they’re shady and are holding back legal disclosures.
p.s. Those home warranties are hell to deal with. Sellers provide them to avoid responsibility but the warranties cover only key items under extenuating circumstances and use the worst vendors.