We’ve been in negotiations for a house in Dutchess county NY for 2 weeks now. Turns out there’s a mold issue, high radon, and a cracked septic tank under a deck and hot tub.
Seller flipped out at mold remediation cost $20k ish and said they’ll find a contractor to do it cheaper. There is mold all over the attic crawlspace in the roof boards bc the seller declined roof vents 6 years ago when it was replaced.
The septic replacement is $11k but the deck and hot tub placed on top needs to be removed and repaired and that is an additional $13,500. Radon mitigation is another $2k. Total is $26,500. Sellers are saying they will only give us $20k to these repairs. We feel like we should walk as they’re being very unreasonable. What would you all do?
Sellers won’t cover full cost of septic and radon repairs
byu/CommentOld4223 inRealEstate
Posted by CommentOld4223
36 Comments
Very simple really
1. Accept the 6.5k hit as a part of the house price and eat it because the house is worth it
2. Tell them you’re walking and end the deal
Now, it is **possible** that telling them you’re walking will make them cave, but there’s no way to know that, so you need to be willing to walk.
Your agent needs to remind them that they are now **LEGALLY REQUIRED** to disclose these problems to any future buyer and can be sued for fraud if they do not though
That’s a LOT. Sellers should bend over backwards for you bc if you walk, they’re going to have to do the repairs or lower the price and are legally required to disclose those issues to the next potential buyers.
I wouldn’t trust the sellers to do the repairs, they will get the cheapest possible person who will do a cheap job. Only you can say if you want to buy the house for $7k more and if the concessions are reasonable demands.
Walk.
I think I know what house your talking about. Is it a spilt level? We’re also looking in Dutchess/ Putnam and it’s a mess. We actually went and looked at a home if you want the address I’m DM you privately gorgeous house put when I pulled the property card it came back as a town well which I felt odd. Well apparently IBM used the lot Nextdoor as a dumping ground and all the wells were deemed unsafe as it’s now a superfund site. The chemicals present were TCE and PCE. It’s a similar situation like the Erin Brockivich movie. We had made an offer and just pulled it. Turns out the seller has to disclose this info and they didn’t.
We looked at so many houses with mold and water issues and no permit homes. These houses go above ask and I don’t know how. I know the market is insane in Dutchess/ Putnam right now I would walk from this house. Every single home we have looked at needs so much work and they want top dollar. Just an FYI most of Dutchess increases property taxes to whatever price you pay not the appraisal price or the past taxes. Just be aware. Again if you want the addresses of any of the homes I’ve seen which are a mess I’d be happy to send the address so you don’t waist your time or money on inspections.
I would let this house go. Too many major issues
They are free to say no. You are free to walk away. It’s as simple as that.
Seller eats the cost, or walk. They don’t have any better options, as they won’t be able to get a certificate of occupancy for the property without functioning septic.
Either take the $20k discount and pay for the repairs yourself or walk away.
Seller will have to disclose these defects to subsequent interested parties, but that isn’t the end of the world. If you buy it, you’ll have to get them addressed.
Do not have the seller fix them. That almost always ends poorly.
Dude, walk away.
If the mold is just in the attic crawlspace, $20K sounds REALLY high. I bought a house in Dutchess county recently that had some mold in the attic crawlspace due to lack of ventilation that the sellers remediated before closing – I am CERTAIN it was nowhere near that expensive (I have a second independent inspection after the remediation to make sure it was done/done right). But perhaps the mold in this house is much worse? Mine was not terrible (not the dangerous black mold) but it was enough that it needed to be taken care of.
As for whether or not you should walk – how is the house otherwise priced, and how badly do you want the house? Will “losing” it over $6,500 be worth it?
Run Forest Run…
I’d walk. Sounds like they didn’t take care of it and you’re gonna end up spending way more than $26k soon.
Honestly 20k on a 26k estimate seems really reasonable. How much is the house?
Walk away. Sounds like a lot of deferred maintenance and this might just be the tip of the iceberg.
Mold? No thank you.
Take the money and do it yourself. They are actually being generous with $20k. Often sellers come back with: we will cover 1/2.
$20K sounds generous to me just make sure it’s cash at closing and not a deduction off the sales price
There is always another house and it’s a buyers market at least where I’m living – Florida.
They don’t owe you anything, that’s why there is negotiations. You can either walk, or accept the 20k and move on with the fixes. It’s that simple. Binary.
Gut reaction based on the mold alone, walk away. Mold needs to be mitigated properly, not by a cheaper contractor.
I mean they offered $20k…
I would run not walk
To me the mold remediation is the red flag. We had 2 separate minor issues several years ago. The mold was hidden in both cases and was causing me headaches and her respiratory problems. At our ages, we would bail out shop elsewhere. Remember, young children are very sensitive to mold also. No go for me.
Don’t buy this house
NEVER trust sellers to do repairs. This should be a baseline rule of real estate purchasing.
Negotiate a discount to cover repairs, and if you can’t agree on a new price for the property as-is, then walk away. The one thing you can be assured of is any work a seller gets done to address inspection issues will be the cheapest possible, with little to no guarantees of quality or code compliance.
Did you get an engineer to complete septic plans? That alone can cost 4-5k and you won’t know the true cost until that is done and you get quotes from septic contractors. In NJ septic systems can cost 3 to 5x what you are quoting.
DO NOT let them do mold remediation “cheaper.” Idk about NY but mold remediation is not a regulated thing in most states. If following IICRC guidelines, your $20k remediation sounds reasonable. But the seller can also find somebody who will do “remediation” for $5k. But they won’t do the complete cleaning per IICRC standards. We call them the “magic mold guys” and their favorite tools are bleach and Kilz.
Also, I didn’t know radon systems were required in NY.
I would pursue a credit for the repairs, rather than asking the seller to make the repairs.
But FYI you aren’t going to get 100% of what you want. You’ll have to decide if you want to do it, or walk away.
I wouldnt walk…
id RUN
As a seller I wouldn’t budge. Someone will come around and be willing to pay the higher price.
$20k when your bids are $26k seems like more than reasonable for an older house if it’s priced appropriately.
Walk. Legally It all has to be disclosed by them moving forward .
Take the 20k or leave.
Me? I won’t buy a house with those issues.
1. never have sellers do repairs unless you’ve mutually agreed on the contractor and scope of work.
2. this sounds like a ton of risk and I would walk. I feel like you might look back and say what was found was the tip of the iceberg