the house "failed" inspection

Well - by our standards, anyway!

It is much more of a project than we wanted to take on. So we plan to withdraw our offer. Even if we negotiated the price down and the seller agreed to fix some things (dobutful), it's way, way too much of a project for us right now.

It needs a new roof, and consider the last one was put on incorrectly, we're looking at nearly double what it would otherwise cost. Add to that a desperate and immediate need for a new boiler and all new windows (25 in all!) and it's just a deal breaker for us. This is all coupled with other things - the leaks in the attic, the fact that there is no insulation in the attic, the exposed and NOT capped asbestos in the basement, and several wasp nests in the attic. (I'm allergic) Oh, gee, and there is a laundry list of other things it needs / other problems - not the least of which is that the house was painted while wet and needs more serious outside work than we anticipated. Oh, and I tried to open at least 8 windows and only succeeded in getting 2 open -- and those two only opened partially.

At any rate, we need to withdraw our offer today. I'm not sure how this is normally done. I plan to call our attorney and tell her this morning -- we'll see what she says. I'm not sure if we call the realtor or if she will want to call the realtor to tell her... I'd rather the attorney call the realtor, but I'm not sure how it will go.

We signed a written offer (not the contract and we didn't put any money down), but that shouldn't matter... It said "pending engineer's report" anyway...

Back to the drawing board.

I'm sad b/c I did love the house -- but not sad enough to take it on with all the work it needs!

Message edited 4/2/2007 9:04:13 AM.

Re: the house "failed" inspection

good luck..

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I think it's a wise idea to withdraw the offer!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Thanks!!

As disappointing as it was, the house would wind up being a money pit, I think!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Sorry to hear the inspection "failed" - you'll find a house that meets your expectations and passed. Good luck!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I'm sorry to hear that! But as everyone says, these things happen for a reason...
You can just call your REA and withdraw your offer, you don't need to get your attorney involved.
Good luck on your search!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I'm so sorry but good thing you know all this now and you'll find a better place for ya!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

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and that's only the things the engineer caught. There are probably 50 more things that could make the purchase even worse.

Re: the house "failed" inspection

That was my fear. After all, it's just a visual inspection.

BTW, we used the BEST engineering firm. If anyone wants the name, feel free to FM me. We were told by a realtor that realtors don't recommend them because they're too good. When we find the next house, we'll certainly be using them again. He spent almost 2.5 hours going over every inch of the house with us.

My fiance is an engineer and insisted we have an actual licensed PE. This firm uses only licensed PEs and RAs (engineers and architechts). They were fabulous. If I were selling, I wouldn't want them anywhere near my house!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I'm osrry to hear that but it's good to find out now than be stuck with a mess later! Good luck with your search and keep us posted on how things go!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I'm definitely glad we had a good engineer and were able to find out ahead of time.

I sort of feel bad for the owner, who was probably excited that she got our (very good) offer so quickly... However, she only purchased the house 9 months ago and should have known about all the issues we found - or at least the major ones.

So I feel sort of bad about the whole situation, but so relieved to know that we are walking away from what could turn into a nightmare!

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Re: the house "failed" inspection

With the amount of work the house needs (and the damage that has already been done to the house), there is no room to negotiate. Even if she fixed it, we probably wouldn't be comfortable with it because there is no non-invasive way to determine the extent of the exterior damage.

We're looking at nearly $50,000 worth of work that needs to be done, none of which could wait more than a year.

1. We doubt the owners would do all the work satisfactorily

2. Even if she did take $50,000 off the price of the house (doubtful, since that would be less than she paid for it 9 months ago), we still wouldn't have the cash at the outset to fix all of the problems that need to be fixed immediately. And none of them can wait - they all need to be done before next winter or else we'd just pray all winter that nothing went wrong...

3. There is no non-invasive way to determine the extent of the damage to the outside of the house...

It's basically way more of a project than we wanted. If we had to just put in the new windows or just fix the roof, that would be one thing... but the damage is so extensive that we just don't feel comfortable going forward.

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Re: the house "failed" inspection

I'm glad you all don't think we're nuts... We feel terrible to have to withdraw our offer, but it's the best decision for us.

My fiance called the realtor to tell her, and she was very nice about it. SHe was really pressing us for information to give back to the homeowner. He just sort of gave her some very general comments -- To be honest, we paid almost $500 for the inspection. I wasn't about to turn over a copy of the engineer's report to them for nothing. Besides, she should have known most of this stuff, unless her engineers were awful - she only bought the house 9 months ago.

At any rate, it was tough explaining to the realtor that basically, the things we knew needed work need much more extensive work than we realized and we're not willing to go through all of that, just to potentially find even more wrong with the house.

The realtor is lovely, and we feel awful for the owner (who is likely let down) having to withdraw our offer... but it's best for us. I hope the owner finds the right buyer. It's just not right for us at this point in time.

It's an adorable home for the right person who wants to put the $ into it. We're just not looking for a project this big.

Message edited 4/2/2007 4:50:53 PM.

Re: the house "failed" inspection

Re: the house "failed" inspection

We withdrew our offer on a house bc we werent up for the work....good luck