Buying A Home
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Are these reAsonable requests?

The house price is 135 and the seller is paying 4480 towards closing. The house has original aluminum windows that I thought we in decent shape. The home inspection revealed that 4 windows have "failed" as well as a large picture window.

The garage door is rotted at the bottom and doesn't have the sensors to stop the door if something is in the way of it. It will need replaced soon. He inspector also said there is insufficient attic insulation and no venting to the attic, however when we spoke with the company that just put on a new roof they said they did install venting.

There is a minor issue with the electrical box, and some pipe needs to be longer on the hot water tank.

The front door has a hole in it and no weather stripping. There of course were lots of other small issues (faucet is leaky, gfi outlets not installed, etc)

DH thinks it's completely reasonable to ask them to drop the purchase price by 10,000.... I think that's absolutely ridiculous. Sure the house needs a lot of cosmetic updates, but we knew that part! There is also a fake stone wall that is falling apart and could fall in someone.

Is asking for a new garage door, front door, the failed windows to be replaced (or provide us the material, DH is in construction), the stone wall to be removed (easy diy job but someone would charge them a ton to get it done), the electrical box issue and hot water tank pipe to be fixed asking too much or not enough?

I'm not concerned about the electrical box and the HWT because my husband can do those easy, more concerned with the garage door and the windows and front door.

I think even for a 5,000 price reduction is too much, and was going to ask for the things to be repaired , a credit towards repairs, or price reduction of 2-3k....wwyd? I am SO irritated with DH because he seems to not understand that although the house needs cosmetic updates, it has a brand new roof, gutters, furnace, and the comps in the neighborhood are around 180k. The house was listed at 150, we gotnthem down to 135.... But he is convinced we are paying for "sentimental value"..... Forget the fact that the house is 2200+ sq feet.

Re: Are these reAsonable requests?

  • I would ask that they reduce the price or fix the items that are SAFETY concerns...garage door and stone work and any other thing that are a safety concern. Now that this inspection is done, they will probably have to disclose the safety issues anyway if you guys don't buy and if a new buyer comes along. Everything else is cosmetic or would be nice to have fixed, but I think you two are already very low on price. Stick to the safety things.
  • We asked for the failed windows to be replaced, the garage door to be replaced and sensors added (that's code now although it wasn't in 1965 when the house was built), the front door to be replaced and 6 inches of insulation added. We sent them the report where a lot of other issues are listed but went with these due to them being immediate fixes.

    The roof is about two weeks old and we noticed a dip in the roof. Whatever the issue is (I honestly think it is nothing) it's too late to fix now without tearing off the new roof, fixing the problem and reroofing. Obviously that's a ridiculous request. The roofer said he did talk to the seller about the dip in the roof but apparently it's not a major issue and he said "it's not going anywhere". We originally offered the seller much less and told them to forget the roof, we would take the house as is, but they insisted on putting on the roof... The house has been on the market since July and no one has bitten. They were just asking way too much. Even though cosmetics don't count, it's SO outdated compared to homes in the area that are selling for the same price. I'm hoping for the doors and windows to be fixed since they would be the most expensive repairs for us.
  • What's most likely wrong with the roof is the boards needed to be replaced and they didn't do it because the seller cheaped out. I would have your own roofer (or two) give you a second opinion on what they did and if the roof is correct or not.  Our roof is 6 years old, we were told it had plenty of life left. Two leaks and 4 roofers opinions later, we need a new roof. This one is a second layer and they just didn't do ANYTHING correctly. Fixing it is half the price of tearing off both layers and having the whole dang thing redone. We also had to have a patch done where the boards were rotten and they roofed right over them. Another thing with the roof, we've had ice dams (you don't want that) because the venting was improper. We had to have venting added to the soffits and what was there cleaned out. You should have plenty of venting in the soffits and a ridge vent or pot vents on the roof (at least here in the snowy north, I don't know about other areas). If the inspector says they aren't right, they probably aren't right. We bought in the winter and I don't think the inspector could really inspect the roof properly. As you can tell, I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about roofs. :)

    I really wouldn't have the sellers do anything considering they wouldn't have some boards on the roof replaced that needed to be. Do not trust the seller or their roofer. Get it checked out on your own. I would do any other repairs myself too. Then you know what you've had done and that it is done right. I doubt they would come down another $10,000, but I wouldn't buy it if the new roof is incorrect.


  • I also prefer to do my own repairs rather than the seller.  That way I control the quality of materials used and the workmanship.
    I would ask for cash back at closing or a huge price reduction.

  • Having them correct the safety concerns was smart!  Even if they fix the roof you should absolutely insist they purchase you a home warranty.  If the air conditioning unit or anything else has an issue you will only be out a standard service fee of around $60 depending on the plan.  We've had thousands of dollars saved because of the home warranty. ESPECIALLY since the house was built in 1965!  Home inspectors don't catch everything, so 3 months in when something comes up you don't want a surprise cost.  Our realtor supplied us the home warranty so you can inquire with him/her as well.  

    Good luck! :)
  • The most important thing is you approach this as a team. If it's going to be the house you live in, resenting your partner long term is more costly than dollars.
  • If it failed the home inspection it won't be cleared and covered on the insurance. Great idea though! It saved us a TON
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