Buying A Home
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What repairs/issues would make you walk?
Just curious. We're going to see a house tomorrow that's had some huge price drops over the past year and it's finally being sold "as is." I'm thinking there has to be a major problem that people are not willing to take on.
For me, I can only think of two dealbreakers -- mold and foundation/structural problems.
But a bad roof, bad HVAC, etc. - all that can be fixed, right? What say you young homebuyers ?
Re: What repairs/issues would make you walk?
Mold would be a huge dealbreaker for me. It would scare me that even if it were treated that it could come back and cause health problems. Also, for resale you have to divulge if there has been mold on the premises. And, like me, lots of people are freaked out by that, which could make resale very tough.
Foundation would be my next biggest concern. I cannot say I'd run away from a problem there, but I'd want to have the foundation/basement inspected by someone specifically from that field of work, not just a general inspector. While it is normal for shifting and settling in any home, I'd want to know if what s/he saw was really severe and could be a reoccurring problem even if fixed. I know that these sorts of repairs can run in to the tens of thousands of dollars if they are really bad.
Roofs and HVAC systems just age with normal wear and tear. These issues would not make me run away. Yes, they can be fixed. I think a new HVAC could run several thousand dollars. A new roof, depending on square footage, labor and type of material used, could run you at least $6k.
Serious, far-reaching mold would be my main dealbreaker. It's hard to remediate and its expensive to try. I wouldn't be quite so ready to walk away over a small mold issue (like a little bit in the cabinet under the sink), unless there were signs that it was ongoing or spreading.
Extensive termite/ant damage would be a dealbreaker for me. If the house requires all or most of the wood to be replaced, it's essentially a teardown and that's not what we're looking for at the moment.
Depending on the price of the house, structural issues (unless they were beyond major) would not bother me. I'd get an engineer to walk through and give me a general idea/estimate prior to purchasing, but again, provided the price was right, I wouldn't turn away from repairing a structure, especially in an older house.
My parents neighbor's house was sold as-is after a bunch of large price drops. He died so it was part of his estate. He didn't have any relatives in the area to help w/upkeep while it was for sale and they did not want to be bothered with any repairs (no funds to pay out of I guess). The only thing that we know of that was wrong w/the house is that occasionally he would get water in his basement, but otherwise we aren't sure of anything else.
For me personally, the dollar value of the repair would make something a deal breaker no matter what it is. Say, anything over $4000. But i'm over the "fixer upper" stage of my life. Been there, done that. lol
Mold and foundational are a given. I also walk away if there is a serious water problem, i.e. flooding in the basement, if nothing has been done to repair.
I personally would also walk away if it needed a new HVAC or roof, because I don't want to lay out that kind of money right away. (rather use it for decorating or remodeling) But that is a personal preference and we aren't looking for fixer uppers.
foundation, mold, anything major would be a deal breaker to me.
We are not handy people and the only things I'm willing to deal with is flooring, paint (on the inside), and buying new appliances. Everything else better be in good shape for now.
Extensive mold, foundation, and anything that would require a lot of time/effort/money.
Our current house had a small and very easily remedied mold issue that resulted after a hot water tank burst. It was isolated to a small area, not actively growing, and was fixed by removing the drywall and patching it. NBD. The gut the entire house stuff? No way.
A few goods ones I had not thought of. Thanks, ladies.
Ditto the expense comments - I would definitely do the math on the needed repairs and add like a 20% cushion for problems you'll probably find. I'd hate to tap into the efund so quickly.
Extensive mold, foundation issues, and anything that requires a lot of time, effort, or money to fix are my deal breakers.
I am however completely fine with just about anything else. Where I live know, my FI and I completely gutted the bathroom and kitchen and then made them what we wanted.
Here here!
We walked a couple years ago over a house that had 2 issues. 1) an HVAC that had had no preventative maintenance done to it and was nearing the end of its lifespan even though it was newer, combined with 2) tornado damage to the roof that the sellers knew about, pocketed the insurance money on, yet didn't repair and didn't disclose.
In the grand scheme of house problems, they were minor, but they were giant red flags for me that these were people who didn't take care of their house and that there would be problems cropping up for years.
Newbies often think walking is a big deal. It's not. Go with your gut and walk if you need to. If something doesn't feel right, don't ignore it.
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Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Very little would make us walk
During the inspection period we learned that the sewer line has tree branches in it, a few leaks in the newer roof, and lots of other smaller things. Prior to that we knew/saw asbestos insulation on duct work and flooring in the basement, and an underground oil tank that ought to be replaced. Long story short, we had to rescind our offer during the inspection period, but when we renegotiated with them we offered even less for an "as is" price.
But in our case there aren't a lot of 1890s houses on the market and this will be our forever home. We think we are doing well price wise, our contract is for 65k less than their most recent asking price, which was lowered 150k from their original asking price.
Agree with others on mold and structural.
Additionally, kitchens and bathrooms have to be priced in for me. If I have to remodel it, it better be reflected in the price. Replacing windows is something else I'm not willing to do. My mother in law just paid $30K to get that done.
We broke a deal recently because of a roof, but it was because the seller wouldn't fix it or give us a price reduction so that we could afford to fix it. Overall I would say the roof isn't a big deal. In NM, because the sun and wind are so harsh, they wear out in 10-15 years. It's not a huge deal to get them fixed that often.
Mold would only be a problem if it were severe enough. I moved into a house with mold growing behind the wallpaper, and it required some cleanup and a little drywall replacement, but wasn't too difficult. Now, if you needed to replace the drywall in the whole house, I'd probably avoid the house unless I was getting it at an extremely low price.
The real deal breaker for me is foundation. If the house is structurally unsound, I'd be afraid to live in it. We looked at a house yesterday in which an entire corner of the house had settled and all the floors were slanted. We walked out immediately.
Ditto PP--mold & foundation are definitely the top issues. Also, there could be environmental issues like Radon depending on where you live.
We walked away from a house when the sellers gave us an "amended" disclosures list 24 hours after signing. It was completely different than the first disclosure sheet & I honestly didn't feel like we could trust them anymore. In addition, we found out they had finished the basement without permits & had avoided paying taxes on an extra bedroom & bathroom in the home for years(!). The electrical work was done kinda hokey... maybe wasn't done professionally?? We were gone within 72 hours of signing the original document.
Well, the wrong combination of any issue and price would make me walk. But as far as straight up, no-price-can-make-it-ok issues, some of ours were:
- Foundation cracks/issues
- Mold that has any real potential for being systemic
- Lack of access to either cable or DSL, which would mean I couldn't ever work from home (satellite's not good enough). That actually was a dealbreaker on one house.
- Onerous historical society type restrictions, and/or excessive restrictive covenants on the property
- House too close to the road (e.g., a farmhouse that was 12 feet away from the county road)
Mold on its own is never the only issue. Mold, to me, means that there are one or more OTHER big issues that were neglected, and the mold is the tip of the iceberg. Plumbing failure, foundation issues, something else is lurking.
I also would never buy a house that had private sewerage (septic). There are some towns here who do not have any municipal sewer and although they are highly desirable towns I couldn't buy a house there because I do not want to deal with the upkeep/issues with septic.