Seller countered home inspection addendum--now what?

[Anonymous]

We had quite a bit of issues, but we let most of them go, since they were mostly minor.

We did stand firm on the electrical fuse box and outside connection work because the inspector said it was a fire hazard. The seller paid.

[Anonymous]

I'm currently selling my house, if our buyers asked for $10,000 we'd be pretty shocked. That's a lot. We might consider giving them $1000 towards a specific repair, but no more than that. It's a sellers market and we had multiple offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure your agent is giving you great advice. There are certain things which should be fixed and covered by the sellers.

The regrading of the property: I think that's a big wish list item and I'm betting it's the big ticket item on your list. I would balk to if I were the seller. FYI -- I've never done a home inspection where the home inspector didn't mention grading as something which should be done at some point in the future. It's never been a deal breaker, it's more along the lines of this is something you should do to maintain your home.

Is the roof not being done going to impact your ability to get house insurance? If no, then this might be something which needs to be dropped.

The HVAC: should be repaired. You are not asking for a new HVAC are you?

Are you first time homebuyers?

I think you need to ask yourself these questions:
* Do you want this house? I mean really, really want it?
* Do you have the money in reserves to handle the maintenance of the house on an ongoing basis?

Out of curiosity, why would this advice be in the agent's interest if it's not in the buyer's best interest. Seems like it may make the deal fall through. Wouldn't the agent want to get the deal done unless the repair issues were pretty serious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Out of curiosity, why would this advice be in the agent's interest if it's not in the buyer's best interest. Seems like it may make the deal fall through. Wouldn't the agent want to get the deal done unless the repair issues were pretty serious?

Here's why I think it could be bad advice or lack of guidance, if you prefer. I don't think the advice is in the agent's best interest -- I said the agent is giving bad advice. The agent should be helping the buyer make good decisions. They should explain what types of concessions they can realistically expect to get from the seller. They should be saying, sure you can ask for this, but be prepared for the seller to say no.

Maybe the OP's agent is doing this, but it didn't come across in the opening post. It sounds like the buyer's not sure where to go after the seller shut them down. If I was the agent, I would have encouraged the buyer to counter, but with a greatly reduced list.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you have an update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am wrong, but when the seller counters, you can accept or counter, but if you counter, the seller can just say that there is no contract anymore, and you are done, the seller can find another buyer. happened to a friend of mine, the seller got pissed off and when friend countered again the seller said no and there is no contract. friend lost the house, who went to another buyer

NP here. My understanding of the regional contract is that after one party voids the contract, the other party has one last chance to accept the first party's most recent offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am wrong, but when the seller counters, you can accept or counter, but if you counter, the seller can just say that there is no contract anymore, and you are done, the seller can find another buyer. happened to a friend of mine, the seller got pissed off and when friend countered again the seller said no and there is no contract. friend lost the house, who went to another buyer

And you know what? That's an acceptable outcome too in many cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am wrong, but when the seller counters, you can accept or counter, but if you counter, the seller can just say that there is no contract anymore, and you are done, the seller can find another buyer. happened to a friend of mine, the seller got pissed off and when friend countered again the seller said no and there is no contract. friend lost the house, who went to another buyer

NP here. My understanding of the regional contract is that after one party voids the contract, the other party has one last chance to accept the first party's most recent offer.

That question seems to come from the belief that one party wants OUT of the contract. If both parties want to close the deal, they will keep negotiating.

[Anonymous]

if i were a seller I wouldn't want to be nickel and dimed. i'd agree to fix basic stuff that should be in working order, but wouldn't agree to a new roof and major regrading.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thought long and hard about this, processed with agent and husband. Decided it simply wasn't worth losing the house for the few thousand we hoped to get for the HVAC (which we will replace before we move in). We want this house and we can afford the repairs. We've been looking for months and know what is out there, so feel confident that this is the right fit for our family.

At the end of the day, it remains a sellers market and this is a house in a highly desirable neighborhood in NOVA. We sucked it up and let the inspection contingency expire. Thanks for all of your feedback. It helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thought long and hard about this, processed with agent and husband. Decided it simply wasn't worth losing the house for the few thousand we hoped to get for the HVAC (which we will replace before we move in). We want this house and we can afford the repairs. We've been looking for months and know what is out there, so feel confident that this is the right fit for our family.

At the end of the day, it remains a sellers market and this is a house in a highly desirable neighborhood in NOVA. We sucked it up and let the inspection contingency expire. Thanks for all of your feedback. It helped.

Good for you OP. Hope it all goes smoothly. Let us know when you close!

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your new home!!

[Anonymous]

Congrats OP! Don't look back!