Is it good to be a picky buyer?

[Anonymous]

What didn’t they disclose? Recent Water and mold damage? Did they fix the underlying issue or just chemical blast off the mold?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am in a similar boat to you. What is working of for me is finding a quality builder and being involved as much as I can in the process. Obviously more time and $$$, but the end product is worth it. So many of the spec homes out there are mediocre to crap, even in the high-end range.

Honestly, I don't think there are quality builders. They are all motivated to sell while cutting corners. I'd much rather buy an old home that was built right and fix it up.

+1

My coworkers with new builds have more problems every year than me and my 1990s colonial. Even their appliances suk.

[Anonymous]

$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

Agree, redoing a poured concrete or cinder block basement is no fun.
Even having a leaky egress basement window is a major and costly “fix.”

But let’s get real. The seller and agent chose not to disclose this ongoing water damage and structural issue. Who knows what else they lied about.

[Anonymous]

It’s your time and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't find a perfect house WITH a custom build. Trust me, I've built two homes. No home is perfect and you always have to compromise. Even when money is not an object, there are limitations. And builders, even the great ones, aren't perfect either. There is simply a certain degree of error in home building. We live in reality, not a fantasy.

Some issues are big enough of a red flag to be worth walking away. Finding out a house regularly floods because of it's location, that it is dire need of a costly repair and the sellers will not provide a subsidy for it, etc. But it sounds like you are ready to walk the second any issue comes up. In that case, I think you may not be cut out to be a home owner because something always comes up.

Even if you found a house went zero issues, I guarantee you within a year or two of buying, something would come up and you'll be livid and talking about suing the seller or whatever. You honestly might be better off renting.

I will say one advantage to building a custom home (with the right builder) or buying a new build is that with a builders contract, as opposed to a sellers contract, there is usually a warranty period where if you find issues, you can have them remediated by the builder. This can be useful both for small things like finishes and for major issues.

Walking away from a house with flooding issues means you’re not cut out to be a homeowner?


You sound like a greedy realtor. You probably are.

PPs response is very reasonable. They acknowledge some issues are worth walking away but they’re correct that you’ll discover issues within a year or two even with a new build. Maintenance is part of home ownership. You’re better off renting if replacing an appliance or landscaping is too much for you.

[Anonymous]

Had they disclosed it, and listed what was done to address the problem I would be ok. This way I would also walk away thinking what else…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

Agree, redoing a poured concrete or cinder block basement is no fun.
Even having a leaky egress basement window is a major and costly “fix.”

But let’s get real. The seller and agent chose not to disclose this ongoing water damage and structural issue. Who knows what else they lied about.

This. Don’t do business with liars, don’t buy a house from liars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

Agree, redoing a poured concrete or cinder block basement is no fun.
Even having a leaky egress basement window is a major and costly “fix.”

But let’s get real. The seller and agent chose not to disclose this ongoing water damage and structural issue. Who knows what else they lied about.

I swear there are people who post here about flooding and "structural" issues who have no idea what either means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

Agree, redoing a poured concrete or cinder block basement is no fun.
Even having a leaky egress basement window is a major and costly “fix.”

But let’s get real. The seller and agent chose not to disclose this ongoing water damage and structural issue. Who knows what else they lied about.

I swear there are people who post here about flooding and "structural" issues who have no idea what either means.

Op wasn’t specific either but the point still stands: don’t do business with a liar.

[Anonymous]

And if you choose to, button up the contract big time.

[Anonymous]

Frankly your title insurance lawyer would help you with terms more than a realtor.

And we never use a realtors suggested inspector. Too many kick backs and bad alignment. We get our own and lean towards hiring retired general contractors who take 3-4 hours to inspect a house and fill up each bathtub, checks all sockets, landscaping, age of systems/ appliances/roof, etc.

Just subtract the deferred maintenance from the purchase price or be ready for it down the pike.

But no one’s wants to move in and the first high volume rain see water in their house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5-10k in drainage and landscaping can solve most water problems. Walking for this amount on a 1.5 million home speaks of penny wise- pound foolish

Says the person who obviously never had to deal with flooding issues. It can be a lot more than just a 10k fix.

Agree, redoing a poured concrete or cinder block basement is no fun.
Even having a leaky egress basement window is a major and costly “fix.”

But let’s get real. The seller and agent chose not to disclose this ongoing water damage and structural issue. Who knows what else they lied about.

I swear there are people who post here about flooding and "structural" issues who have no idea what either means.

Especially real estate brokers.

Give me $1k every time they say “I don’t know”. Deliberately or they truly don’t know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you can do whatever you want but you’ll never find a perfect house. So maybe tell the realtors about this requirement up front so they can cut you loose.

I’m op. I know I’ll never find the perfect house. But if certain major items are not disclosed up front like flooding issues or foundational issues, is it so wrong to raise a red flag? Are people just supposed to take anything?

It’s a financial transaction, OP. It’s not a relationship where you are supposed to run if you see a “red flag.” If there is something about the property you don’t like or want to fix, you see if you can get the price that factors in the cost & time of those repairs.