Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:39     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:Dcum always bashes smart and demanding buyers. Mostly presumably because they know the horrors their houses hide come sale time. Don’t pay them any mind. Who cares? May the best negotiator win.


No worries, actually, the topic has been helpful.

This deal may not stand because I negotiated it anticipating typical concessions on the inspection, and my agent also expected the same. Now we will know better and negotiate more aggressively upfront.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:38     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If the furnace is in working order you can’t just ask for a new one because it’s old. I’ve never heard of that. Was there something specifically wrong with it??


Some pipe coming from it is cracked and is a potential carbon monoxide threat.


Ah ok. That makes more sense then just saying it’s old. Agree they should fix safety issues.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:30     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:If the furnace is in working order you can’t just ask for a new one because it’s old. I’ve never heard of that. Was there something specifically wrong with it??


Some pipe coming from it is cracked and is a potential carbon monoxide threat.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:30     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I can't get over the furnace. LOL. Why not just ask for a brand new roof while you are at it.


Agree, and this is probably why the sellers came back as a hard no to all of OP’s requests. Anyone who expects something to be preemptively replaced just because it’s “old” loses their credibility and seems difficult to deal with. No one in their right mind is just going to buy you a new furnace (roof/appliances/etc.) just because you wish you were buying a house with a new one. That was a pretty egregious ask and frankly I’m shocked your realtor didn’t talk you out of asking for that. Also, sellers aren’t paying to bring older homes up to code. You should have known based on the age of the house that it would not be built to modern day code and that means it’s grandfathered in unless some sort of construction is done. Again, no one is bringing an old house up to modern day code because you wish that you were buying something up to the standards of new construction.

If you had gone in more reasonably, maybe you could have asked for the deck repair (since that is the type of hidden safety issue that an inspection is meant to catch).

You are the one who bait and switched the sellers by deciding you want to pay for an older home, but that you expect it to be like brand new.



In our previous house, the water heater was old. We chose not to replace it, but ended up giving some partial cost towards replacement at closing. I think of it as completely normal over the previous 4 deals.

I think the culture is just different after the extreme seller's market in the last 3 years.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:25     Subject: De facto "as is"
If the furnace is in working order you can’t just ask for a new one because it’s old. I’ve never heard of that. Was there something specifically wrong with it??
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:23     Subject: De facto "as is"
Dcum always bashes smart and demanding buyers. Mostly presumably because they know the horrors their houses hide come sale time. Don’t pay them any mind. Who cares? May the best negotiator win.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:22     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Before you made an offer, you could see the driveway was cracked and the furnace was old, no? Is the chimney a safety hazard? Lots of old houses are not up to current code. You sound like a typical first time home buyer!


People always say that, but it’s hard to notice stuff and buyers don’t know what to look for unless they happen to be home inspectors.
In addition, it’s a negotiation and each side has a right to do the best they can.

This is a lot of work and VA is a non-disclosure state. I’d walk. I’d also worry about leaks and mold because most of the houses this poorly maintained have that problem and because the chimney is in such a poor shape. We found everything to be a lot more expensive than the inspector estimate (a multiple) plus a hassle.

Frankly, in this market the seller would be foolish to not give the buyer closing costs. The buyer is smart and has an upper hand. The sellers had plenty of time to hustle. Buyers turn!

OP take your time. Interest rates will go down and more houses will come on the market.


The market is not as anemic as you think, but yes we will walk without hesitation if we cannot negotiate the inspection outcomes appropriately.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:16     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I can't get over the furnace. LOL. Why not just ask for a brand new roof while you are at it.


Agree, and this is probably why the sellers came back as a hard no to all of OP’s requests. Anyone who expects something to be preemptively replaced just because it’s “old” loses their credibility and seems difficult to deal with. No one in their right mind is just going to buy you a new furnace (roof/appliances/etc.) just because you wish you were buying a house with a new one. That was a pretty egregious ask and frankly I’m shocked your realtor didn’t talk you out of asking for that. Also, sellers aren’t paying to bring older homes up to code. You should have known based on the age of the house that it would not be built to modern day code and that means it’s grandfathered in unless some sort of construction is done. Again, no one is bringing an old house up to modern day code because you wish that you were buying something up to the standards of new construction.

If you had gone in more reasonably, maybe you could have asked for the deck repair (since that is the type of hidden safety issue that an inspection is meant to catch).

You are the one who bait and switched the sellers by deciding you want to pay for an older home, but that you expect it to be like brand new.



Don’t be a d$ck. It’s not a moral issue. OP is well within rights to ask. I’d ask for all the closing costs. I’d also worry there’s a lot more wrong.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 22:15     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:Before you made an offer, you could see the driveway was cracked and the furnace was old, no? Is the chimney a safety hazard? Lots of old houses are not up to current code. You sound like a typical first time home buyer!


People always say that, but it’s hard to notice stuff and buyers don’t know what to look for unless they happen to be home inspectors.
In addition, it’s a negotiation and each side has a right to do the best they can.

This is a lot of work and VA is a non-disclosure state. I’d walk. I’d also worry about leaks and mold because most of the houses this poorly maintained have that problem and because the chimney is in such a poor shape. We found everything to be a lot more expensive than the inspector estimate (a multiple) plus a hassle.

Frankly, in this market the seller would be foolish to not give the buyer closing costs. The buyer is smart and has an upper hand. The sellers had plenty of time to hustle. Buyers turn!

OP take your time. Interest rates will go down and more houses will come on the market.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:56     Subject: De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:I can't get over the furnace. LOL. Why not just ask for a brand new roof while you are at it.


Agree, and this is probably why the sellers came back as a hard no to all of OP’s requests. Anyone who expects something to be preemptively replaced just because it’s “old” loses their credibility and seems difficult to deal with. No one in their right mind is just going to buy you a new furnace (roof/appliances/etc.) just because you wish you were buying a house with a new one. That was a pretty egregious ask and frankly I’m shocked your realtor didn’t talk you out of asking for that. Also, sellers aren’t paying to bring older homes up to code. You should have known based on the age of the house that it would not be built to modern day code and that means it’s grandfathered in unless some sort of construction is done. Again, no one is bringing an old house up to modern day code because you wish that you were buying something up to the standards of new construction.

If you had gone in more reasonably, maybe you could have asked for the deck repair (since that is the type of hidden safety issue that an inspection is meant to catch).

You are the one who bait and switched the sellers by deciding you want to pay for an older home, but that you expect it to be like brand new.

Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:31     Subject: Re:De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about nitpicking, it’s about what you knew/should have known at the time of the offer. You could see the driveway, you could/should have seen the furnace. That’s the determining factor, not about nitpicking.


I am not a contractor. The inspector put all of those items as fix/replace immediately. I am ok with negotiating a partial repair by them and by me. I am not ok with as-is home that is advertising as a conventional sale.


I think your definition of “conventional sale” is something you made up in your head tbh. You thought you understood the terminology but you were actually misinformed. That’s okay, live and learn. “Conventional sale” does not mean they fix everything or anything that comes up in the inspection. It just means you get the chance to back out after the inspection, and they may or may not negotiate with you at that point.


Agreed. Sounds like their agent should be telling them this, but perhaps is trying to entertain the emotions.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:23     Subject: Re:De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:(I mean, I had to repair a small dip in my driveway during my last sale and fill in cracks in my sidewalk or something. Electrician came in to certify some outlets. And we paid like 3k for some repairs we could not do right away. Same thing happened when we bought both previous homes in Maryland. I always expected that is normal part of the sale process)


No, you didn’t. You chose to. You could have said no and let them walk or suck it up. There’s nothing about an inspection contingency that requires the seller to do anything. You just got confused somehow.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:18     Subject: Re:De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about nitpicking, it’s about what you knew/should have known at the time of the offer. You could see the driveway, you could/should have seen the furnace. That’s the determining factor, not about nitpicking.


I am not a contractor. The inspector put all of those items as fix/replace immediately. I am ok with negotiating a partial repair by them and by me. I am not ok with as-is home that is advertising as a conventional sale.


I think your definition of “conventional sale” is something you made up in your head tbh. You thought you understood the terminology but you were actually misinformed. That’s okay, live and learn. “Conventional sale” does not mean they fix everything or anything that comes up in the inspection. It just means you get the chance to back out after the inspection, and they may or may not negotiate with you at that point.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:15     Subject: Re:De facto "as is"
OP, it’s you. You had a misunderstanding that an inspection contingency means the house should “pass” the inspection or be repaired/paid for. That’s not what it means. It just means you get to inspect the house and back out, or negotiate. People on here are being a little harsh about it but thems the breaks. The cost of the inspection is on you. Lots of people around here pay for pre-inspections and then lose on the house anyway. That’s the cost of doing business and your decision.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2023 21:12     Subject: Re:De facto "as is"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about nitpicking, it’s about what you knew/should have known at the time of the offer. You could see the driveway, you could/should have seen the furnace. That’s the determining factor, not about nitpicking.


I am not a contractor. The inspector put all of those items as fix/replace immediately. I am ok with negotiating a partial repair by them and by me. I am not ok with as-is home that is advertising as a conventional sale.


But you could see them prior to offer. I think that is the disconnect. You could see the crumbling driveway and therefore should have offered less if you thought it would need replacing.

It does require some sophistication in knowing whether it’s a want or a need but your realtor should have helped a bit with that.