I received the report yesterday evening from my agent. (Mike Mantel is the prospective buyer.) I was too depressed to do a blog post about it. Mostly because it was...
...pages long. I was exhausted by the time I was done reading it. Absolutely every square inch was covered and after reading it, you'd wonder why anyone would want to live here. I forwarded it to my brother and he said the same thing...who can possibly sell a home when they pick apart every tiny little thing?? I've sold several houses in my lifetime and none of them were examined the way this one was. Maybe it's because the regulations are getting tighter...I don't know.The main thing was the roof. It's 15 years old, has hail damage and will need to be replaced in the next few years. I knew that and was willing to give an allowance for that. But I've already come down considerably from my listing price with the current offerors and don't want to go much lower. The bad thing about them is that they're going with an FHA loan...which means every repair, replacement or improvement has to be done before closing. You can't give an allowance for it for them to do the repair afterwards. I talked to some people at work about that and every one of them rolled their eyes and said that everything has to be perfect for FHA loans. I'm thinking that I need to look more into the couple that wanted to put in an offer last weekend before they found out I already had a contract on it.
So, anyway, my real estate agent suggested I call my insurance company and see if they would replace the roof. I called them and they've started a claim and will send someone by to inspect it. You already know how I feel about dealing with insurance companies from my experience from hell when my son had his accident.
Not to mention the fact that my deductible on a roof replacement would be $1,500. Yay!!!! I wonder if I could have the potential buyers pay for that.On to more of the inspection report. This one gave me a good laugh.
We haven't had a good rain in South Texas for about a year now. Go figure that I'd have dry soil in my yard. And yet, when I try to water it, I get in trouble with the utilities company. You can't win.Here was another one. The first part of the report had a checklist of items...one being the fireplace/chimney. Now, mind you, I don't have a fireplace or chimney, and yet I was checked as being "deficient" in this area. Does this mean I'm deficient in NOT having a fireplace or chimney?? Sure, I'd love a fireplace, but I don't think you can count it against me for not having one! How wrong is that??
And I thought this was a good one, too. Mr. Home Inspection Guy can criticize my home up and down, but the least he could do is spell "New Braunfels" correctly and get my zip code (78130) right. Duh.
So I was surfing the other day on properties in Mexico and found this place in Merida. (I loved the photo because it reminds me so much of photos I've taken on Isla.) $27,500. Sure, it needs a little (or a lot of) work, but what a cool place.
Look at those ceilings...and those huge doors! Yeah, it's a fixer-upper, but how cool could you make it?!
I'm thinking Mr. Home Inspection Guy would have a few things to say about it. But then again, I have a few things to say about Mr. Home Inspection Guy...which are probably not very fitting for a respectable blog site.
6 comments:
Hola mi Amiga , Pienso que hay solamente una cosa a decir "No deje el desgaste hibrido usted abajo.....Que las brisas caliente de Mexico estan llamando",,,,,,,,,
So sorry Deb. Hopefully, the realtor will be able to figure it all out and the sale will still go through. I've known some inspectors who had a conflict of interest because they also had their own repair company. I had that happen on one house we sold. The guy gave us a bid on how much he'd charge to do the repairs. I found someone else to do the big stuff for much less and the petty stuff was ignored. Most of our moves were corporate moves and they made buyers sign an 'as is' form. I don't even know if that would 'fly' anymore. We were so lucky on our last house when the buyers waived all the inspections.
Keep the faith!
Jeez, Deb! Too bad you're dealing with FHA. Hope the other buyer will come through. Keep us posted.
Thanks for the high hopes, mis amigas. My realtor called the agent whose clients wanted to put in an offer last weekend and they're still very interested so that's good. State Farm is going to inspect the roof in a few days so we'll see how that goes. I think I'd rather have bamboo shoots stuck up my fingernails than go through this.
Barry - Un dia, mi amigo...
You're right on FHA deal. Remember, this is your federal government at it's best. In part, you're experiencing the hangover of the economic and subprime lending practices. You need a cash buyer, or a substantial bank customer. It will happen. As far as the showing the house goes, that's just what you have to put up with if you're the seller. Your house, Deb, is a cutey, and will sell. The average market days for a sale is 60-90 days. You had a bunch of 'hits' right out of the chute. Based on that initial general interest in your property you shouldn't have to wait long. It might be prudent to inform your realtor to note a disclaimer on the listing agreement regarding the roof if your insurance company doesn't come through. Non-disclosure could come back and bite you in the butt. It might also be prudent to ask your realtor if you can hire a separate inspector to give you some advice..maybe $100 gratuity. Sometimes these inspectors, not unlike insurance claims guys, (be careful) are on the take, or have a lender/inspector connection. Bottom line, banks are real punchy these days. If a loan goes south, they, at least, want to know the property they might have to foreclose on is marketable. Good luck, kiddo. Sort of makes you want to pitch a tent on an acre of land to get away from it all, huh? ha ha Your experience is exactly why I'll never sell my house. It's paid for. A final alternative is to sell your house on a contract for deed, that process takes the inspection process out of the mix as well as the punchy banker. Get 30% down, minimum.
Thanks for the advice, Paul. Yeah...you're right about pitching a tent on a piece of land. Would be nice to have my own "Deb space."
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