*Sigh*
Another one bites the dust. The seller for the condo that I made an offer on last Friday accepted an offer that came in after mine. Even though the condo would have required a lot of work, it was in a beautiful location that would have made the work worth it. I am very disappointed, but, well, I am not defeated and remain optimistic. At the moment, the condo development that I want to live in has nothing available.
I may not need to be in a hurry. This evening, my real estate lawyer shared the letter from the lawyer representing the buyers for our house, regarding their requested modifications to the contract resulting from the walk through inspection they did last Saturday.
Bear with me, please. I have never sold a house, so this stuff is new to me. I know that some buyers try to take advantage of the inspection to get a better deal, so they make requests that can seem ridiculous.
Let me just supply this little tidbit — my house is around 32 years old (or more). I know how well maintained it is, know that it has a new roof, new asphalt driveway, new faucets, new air conditioner and furnace, new carpet in some rooms, new master bedroom windows, new shed roof, freshly painted, new hose bib in the garage. In other words, it took a three hour walk through inspection because they really had to search for stuff. The only credit I am/was prepared to give was for 6 windows that are still the original windows. The seals in those windows went bad and are recaulked, but they really need to be replaced. If I wasn’t selling the house, I would replace those windows this year. This place isn’t perfect, it’s not new after all, but I’m not patting myself on the back unnecessarily. This place is in very good shape and is a nice deal for someone.
I am going to see what the lawyer says, but if the buyer sticks to their guns, they are not going to be buying my house. The letter asks for eight modifications to the contract —
- Repair or replace the fireplace. They claim that it’s a gas log fireplace and wood was burned in it. IT’S A WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE WITH A GAS STARTER, MORONS. The fireplace is in good shape. I told the lawyer I will not even consider this modification.
- They claim there is an “active” leak in the powder room bathroom sink. There isn’t a leak, at all, never has been one. These people must have been smoking pot during the inspection.
- The upper south corner of the garage has some damaged wood in the wall near the roof due to a leak that happened several years ago. There is one two by four that should be replaced. This is one of the few legit requests from the potential buyer.
- I am going to quote this one — “The furnace/hot water heater duct flue is not correctly secured”. The duct work is two seasons old, new when we had the furnace replaced. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the duct, nothing loose, nothing cockeyed. If I could have rolled my eyes in writing, I would have in my written response to my lawyer.
- “There is some mold present in the attic of the home” . There is an inspection report that I have not seen yet. The buyer wants mold remediation. I could go up in the attic and wipe the few dime sized mold spots on the roof sheeting.. roof sheeting that was replaced LAST SEPTEMBER. While I understand that mold is a hot item when buying a house these days, I have more mold in my refrigerator than in my attic.
- This item mentions credit for windows with broken seals and missing or damaged screens. OK. I haven’t seen what kind of credit is requested, but I am not going to agree to more than $4000-5000. It’s really the only credit request that I will agree to.
- “Wiring for kitchen disposal is exposed and poses a safety hazard. Buyers request a credit for repair”. There is a one inch gap between the conduit and the terminal connections. All that is required is an elbow to connect the conduit to the disposal. If the credit request is more than $5, it will not be accepted. Stupid. Unnecessary.
- This one was regarding the fuse box in the garage, saying that it is not mounted correctly, is not properly secured or labelled. This one is such total horse hockey that it’s not worth any consideration.
These buyers supposedly need to move in by the end of March because the house they are renting is under foreclosure. I hope they enjoy their tent because all but two of the requested modifications will be rejected, maybe all if the credit requests are too greedy.
I know, I know. Patience, little Stevie Sunshine. All will be well.
We’ll see what my lawyer says.
