Repairs not complete

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2018

Hi everyone,

First-time home buyer back for more advice. So, today we had our walk through and some of the agreed upon repairs have not been completed. Their was a leak under one of the sinks in the bathroom. It still leaks. They just painted over the spot the leak created, apparently. Also, there was a hole in the side yard and water seeping through the lawn they failed to address. The lawn is stil wet in that area (mind you, the rest of the lawn is dry). Today, my husband poked his fingers in the hole and low and behold-- there is a pipe there. When these "repairs" were being made we were emailed reciepts so we thought all was well, that is until today. I was having second thoughts about this house (wrestled with putting in an offer and almost backed out in the 10 day window. I was encouraged by my husband that things would be fine). Despite my reservations I was still going to go through with the purchase of this home but now the repairs have not been made and we close tomorrow. My realtor's assistant (who was present during the walk through), stated she would try to get those things repaired before closing. However, at this point, I'm wishing I would have went with my gut and not put in an offer on this home. I am a true believer in signs and intutition and I feel that the lack of repairs being made, along with my gut feeling is telling me not to purchase this home.

In the event that the repairs are not made by tomorrow (or before then, as we are suppose to be having a wintery mix of ice and snow down here tomorrow and us Texans cannot drive in the snow) can we opt out of the contract with out penalty? I'd even be okay if it was with a penalty at this point. The realtor's assistant mentioned extending closing but and I'm not thrilled about this either way. Any advice you can give is appreciated.

Kree · ‎01-15-2018

If the repairs were put into writing as they should have been, you've got a strong litigation position. Do you have an attorney working with you during this process, or does your realtor have an attorney involved in the purchase of your home?

If so, they should be able to outline proper terms and penalties for the seller. At a minimum for them to foot the bill for a contractor of your choice making the repairs.

If you do not have an attorney involved, you might wish to speak with one to see what they can do.

pipeguy · ‎01-15-2018

My advice is if you want to close, get a good estimate for the cost of the repairs and deduct that amount from your closing price as a "credit" - you can make this a "seller agrees to pay $xxx toward buyers closing cost" if need be, either way, you close, you get the repairs done correctly and it's done.

Can you cut and run based on sellers default? Yeah, I guess you can, but the come back to that is we will delay closing until the repairs are done, which you said you don't want to do. Just flat backing out will cost you your earnest money and the seller's agent may/might come after you for their commission.

The only question I can think of is did you get an independent home property inspection? If so in the contact did the seller agree to fix any defects discovered? If it's yes and yes, perhaps the seller will agree to place X number of dollars (make it twice the estimated cost) in escrow pending completed repairs - if buyer and seller agree, anything is possible but get it in writing.

In my experience, all "used" properties have some issues - worry about the big ones (high cost) and take care of the small stuff as it comes up. "Water issues" can be very expensive due to unseen damage.

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2018

@Kree wrote:
If the repairs were put into writing as they should have been, you've got a strong litigation position. Do you have an attorney working with you during this process, or does your realtor have an attorney involved in the purchase of your home?

If so, they should be able to outline proper terms and penalties for the seller. At a minimum for them to foot the bill for a contractor of your choice making the repairs.

If you do not have an attorney involved, you might wish to speak with one to see what they can do.

No, we don't have an attorney.

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2018

@pipeguy wrote:
My advice is if you want to close, get a good estimate for the cost of the repairs and deduct that amount from your closing price as a "credit" - you can make this a "seller agrees to pay $xxx toward buyers closing cost" if need be, either way, you close, you get the repairs done correctly and it's done.

Can you cut and run based on sellers default? Yeah, I guess you can, but the come back to that is we will delay closing until the repairs are done, which you said you don't want to do. Just flat backing out will cost you your earnest money and the seller's agent may/might come after you for their commission.

The only question I can think of is did you get an independent home property inspection? If so in the contact did the seller agree to fix any defects discovered? If it's yes and yes, perhaps the seller will agree to place X number of dollars (make it twice the estimated cost) in escrow pending completed repairs - if buyer and seller agree, anything is possible but get it in writing.

In my experience, all "used" properties have some issues - worry about the big ones (high cost) and take care of the small stuff as it comes up. "Water issues" can be very expensive due to unseen damage.

Yes, we got a home inspection. That is how we can to know about the issues in the home. I thought that we would probably loose our earnest money. Talking with our realtor confirmed this. Since my post, she said the leak in the home has been repaired. I hope this is the case and not something they say is the case when it turns out isn't. My realtor seems to believe the fix in the pipe will be a small one (it is the irrigation system). Due to that, she believes we won't have much of a case for backing out of the contract.

VALoanMaster · ‎01-16-2018

Yes, we got a home inspection. That is how we can to know about the issues in the home. I thought that we would probably loose our earnest money. Talking with our realtor confirmed this. Since my post, she said the leak in the home has been repaired. I hope this is the case and not something they say is the case when it turns out isn't. My realtor seems to believe the fix in the pipe will be a small one (it is the irrigation system). Due to that, she believes we won't have much of a case for backing out of the contract.

Tell them you want to have an independent 3rd party confirm the repairs were made. As far as your agent goes, I would get a second opinion.

If the repairs were required in writing & the sellers did not perform, they are in breach of contract & that would be your out. Texas is an attorney state for the title & closing side of things so you may be able to get some help from them.

Also check with your lender to see what they say.

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Anonymous · ‎01-16-2018

@VALoanMaster wrote:
Yes, we got a home inspection. That is how we can to know about the issues in the home. I thought that we would probably loose our earnest money. Talking with our realtor confirmed this. Since my post, she said the leak in the home has been repaired. I hope this is the case and not something they say is the case when it turns out isn't. My realtor seems to believe the fix in the pipe will be a small one (it is the irrigation system). Due to that, she believes we won't have much of a case for backing out of the contract.
Tell them you want to have an independent 3rd party confirm the repairs were made. As far as your agent goes, I would get a second opinion.
If the repairs were required in writing & the sellers did not perform, they are in breach of contract & that would be your out. Texas is an attorney state for the title & closing side of things so you may be able to get some help from them.
Also check with your lender to see what they say.

Well, had a talk with my realtor early this morning and she said all the repairs have been made but they were not able to check the repairs in the irrigation system because doing so would require turning it on. We currently experiencing temperatures below freezing and turning on the irrigation system was not advised. I had them put all of this in writing. I also asked that the repairs be verified by a 3rd party as you suggested. I checked with my lender and they also felt that i did not have a much of a case but suggested we extend closing. We signed, closed and funded. The house is mine.

Anonymous · ‎01-16-2018

Doesn't sound like a huge expense anyway -- if it's an irrigation pipe you can fix that yourself in a weekend.

It's definitely a good learning experience, though -- even with a lawyer a lot of people make offers without contigencies. I always include a crazy list of contigencies when I make offers, and I never ever hire a realtor or attorney because they have never served me well (they serve their companies and employers, not you), so at least your next house you'll have a few more things to add to your offer.

I'm sure it'll be fine. The painting of water marks is a concern so make sure to leak test everything you can inside and out and if you find issues, it's a good chance to repair them yourself if you're handy and dig in deeper into the bones.

The home I owned before my current one had a million things wrong with it (I knew about all of them) and it ended up costing me only $2500 to fix instead of the $30,000 I estimated. My current houes had nothing wrong with it at all but instead of the $1500 in minor rehab, I had to put in $18,000 the first 2 years, lol. So inspections and all that is not the same as owning, operating, maintaining and repairing.

Welcome to home ownership!