Making an Offer on a Home

[Captroop]

19 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I missed this post. What came back to give you ulcers? No, I definitely didn't feel like that. 

I went over some of the bigger findings on the last page. There are two roofs. There is probably asbestos in the ducts (but it's unclear if those duct are even in use, or have been filled in). And there is a CO risk with the water heater.

But now the ulcers are involved in the negotiating with the homeowner on what they will fix. But they also missed the deadline to respond, so legally their on the hook to fix everything. But they're protesting that, saying that sending us a photo of the forms via text is an acceptable response. Our side is saying it isn't. The whole things is just very stressful.

[LinvilleGorge]

11 minutes ago, Captroop said:

I went over some of the bigger findings on the last page. There are two roofs. There is probably asbestos in the ducts (but it's unclear if those duct are even in use, or have been filled in). And there is a CO risk with the water heater.

But now the ulcers are involved in the negotiating with the homeowner on what they will fix. But they also missed the deadline to respond, so legally their on the hook to fix everything. But they're protesting that, saying that sending us a photo of the forms via text is an acceptable response. Our side is saying it isn't. The whole things is just very stressful.

When you say "two roofs" what do you mean exactly? Do you mean they just put new shingles on top of old or is there actually two roof structures there? When we first moved to CO, we rented a house that had obviously been added onto as many houses in the foothills of CO have when that area went from biker outlaw land in the 60s and 70s to upscale bedroom communities after I-70 was built. It was pretty clear the work wasn't exactly tip top, but what took the cake is I crawled up in the attic one time just for curiosity sake to find that they had literally built a new, bigger structure over the top of the old original structure. They didn't even bother to clean the leaves and pine needles off of the old and pretty dilapidated old roof. I wouldn't have bought that house for anything.

[Captroop]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

When you say "two roofs" what do you mean exactly? Do you mean they just put new shingles on top of old or is there actually two roof structures there? When we first moved to CO, we rented a house that had obviously been added onto as many houses in the foothills of CO have when that area went from biker outlaw land in the 60s and 70s to upscale bedroom communities after I-70 was built. It was pretty clear the work wasn't exactly tip top, but what took the cake is I crawled up in the attic one time just for curiosity sake to find that they had literally built a new, bigger structure over the top of the old original structure. They didn't even bother to clean the leaves and pine needles off of the old and pretty dilapidated old roof. I wouldn't have bought that house for anything.

Plywood>Shingles>Plywood>Shingles.

[Anybodyhome]

1 hour ago, Captroop said:

I went over some of the bigger findings on the last page. There are two roofs. There is probably asbestos in the ducts (but it's unclear if those duct are even in use, or have been filled in). And there is a CO risk with the water heater.

But now the ulcers are involved in the negotiating with the homeowner on what they will fix. But they also missed the deadline to respond, so legally their on the hook to fix everything. But they're protesting that, saying that sending us a photo of the forms via text is an acceptable response. Our side is saying it isn't. The whole things is just very stressful.

2 layers of shingles are acceptable per ICC building code. Part of your inspection should have included a positive pressure test to ensure gases were being properly vented out the top of the water heater. Regardless, you can use a smoke pen or a candle (blow out the flame) and place it a couple inches from the vent stack that is on top of the water heater. The smoke should be pulled up the vent. Accordingly, a 115 VAC plug-in CO detector with battery backup should be located on each floor in the common areas. 

How old is the HVAC system which leads you to believe there might be asbestos in the duct work? 

[Anybodyhome]

6 minutes ago, Captroop said:

Plywood>Shingles>Plywood>Shingles.

That, as far as I know, is not code. Depending on the roof construction (joists, rafters, trusses- whatever it is), that could be a lot of weight over your head.

[LinvilleGorge]

28 minutes ago, Captroop said:

Plywood>Shingles>Plywood>Shingles.

That's a shitty, corners cutting job. Why did they need to out new sheathing on? If it was needed and they went over top of the old roof, why? Most likely to save time, effort, and money. What is under that new plywood that got covered up?  Did that new sheathing actually get nailed to the rafters or just nailed into that old evidently shitty sheathing that needed to be replaced?

This wouldn't necessarily make me run, but I'd only be continuing if I was willing to potentially have to put another roof done right on that house after the purchase. 

[thefuzz]

2 hours ago, Anybodyhome said:

That, as far as I know, is not code. Depending on the roof construction (joists, rafters, trusses- whatever it is), that could be a lot of weight over your head.

I've seen it pass...and I've also seen much worse.

Unreal the things that some folks will do to save a dollar.

[thefuzz]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

That's a shitty, corners cutting job. Why did they need to out new sheathing on? If it was needed and they went over top of the old roof, why? Most likely to save time, effort, and money. What is under that new plywood that got covered up?  Did that new sheathing actually get nailed to the rafters or just nailed into that old evidently shitty sheathing that needed to be replaced?

This wouldn't necessarily make me run, but I'd only be continuing if I was willing to potentially have to put another roof done right on that house after the purchase. 

It's a pretty big cost cutter as you don't have to pay for the removal of the shingles from the home, and the disposal of said shingles later.

And agreed on the roof, I'd be talking to roofers if I was interested in this property, would probably hit the owners with "you pay half, I pay half" and see what happened.

[Captroop]

3 hours ago, thefuzz said:

It's a pretty big cost cutter as you don't have to pay for the removal of the shingles from the home, and the disposal of said shingles later.

And agreed on the roof, I'd be talking to roofers if I was interested in this property, would probably hit the owners with "you pay half, I pay half" and see what happened.

We put in our addendum to the offer that they would have a licensed roofer inspect and they would do whatever remediation was suggested at their expense.

In total, we made 11 other requested fixes based on our inspection and a 1 year warranty. Expecting a negotiation we wanted to have a couple items we could drop. Interestingly, because their clueless realtor missed the deadline to make a counteroffer, they legally have accepted our proposal unconditionally, and are on the hook for ALL the fixes!

So now the only question outstanding, is can they find a licensed roofer, who will look at the cut corner roofing job and say, "It's fine. No remediation needed." Because that's their only out. Otherwise, they're on the hook to pay for the fix, whatever it is, up to and including a new roof.

 

So, kids, here are the 3 big takeaways I've gleaned from this experience:

• Get a pre-inspection
• Get a realtor who is profoundly detail oriented, and knows real estate law like the back of their hands. No exception.
• Don't get your cousin to repair your roof. Seriously. It was his cousin.

[thefuzz]

19 hours ago, Captroop said:

We put in our addendum to the offer that they would have a licensed roofer inspect and they would do whatever remediation was suggested at their expense.

In total, we made 11 other requested fixes based on our inspection and a 1 year warranty. Expecting a negotiation we wanted to have a couple items we could drop. Interestingly, because their clueless realtor missed the deadline to make a counteroffer, they legally have accepted our proposal unconditionally, and are on the hook for ALL the fixes!

So now the only question outstanding, is can they find a licensed roofer, who will look at the cut corner roofing job and say, "It's fine. No remediation needed." Because that's their only out. Otherwise, they're on the hook to pay for the fix, whatever it is, up to and including a new roof.

 

So, kids, here are the 3 big takeaways I've gleaned from this experience:

• Get a pre-inspection
• Get a realtor who is profoundly detail oriented, and knows real estate law like the back of their hands. No exception.
• Don't get your cousin to repair your roof. Seriously. It was his cousin.

That is some strange law you have going over there with them missing a deadline and being forced to make repairs, but good on ya.

Congrats.

[LinvilleGorge]

34 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

That is some strange law you have going over there with them missing a deadline and being forced to make repairs, but good on ya.

Congrats.

Yeah, I don't know about all that. I'd bet that this is going to involve attorneys very soon. Buckle up. Best of luck.

[Captroop]

1 hour ago, thefuzz said:

That is some strange law you have going over there with them missing a deadline and being forced to make repairs, but good on ya.

Congrats.

Hey, it was in the contract we signed. They had 3 days to respond. The contract clearly stipulated, bold and underlined, that no response is considered an acceptance of our addendum.

[LinvilleGorge]

23 minutes ago, Captroop said:

Hey, it was in the contract we signed. They had 3 days to respond. The contract clearly stipulated, bold and underlined, that no response is considered an acceptance of our addendum.

It comes down to the state's real estate laws. Just because it's in a contract doesn't necessarily mean it's legally binding. Maybe you've got them, but I would probably expect a legal challenge forthcoming.

[Ja Rhule]

8 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It comes down to the state's real estate laws. Just because it's in a contract doesn't necessarily mean it's legally binding. Maybe you've got them, but I would probably expect a legal challenge forthcoming.

I asked for 15 things to be fixed when I bought my current home.  They fixed none.  We bought it anyways.