We are purchasing a beautiful house in the State of Washington. The siding on the house is hardboard siding (the bad kind that has been litigated), and it needs to be replaced in some areas. The inspection on the house was all good, except for the exterior siding issue (no moisture showed on a meter on interior walls at the area of bad siding.) The appraisal was good, too, except for basically a work order for the siding to be repaired/replaced/sealed in order to meet the value of the appraisal. This is a State of Washington caveat to protect against mildew/mold, etc.

Here is our problem. We got a good price on the house, knowing the siding was in need of repair/replacement. We are taking the house as is because of this. Now the appraisal stipulation will prevent the sale going through unless the siding is at least sealed.

The house is scheduled to close now, and my wife and children will be moving right after closing to live in the house so it will be occupied and I will be transferring there in about three months. I plan to do the siding work myself (I have house construction as part of my background), and would not want nor trust anyone else to do it for me.

Can anyone give me ideas of how to handle this situation. The underwriters won't accept the "I'll do it later" scenario :)