We've been pretty lucky to have everything in working order and well maintained, buyers never asked for anything at all to be fixed after inspection reports. Maybe we've been lucky or sold to a different breed of buyers. I am hearing that in a buyers market, buyers are extremely nit picky and want everything fixed.

I guess it depends on how much of a deal your home is. If I got your house for a good deal, I'd let the more inexpensive things go and wouldn't demand they be fixed. However, if I didn't get a good deal I'd want the sprinklers, the sliders, the tub, HVAC, roof and GFCI outlets repaired. I'd let the smaller things slide.

So what it will come down to for the buyers is, is your house too good a deal to pass up over the above repairs that will actually be costly.

gardensgirl,

What a nightmare. I am just starting the process. Listed the other day and praying for a viewing, never mind an offer, so this really scares me. I thought that we were selling what was there, not something perfect or new. Why on earth would any on think they were getting perfection. Our house needs a new roof. No leaks, just old, but we can't do it now, so it isn't getting done. We will negotiate a credit if asked, but we aren't selling a new house so why would a buy expect one??

I agree your agent needs a good kick in the @$$. She needs to send them your reply and leave you alone. If they are willing to lose the house over glue, they need to get a life.

Just my 2 cents worth, but at least I understand your frustration. Good luck.

Donna

Well, I think it's a good deal in that it's much lower price than comps, plus they will have to come to the table with probably $0/zilch, and may even get some back.

They asked my agent to take my house off the market, but I told her not to as you never know what can I happen. That means to me they want the house. I have had interest pick up quite a bit since I got this contract, unfortunately, lots of "no shows" too when the prospects find out it's under contract.

I'm just so frustrated.

If I were the buyer, and I knew you were leaving the area in a week, I would be much more flexible about taking the money and fixing things myself than I would be if you gave off an 'attitude' and simply refused to fix things.

Your response sounds very reasonable to me, and I would expect a good Realtor could sell it to a reasonable buyer. If she can't, then perhaps she could coordinate a handyman service to take the $1,000 and fix it.

Thanks Tuscanlover. My home is 17 years old. I agree, if they expect something new, than buy new. Unfortunately, the area that I'm in most buyers don't have any $$$ and alot use state-fund programs/grants for their downpayments, gifts from relatives, etc. They don't want to have to "do" anything to a house and/or can't afford to. While I totally understand that as a buyer myself, it really isn't realistic. Heck even BRAND NEW homes need something fixed.

Your agent is obligated to make your counter offer. It sounds like you are in a slow market and its your agent that is afraid of losing the sale. If you are in a buyers market you need to weigh the cost of carrying the property another month or more vs the cost of the repairs. Also, if you do lose the deal, you will need to list the items found in the inspection in your sellers disclosure. So you may end of fixing them anyhow if the next buyer focuses on them too. You can probably hire a handy man type company to fix most of the small items since you are moving away. If want to do the repairs yourself, you may want to counter that the items will be fixed according to local building codes or to a reasonable standard of workmanship where no code exists. The buyer should have their original inspector inspect the repairs. Who does them should be of no consequence so long as they are done right.

Thanks Sweeby. This is what I'm trying to explain to my agent: I AM fixing things plus giving a credit. I told my agent that I would also fix the small things if they didn't require a "licensed contractor". I mean, I'm not paying someone to come out and glue a light fixture, another one to caulk one line in a tub, etc. just to get a receipt. I can do that myself. I even offered to give up receipts showing my supply purchases and they can visibily inspect on their walk-through.

I definitely wouldn't give buyers an "attitude", though I really do have a major one right now!! :)

My agent just really upset me, esp. when she "suggested" I replace the entire bathtub. This from the same agent who told me she told the buyers it was an "easy fix" and she had done it before. Yet, she tells me I need a whole new tub. When I reminded her of her previous statement, she said "oh, I thought your tub was porcelain". It's a big, plastic soaking tub, very obvious. I told her I found expoy or whatever repair kits online for $15. I'm not getting a new tub, heck the buyers themselves didn't even ask for a new tub. Argh!!!!!!

Your agent is obligated to make your counter offer. It sounds like you are in a slow market and its your agent that is afraid of losing the sale Bingo!! You hit the nail on the head. If you've read any of my other posts, you will see all my whining about her "need for a paycheck" and this need "shining through". I think this is another example of that. Sometimes I think it's best to hire an agent who isn't starving, if you know what I mean. They simply lose all perspective of who they are representing and why. They only see $$$ signs.

In today's lending environment the lender may not allow you to give the $1000 credit rather than have the items fixed. In fact in some situations it can actually be construed as lender fraud for the buyers to accept $1000, especially when they aren't putting any money down. This may be what your agent is trying to tell you.

Hehe gardensgirl, I can see your steam coming through my monitor! Yes, I think your agent is trying to sell both sides, she is afraid of losing the sale and is working you, good for you for sticking to your offer. It will be over soon.

I doubt it is fraud, in the old days you would put the money into escrow and when the buyers showed receipts for the items or bills for the repair, the sellers attorney would release the money

I'm not saying that it is fraud, but most lenders these days will not allow a seller credit for repairs, especially when the sellers are already giving a $10k closing credit and the buyers are literally putting no money down. If the sellers should give a credit outside of escrow without the lender's knowledge then it definitely IS fraud.

It still is common practice for the real estate attorney to hold the money for repairs and release it to the buyer when the buyer either submits the estimate or a receipt for the repairs.

Wow GG... when it rains, it pours!

I think you made a very fair counter on the repairs. The problem with fixing things yourself or contracting it out is the buyer can come back after you to say it wasn't done properly. That could bite you in the bum.

I think you need to stick to your guns on this. You are offering a home warranty and should only agree to fix or give credit for things that are safety related.

Sprinkler heads? I don't think so.

What's this about the rubber strip on the fridge? That's absolutely ridiculous! Why not offer to take the fridge yourself and use it as a second one in your new home? See how they respond to THAT! I bet they'll change their tune quickly.

I really think that if this deal falls through, you need to fire your realtor. She is not working for you, she lacks experience and is causing more stress than needed.

Replace the bathtub??? OH PLEASE! It can easily be refinished without having to tear it out.

Thanks guys.

To answer a few points:

It could very well be that their lender won't allow me to offer a credit, since they are using an ACORN loan; however, that reason was never brought up by the buyer's agent nor even suggested. She just told my agent her buyers didn't want to "work". I should be able to escrow the $$$ regardless.

The strip on the fridge: it's the rubber part on the door. The inspector said their "may be microbial growth" on this strip. I'm told you can clean it with bleach. I'm not calling in a licensed contractor to do that. Ridiculous.

This is the sum of what I have conceded to and am offering:

$10k closing help
$200 carpet cleaning allowance
Dining room set & 6 six chairs - no cost to buyer
Home Warranty
$1k in repairs credit
Roof repair by lisc. contractor
Electrical outlet repair by lic. contractor
HVAC servicing by lic. contractor

Personally, I think I'm generous. Maybe all sellers are biased, I don't know? If I hear from my agent "it's a buyer's market" one more time............Duh.....I know that, and think I have offered quite a bit already to accommodate this buyer.

I'd be aggravated too. You wonder what's really important. Doesn't the realtor understand? I think you are being very generous with $10k closing, $1k credit & some repairs, also giving them a home warranty

Surely for $1,000 I could fix the sprinkler heads myself as a homeowner, I would rather pocket the money. Have you gotten an estimate to do the heads?

To hear the realtor suggest replacing the tub, that to me doesn't sit well and I wonder who she is working for. Perhaps she should give some of her commission to replace the tub if she's so afraid of losing the sale.

Most realtors here have a handyman service that they use for things like this. One that I knew used her husband & some of his friends; while another's husband builds houses & buys reno's; if he is busy, one of his guys will take the job on the side.

Sit down with your realtor, face to face, ask if she has someone. While I think this whole thing is a joke, who knows, maybe there is someone that can do some of the bigger things for the $1,000. Doing them may be you're last "f/u" to all of them. They will kick themselves later for not taking the money.

My neighbor recently sold his house. The home inspection came back with 5+ pages of stuff to be done. My neighbor is a jack of all trades, so of course he didn't pay someone to do it. There was another walk through to make sure this stuff was done, which was all that mattered. No one busted his chops about receipts.

Don't know if this will help you or not with the stains, but I wouldn't pay anyone to take care of that. Tilex makes 2 really great products - one in a blue bottle mildew root I think, the other is the mold & mildew. Both of these should work. If you do not want to heavy bleach, there are 2 other products, I originally got them from Lowes, but have found them at my local food store - white lightening and Krud Kutter. Krud cutter IIRC is the better of the 2. They will also remove stains. I used them on my parents house, that's how I found out about them. My parents had a combination of grease - both cooking and car (dad was a mechanic) and mold / mildew. I also swear by Lime Away.

If someone is going to whine over such small things, you have to wonder if they should have built a new house.

I am about ready to sell, and it is this inspector/buyer mentality that has me scared already. These stories of 16 pages of fixits from the inspector is ridiculous and is simply CYA by the inspectors, if you ask me. If a house is 10 years old, it will have some cosmetic issues. For buyers to ask for all those fixed is unreasonable. It seems like more and more buyers are using this as a bargaining chip in their deal, knowing that sellers have already moved or contracted on a home themselves and don't want to lose the sale.

GG, your offer is more than reasonable. I, too, would be frustrated. I hope your sale goes through.

Are you willing to walk? Do you need to sell the house right away? It sounds like the buyers are nickle and diming you to death and a royal pain the a$$ to boot.

There are two ways of looking at it. Is it really worth the extra $XX to kill the sale? Or, are you fed up and not giving those money grabbing blankety-blanks another cent?

Maybe you should call your agent's BROKER, and say, "exactly WHO does she work for? Why is she not looking out for MY interests?"

And absolutely resist the idea of anyone licensed to do anything other than the big items you've pointed out.

You've got a low-priced house, a willingness to deal w/the big ticket items.

Someone else will want it, even in a buyer's market.

part of what seems frustrating for you is that you don't even know how the buyers will react to this!

(Maybe you can give them $1,000 credit and the name of a local handyman? If they don't want to "work" on anything?)

Thanks guys.

I do not begrudge my buyers for asking for everything on the list. Kind of a throw the cards in the air and see what flys type thing. I think any buyer's agent would recommend that.

We certainly did that when we purchased our new home, but we didn't expect them to fix everything. There were really only 2 or 3 things we wanted. Funny thing, our agent told us NOT to expect everything, but to hope they fixed what we wanted (of course, that is a whole 'nother post).

Now the shoe is on the other foot, my agent is acting like I'm unreasonable for not fixing everything. The same agent who told us when we submitted our list of repairs to our sellers to not expect everything. It's just super maddening.

I'm pretty sure I'm willing to walk. Yes, it will be a struggle for a month or two, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I think my bottomline line is reached: I'm giving them close to $12k to buy my house. I also put in new carpet and have repainted the entire exterior and about 50% of the interior (the rest didn't need painting).

I know this is a chance, there are so many variables. Maybe I'll have to lower the price if this doesn't work out, yet interest in my home has picked up quite alot now that it's gotten warmer. Maybe I won't have to give so much closing? I can fix these small items myself without having to hire a contractor to do so, so they will be fixed for the next inspector, etc. I just don't know.

Personally, since these people have NO $$$, I would think they'd rather have the credit than the repair. I would. Who knows? I guess I'll find out today.

When my daughter bought her first home a year ago the inspector found three things that needed to be remedied
1. A window had lost it's seal and needed to be replaced
2. The garage door was an older wooden type and had a panel that was in disrepair and needed to be fixed
3. The house was missing a section of downspout

My daughter was getting a good deal on the house already and getting half of her closing costs paid by the seller so they decided to compromise on the repair list. The seller replaced the window, gave my daughter a check at closing to cover half of the garage door, my daughter agreed to replace the downspout on her own.

Reasonable buyers will also compromise if they don't want to lose the home. Don't give up on your buyers without giving them the opportunity to compromise. Stick to the list you say you'll fix, if the buyers really want the home and have already gotten a good deal, they won't walk.

I think you are being more than fair. I'd do like Talley Sue said and call the agents bosss and ask just what the heck is going on? Does this agent represent me or the buyer? And why is this person unable to make the counter offer I've given without giving me a lot of unnessasary grief over it.It's her job to advise you BUT not to over ride your choices. When she starts doing that she's crossed the line and needs to be called on it.

They want you to clean the fridge to 'EPA standards.' That's a joke. The EPA doesn't have standards about fridge-cleaning. And anyone buying a house that comes w/ a fridge shd jolly well get off their butt and clean it before they put food in it.

Jeez.

FYI, the inspection of sprinkler systems is beyond the scope of a home inspection...and in some states, actually requires someone with a separate license to do so...might be worth checking into to see if such is the case in your state...and to see if the HI possesses the proper license to do so...

EPA standards? Microbial growth? This is a classic case of "a little bit of knowledge..."

I would require full documentation backing up the EPA standards on "microbial growth" on refrigerator seals...as well as who exactly determines if the cleansed seal it meets EPA standards?????? What qualification does the HI have that makes him capable of making such a determination?
I checked the EPA website on standards for residential refrigeratorsÂif there is any directive regarding the microbial growth on a seal I certainly was unable to find itÂ
BTW, this is beyond the scope of a home inspection as wellÂsome HIÂs take these ludicrous 1 day home energy tune up courses, and then think they are expertsÂ.sounds to me like this HI may be a 1 day course victimÂ

Last but not least...your agent appears to be the real problem...not the buyers....
It will never cease to amaze me that people will allow the person who stands to lose financially negotiate the terms of their purchase and/or saleÂas all too often, they think of their own benefit firstÂ.and all else is secondaryÂ

The fridge thing cracked me up too (well, more like made me mad). I checked all over the EPA site as well as I'd never heard of EPA fridge cleaning standards either. I found stuff on toxic sites and anthrax, but darn.....nothing on wiping your fridge rubber!!

My agent just left after I signed what I would fix. I told her, it's up to you sell this deal and if not, then the deal is over and I will find a new buyer.

The buyers also did up another addendum in which they asked to extend the deadline for them providing the commitment letter until next week so that, combined with them wanting me to take the house off of "active" status, encourages me that they want this house.

The termite came back just fine. No termites thankfully.

I guess I'll hear more tommorrow.

GG - This is the same "friend" agent who sold your dh's home and helped you buy the home you're moving into, right? In essence, if she sells your home, she gets three commissions, true?

Friend or not, you really need to call her out on the contradictory info she is giving you. When you bought the house, she said not to expect everything to be fixed, but yet when you're selling, she says you have to fix everything.

I'd be concerned about the addendum for the commitment letter. If they had solid financing, they should have had it by now. After all this, you could very well lose the deal to lack of financing. I'd be very leary and whatever you do, DO NOT take your house off the market!

From your list, I think you are being overly generous. IT's a good point about the sprinkler heads mentioned upthread. IIRC, the HI who did our house said they are excluded from the inspection.

I'm eager to hear the response to your counter. How did you respond to the commitment letter addendum?

Hi Gardensgirl,

Saw the crosspost on the other side of the hall, & answered there;
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/realestate/msg030111373139.html?3

Cheers,
Dave Donhoff
Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardensgirl's Rocking Chair process

I do feel pretty confident in their loan; though one can never be 100% sure. I mean, the buyer could always lose their job 1 week before closing, or have done something dumb like buy a car. I did agree to extend it for a few more days.

The ACORN loan as I understand it is a program that is run by ACORN (www.acornhousing.org; a PAC or something) in conjunction mainly with Bank of America. It requires a home ownership class, a good credit history for the past 12 months. However, uniquely it allows for a wider variety of income considerations such as child support, etc. It also offers a rate usually BELOW current rates. There are income limitations in which you can make no more than XXXX per year. In the DC area, they will cover a loan up to $417k. I believe they will loan up to $5-$10k for closing, repayment begins AFTER 5 years. This part of BOA's "do good" programs.

Dave, thanks for piping in and yes, this is my jump off point. In 6 months or 1 year or later, I will feel I have done the right thing by walking away. I feel it now. If I wanted to "give away" my house, I would have just called an investor "we buy for cash, etc" type place.

Terriks, I understand what you are saying but believe me, my agent has NO idea regarding anything with loans. None whatsover. I don't think she even realized that she would have to deal with loan officers as part of her job.

Sparksal, yes this is the same agent. We are giving her 3 commissions. What a sweet deal, huh?

Terriks, I understand what you are saying but believe me, my agent has NO idea regarding anything with loans. None whatsover. I don't think she even realized that she would have to deal with loan officers as part of her job.

Okay, I was giving her the benefit of the doubt, that she actually had some knowledge and was doing her job.

GG, it didn't even hit me that it was you until sparksals mentioned it. I would have to say that I certainlyt understand you putting your foot down & I would too; but thinking about it, aren't you ready to be done dealing with your agent friend? To not make some sort of deal would give you more months of hell with her and who knows if what she does next will be worst then what she's already done?

I read about half the thread, but I wanted to respond to your question, "Which freakin side are you on?" The agent is on their own side. They want to sell it, take the commission and move on.

I tried to keep my agent on a short leash and he fouled up the negotiations, going soft on something very important because he wanted to make the sale, not represent my wishes. Agents are at best a necessary evil and often an unnecessary one.

Gardengirl, I think home inspections vary by state on what is expected of the buyer and the seller. In my area, home inspections are not used to renegotiate a deal although some try. (unless something major is wrong over $1000) What you are willing to do sounds reasonable. How long has your house been on the market and is it a buyers market or a sellers market? Those two questions might make you more clear on what to do. In other words, if your house has been on the market a long time you might want to do more. If the market is decent and you haven't been on that long and you arent in a rush to go, stand your ground. It could be just the buyer asking to see how much they can get. Most people don't expect to get it all. Alot of that stuff sounds like normal wear and tear and previous code. The buyers asking you to raise concrete steps is ridiculous. Replacing sliding glass doors because of broken seals seems like a big ticket item. They saw the broken seals before they made their offer. (Foggy glass is hard to miss). Its not like they didnt realize it had to be done before they bid. Please let us know what happens.

Linda, if you'd like to get familiar with what she and her DH have been through, I've found some of her posts. When she's done with all of this, she deserves a week at a nice spa. The realtor deserves to foot the bill.

Got another contract on my house

Termites in DH's house...WWYD
A contract was written on MY house
So depressed over buying this relo home
I guess the saga isn't ended!!
Buying from relo....saga has ended!
Update on relo buy and need advice