quote:

Here's what our repair addendum says:

"if seller fails to complete repairs agreed upon in this agreement, the buyer shall 1) accept the property in its present condition, 2) negotiate and reach agreement with the seller for different terms (e.g., other repairs, compensation, price reduction, escrow), or 3) terminate this agreement by delivered notice and potentially seek legal remedies against the seller"

WT actual F

Have never seen a more toothless remedy. He doesn't *have* to do anything. Whoever wrote this should be fired.

But it is what it is.

It's easy to get caught up in a lot of these details. It doesn't have to be a fight to the bitter end. Keeping the end goal in mind--you get to closing--keep remembering that he's lived there for years without the place burning down. Also remember that it is the inspector's job to focus on every last little picky thing. Thats how they avoid getting sued.

If you trust your inspector, and if he hasn't already, ask him to flag those issues on the inspection report that are urgent/critical.

Also remember that contractors wildly disgree about what is the right way to do something, code notwithstanding. We saw this with our roof--there are at least three different ways to put together a roof and flashing. Our inspector insisted that the way it was done on our house was wrong. The sellers' roofer insisted he had done it correctly. My research was inconclusive but mostly agreed with the inspector, who said consequences could be dire. We worked around the impasse by getting the roofer to give us a ten-year guarantee on his past work, in writing.

Another issue was mold remediation that had been done in the lower crawl space. The inspector swore that we had a serious problem because the crawlspace had been completely sealed and the mold would return. I ended up calling the sanitary engineer who had done the job, and he patiently explained to me why the inspector was, in this case, incorrect. His explanation was very logical, and the key takeaway was that opinions and practices about whether or not to seal crawl spaces to prevent mold vary. I decided to take the specialist's explanation over the inspector's. When I told the inspector what the sanitary engineer said, he pleaded with us to at least put a humidity sensor in the crawl space so we would be alerted immediately if there was a developing problem. That was a great idea. It's been 19 mos and so far no issues.

I loved my inspector, but he wasn't always right. And he told us repeatedly that his job was to err on the side of caution.

quote:

Here's what our repair addendum says:

"if seller fails to complete repairs agreed upon in this agreement, the buyer shall 1) accept the property in its present condition, 2) negotiate and reach agreement with the seller for different terms (e.g., other repairs, compensation, price reduction, escrow), or 3) terminate this agreement by delivered notice and potentially seek legal remedies against the seller"

I was afraid of that. You were probably in exactly the same place before he signed off on the repairs. Which would mean that his sign-off didn't advance the ball at all.

I would want it replaced. There been problems with that brand.

Good that he agreed to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I would want it replaced. There been problems with that brand.

Good that he agreed to do it.

From the little I know from my own house hunt, I'd want it replaced too. But the problem is that as a strictly practical matter, the seller hasn't agreed to do anything. He can refuse and say "so sue me," and there are no real consequences for him unless you want to start a lawsuit. Which I doubt you do.

Who wrote that clause?

Also, why did your agent let that clause stand? What does she say about your position?

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Also, the GFCI ones will be three-prong and have the trip mechanism, right? But they're not grounded to the ground, but still trip?

Yes. That’s why they are allowed as a replacement for two wire receptacles.

The other legal fix for ungrounded three wire receptacles is to put a two wire receptacle back in.

None of this is a real big deal and I don’t think it’s worth making much of a fuss over.

Steve speaks much sooth here. Best to keep the big picture in mind.

You found a house you like and negotiated a deal. You don't have a lease to move anywhere else. There is no huge financial penalty for the items the seller hasn't finished up.

It's not perfect, but it certainly isn't a catastrophe either. I think I'd let this stuff slide and move on, and above all, enjoy your new home!

As an aside, having seen Mr. SK's most intricate and detailed sculpture work I can say that changing receptacles is certainly something he can do if he decides he wants to do it. You can do it too, for that matter.

I can recommend books and/or walk you through it on here if you like.

quote:

There is no huge financial penalty for the items the seller hasn't finished up.

Except, this isn't exactly clear to me. Replacing the electrical panel might be quite expensive actually - like $1500-2000?? Having said that, we can pay $2000 if we have to have that panel replaced and the seller doesn't uphold his end of the agreement.

Re the repair addendum: yes, y'all are right, that clause is awful. But it's part of the standard preset agreement language. So I don't know if that's specific to this state or what. But it's too late now.

What I'm not sure about is the fact that he has already agree to the repair details, which include replacing the panel. And the part about replacing the panel is one of the sections that is *not* written in an ambiguous manner (unlike the outlets, which is ambiguous). For what it's worth.

piqué

quote:

WT actual F

Yes, my thoughts exactly. Except it's too late now. I think this document works when both parties are acting in good faith. And I don't think that's where this guy is coming from.

I need to ask my agent about that clause. I didn't have it on my radar before.

Anyway, she sent him our response, and called and left him a message but no response yet.

Steve,

quote:

As an aside, having seen Mr. SK's most intricate and detailed sculpture work I can say that changing receptacles is certainly something he can do if he decides he wants to do it.

Thank you for that vote of confidence.

I think I'm ok with not worrying about the receptacles, we can deal with it or pay for it.

I am more worried about the panel.

We'll see how this all falls out. Sigh.

The details of how this gets resolved will likely determine whether I can buy a grand piano this year or not.

Of course it's real money and you thought the homeowner was going to take care of it. When I said there was no huge financial hit, I guess it would have been more accurate to say it seemed like something you could weather.

Here's HomeAdvisor's take on costs:

https://www.homeadvisor.com/co...an-electrical-panel/

A few folks I know around here have replaced 100 amp panels for around $900 to $1200. Those numbers seem to be consistent with what Home Advisor says. I don't know how that compares to your area.

Assuming the house already has a 100 A panel and the panel is in the basement, about $1000 should cover it. Maybe a bit less - I don't know your labor market.

A bit more if it is installed on the outside of the house.

Nope, it’s in the basement (thank goodness).

Well, we’re in a holding pattern — oh yay, my favorite waiting for seller to respond.

Hopefully he doesn’t wait too much longe, we are getting close to the closing at this point.

Thanks for thst link WTG, off to look at it now!

I have never sold a house, only bought them. Methinks when i do sell it will be sold "as is". I dont want someone like me asking me to fix this and fix that. If i could live with it so can they. Hypocritical of me, i know.

quote:

If i could live with it so can they

Right and this is a totally natural reaction.

So I get it. And it actually helps to remember this to kind of keep things in perspective in terms of what’s an emergency and what’s not.

I’ve id’ed some reasonable options in yhe area for electricians and will get some quotes tmrw. We’ll see.

Does your town have a Buzz group on Facebook? Or a Nextdoor group?

I have found them to be good sources for quality trade referrals.