I thought about that but I don’t want to risk the seller seeing that kind of post from me.

Right now I want to get quotes so, 1) I get an idea of the expense we might incur and 2) I can be as informed as possible to push for an allowance at closing as a more timely resolution. But I don’t want the seller to think I’m getting ready to let him off the hook.

I will get confirmation from my agent tmrw but I think the two places I found this evening will be good places to start.

Gyaaa the estimates are starting to come in.

$1800-2200 for the circuit breaker panel replacement and arch fault breakers.

Sigh...

Right then, another electrician gave an estimate of right around $1000.... wonder why it's so different.

I've been sending photos of the panel and trying to describe where it is etc.

Hmm.

In other news, the seller has responded, not exactly in the way I wanted him to, but at least he's engaging and trying to uphold his end of the agreement. I'm tell ya, the bar is low with this guy.

Oh good grief. I just got another estimate. This one said it would be just under $600.

How am I supposed to evaluate these estimates. If one is $600 and another is $700, well you can see those as comparable but one is cheaper.

These numbers are so different it makes me think they're not talking about doing the same things!

Sometimes people charge premium prices because they think they can get away with it. Or maybe they really are doing something different.

You could try confirming back to each that they are doing X, Y, and Z, and that their estimate is so many dollars.

Steve would probably be the best person to give you the electrician-friendly wording for X, Y, and Z!

The guys who are lowballing you are going to raise the price once they see the actual job, is my guess. They figure if they estimate low, you'll call them first.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Oh good grief. I just got another estimate. This one said it would be just under $600.

How am I supposed to evaluate these estimates. If one is $600 and another is $700, well you can see those as comparable but one is cheaper.

These numbers are so different it makes me think they're not talking about doing the same things!

Check online reviews for the cheap people.

quote:

Check online reviews for the cheap people.

The lowest estimate is the one with the most online reviews, and all positive. He also talked about other upgrades, and I wonder if his angle is to get in, and then up-sell to include other jobs (or whatever that's called)

But in better news! The seller has finally responded (after my agent had to bring in the heavy artillery, IOW, broker-in-charge and they both leaned on him and pointed out that he signed off on the replacement)

So, long story short, he agreed to do all the repairs that he previously agreed to but that weren't done yet, including this replacement (the only one that's potentially expensive is the panel replacement).

He had some lame excuse about the contractors not getting to everything... Anyway, the clock is ticking towards to the closing, but I feel pretty good, finally. I will still kind of keep holding my breath because I don't trust this guy. But at least there's been some movement in the right direction. Finally!

quote:

The guys who are lowballing you are going to raise the price once they see the actual job, is my guess. They figure if they estimate low, you'll call them first.

But yes, I'm sure this is at least part of it. It's an old house, I'm sure we're going to need electricians in the future, so yeah, they want the call first.

I'm late to the show here, so apologies if this has been covered.

It's the inspector's job to find every little bitty thing. Some things are important. Some things are not. They're all going into the report. You'll need to triage, and you'll need to negotiate if you're not prepared to walk away.

How about offer to split the cost of the new panel, and perhaps worry about grounding the plugs only where absolutely necessary (like kitchen, bathrooms, laundry)?

No house is perfect, even new construction. You just don't want to be uninformed about serious problems. I think the new panel might be serious (given the cost if nothing else), but the grounded outlets don't seem to be that bit a deal.

My 2c!

quote:

How about offer to split the cost

That is excellent advice when dealing with a reasonable person...

Anyway, thank you, and everyone else who posted in this thread! It seems he has agreed to replace the panel and I have decided not to push on the outlets. So, we'll know at the end of next week if he actually comes through.

OMG the closing is getting so close... When I forget about what a hassle it is to deal with this guy, I'm SUPER excited!!!

Fingers and toes crossed for you that all goes smoothly from here on out.

Thank you piqué!

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Fingers and toes crossed ... that all goes smoothly from here on out.

Me too!!!!

I have lived since 1991 in an old house without grounded plugs (other than a few that were put in along the way). No problems.

jf

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I have lived since 1991 in an old house without grounded plugs (other than a few that were put in along the way). No problems.

That's what I like to hear!