Homeowners: Did you ask sellers to fix anything?

[janegold]

We had our inspection on the condo yesterday.  Nothing major but a few things that should be fixed sooner than later.  I'm trying to decide what, if any of these things, is worth bringing up to the sellers (ex. fix freezer door that's out of alignment, replace rubber gaskets on boiler, broken tub stopper, one gas burner doesn't light).

If you asked the sellers to make any repairs brought up in the inspection, what types of issues were they?

Thanks!

[BAMFMrsB]

We only asked for the "safety" items to be fixed. There were a few and they agreed to most of them.

[fuckyourcouch]

we didn't, because ours was a foreclosure. we did ask for the bank to maintain the sprinkler system/continue watering the lawn. it was in the contract and they didn't do it, so when we moved in the system was broken and the lawn was dead. they had to pay to fix the system since that was in writing.

[fuckyourcouch]

oh and our inspection didn't turn anything like that up, so we didn't need to ask for anything else. i think it's pretty common to ask for things like that, but it doesn't guarantee they will agree to it.

[eb777888]

Yes, some minor things. We originally asked if we could have their fridge (our real estate agent suggested we ask since we didn't have one) and they originally said no. After we made a list of things we wanted fixed they asked if we could swap the fridge instead of them having to mess with fixing the things on the list. We came out on top of that deal.

[lpcats]

We got a credit to get the foundation fixed. The house was literally be propped up by old bricks and ceramic tiles.

[eb777888]

Oh, the things that were wrong...a window without a screen, a couple of boards missing from the outside chimney, some other very minor things. H fixed everything in an afternoon so they were no biggie. This is our first house so we just went with what the real estate agent suggested and she suggested we asked for these things to be fixed.

[stephlove]

We had an FHA loan, so there were things that needed to be done before we were approved. We had them fix a leaking pipe under the bathroom sink, a broken window, add covers to the outlets, and add railings to the stairs going to the 2nd floor and the basement. H and I had to go in and scrub the basement walls because there was mildew that needed to be removed prior to closing.

There was a house that we had put an offer in prior to that, but it had so many issues that had to be resolved before an FHA loan would clear. The sellers refused to do any of it, so we backed out.

[firedancer49]

We only asked for two things, knowing they would say no to one and do the other, which was replace a window that the seal had broken in. We did not ask for anything minor, and if there were other major things, we would have asked for those as well.

If those were the things you were considering, I would probably only ask them to fix the burner on the stove.

[janegold]

I do like the barter concept. Ha, I think our realtor has in her head that we might request the sellers' Phillipe Starck ghost chairs instead of the repairs. But they would be idiots to agree to that request. Plus, I'm pretty fond of our CB2 dining chairs.

[sawyerthedestroyer]

We just asked for safety things. GFCI outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms and the back porch steps needed to be replaced.

ETA: Oh, and there was a wood support beam in the crawlspace that was touching the ground. It needed to have a concrete barrier between it and the ground because of termites. We asked to have that fixed too.

[kaybee85]

I don't own a home, but I think a credit might be a nice way to go. A lot of times the homeowner does a cheap/shoddy job that you could have done much better.

[PennyCandy]

Just the safety things I think. They were great though and went through the inspection report and fixed a lot of the other things for us too.

[tulip]

We gave the buyers a check for around 300.00 to cover the repairs they wanted. It was all minor things but we had a time crunch and I couldn't find anyone who could come before closing. They seemed happy with that arrangement.

[janegold]

Aug 8, 2013 10:53:21 GMT -5 @astrid said:

We had an inspection with only cosmetic and odd issues, and they paid $2,500 in closing costs, so we didn't push.

ETA: Our closing costs*

That's what I'm kind of thinking too. They already agreed to pay $7k in closing costs (which is UNHEARD of in this market) so while I would like to not have to deal with some of these issues, I feel like we're already making out pretty well in this deal.

[dana2006]

We asked for a few safety things through our realtor and the seller basically told him to eat dirt. She was very challenging to work with.

[SKP82]

We asked for the carpets to be cleaned. There wasn't anything else really wrong.

If they're things you want fixed, definitely ask. The worst they can do is say no, and if they do, they'll probably offer something else instead.

[revolution]

I would ask them to replace the gas burner just in case there is a problem with the stove and they have to get you a new stove.

We asked for a safety issue. The house had well water and it needed to have a light/filter installed to make the water safe.

[Kristinmo]

Aug 8, 2013 11:03:45 GMT -5 revolution said:

I would ask them to replace the gas burner just in case there is a problem with the stove and they have to get you a new stove.

This.

We bought a flip so everything was brand new.  The only thing our inspector found was the hot and cold water were hooked up backwards in the master bath.  We asked them to fix and they did.  

The buyers of our townhouse made up replace the garage door for a broken panel.  I was annoyed because it was $900 and they could clearly see it from the outside when they looked at the house.  There were a few other small things that they didn't ask to be fixed.

[Deleted]

We asked for items that were safety concerns.

[Deleted]

hey!! i must have missed the memo. Are you moving?! PM me!

I have no answer to the repair stuff. We bought our house as-is

[mrshandy]

We didn't but our offer stated that we wouldn't ask them to fix anything at the inspection. Our REA recommended this to make it more competitive.

[janegold]

Aug 8, 2013 11:28:49 GMT -5 @missusbee said:

hey!! i must have missed the memo. Are you moving?! PM me!

I have no answer to the repair stuff. We bought our house as-is

We are! (hopefully; I still worry about things falling through prior to closing).  We're staying in the city but just moving to another neighborhood.  It's a loft in the South End.  We tossed around the idea of moving to the 'burbs for a while (I know you and I have talked about this) but just weren't ready to make the leap.  Maybe in 5 years or so.

[Deleted]

So exciting! I love the South End. Good for you :-)

[soozy87]

Yes, we asked them (and they agreed to) put in a radon elimination system ($1200) cap an old well (required by law $2000+), replace a septic line after it had broken during the inspection ($600), fix a leak they had in both of the showers ($300) and cover an exposed electric box in the attic ($5). It turned out to be a little more than both parties expected, but then we had to replace the furnace that stopped working 2 days after we closed and they were kind of shady about the septic system capacity.

[firedancer49]

Aug 8, 2013 11:18:42 GMT -5 @astrid said:

Aug 8, 2013 10:54:52 GMT -5 janegold said:

That's what I'm kind of thinking too. They already agreed to pay $7k in closing costs (which is UNHEARD of in this market) so while I would like to not have to deal with some of these issues, I feel like we're already making out pretty well in this deal.

With that, I'd leave it be.

So would I.  The sellers of our house paid our closing and were giving us the brand new washer and dryer (which we asked for in our offer).  We didn't want to go overboard.

[janegold]

Thanks everyone! Very good insight and nice to see what's typical and what's not. I think we might leave it be too - or maybe just ask for the one safety item that was noted (the cord of the dryer was rubber rather than steel - or something like that).

[Alyssa]

We sold our condo and the buyer only wanted us to install a missing faceplate to a wall outlet and put in an new exhaust fan that was in the laundry area.

He did also want us to put in a new outdoor light bulb to a security light but that was our neighbor's. The upstairs neighbor's yard ran along our side wall, so I guess he assumed it was our light? I don't know, we basically said, "sorry dude, that's not our light" I think it was pretty stupid to ask for a light bulb to begin with....really?...a light bulb. Come on. The guy got our brand new fridge which I was a little bitter about because I loved that fridge and it took 2 months of researching and hunting for the perfect deal. Oh well, it's in the past.

[Mrs. ChanandlerBong]

We were well aware of the stuff that needed to be fixed asap, but didn't want to lose the house dicking around with the sellers over it. We already had a purchase agreement for almost 30k less than they were asking and it took a lot of work on the realtors' end to make it happen. The sellers were not very happy with it and both realtors thought the sale would fall through if we asked for the concession. The issue was an electrical panel upgrade ( just the panel, wiring was fine) and we had a specific electrician we wanted to use, so instead of asking the sellers to fix, we just did it ourselves.
Everything else about our house was  cosmetic and wouldn't have been part of concessions.

[circa1978]

The house we finally ended up going through with was in move-in condition, so no. We'd had a contract on another house where the inspection revealed structural issues and (WTF) fleas but that seller wouldn't comply and the sale fell through.