House selling woes

[Donald Kennedy]

We're trying to sell a house away from here, but it seems like every day appears another "problem" issue making me think it is all a scam! We re-shingled, house and garage; replaced garage door (God knows it was needed) repaired the interior, and now "they" say the well is shot and the EFIS has moisture.

Okay, our well gives excellent water, but not at the rate specified by who? Greene County or a well digger or a plumber wanting to install city water? EFIS has moisture? Well, yeah! All sidings get moisture so, what now?

Seems to me they don't much want the house, but "they" swear they do.

So, is this kind of haggling normal?

Donk

[Jim Becker]

It's somewhat normal for an inspection to come up with some issues when selling a home and yes, that's part of the negotiation. However, repeatedly coming back with more and more things is troubling and may be an attempt to take advantage of the fact that you are not local. You and/or your realtor really need to set some boundaries on what you are or are not willing to do. Redoing the roof for both the house and garage and doing the other repairs/replacements you mentioned seems to be reasonable for a home that's been around for awhile. But at some point, a line needs to be drawn.

[Mike Henderson]

I second what Jim said. House inspectors always come back with at least a page of "defects". It seems they think if they don't have a page of defects the buyer won't think they did a good job.

I sold a house and there was the usual page of defects (very minor). The buyer sent me a demand that I repair "everything". I replied that I was not going to repair anything - if they wanted the house they could take it as is. They came back with a list of about three things that I did fix and they bought the house.

Mike

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Just say no if you don’t want to do it.

A little odd that someone would join just to post this type of question though. It is not a real estate forum.

[Donald Kennedy]

Yes, I know, but there are people here who know stuff and the other responses have helped. And, where does one go to get advice on stuff like wells and siding finishes? Then too, I've NEVER had to depend on any tradesmen for anything other than taking out trees. So, sort of uncharted territory for me.

[Stan Calow]

Around here, if an FHA or VA loan is involved, the lender will not make a loan if the well is not up to standard, regardless of buyers willingness to go forward. Maybe true for other lenders as well.

[Bruce King]

As a retired home inspector, it may seem like we enjoy finding problems but we don’t. We get paid the same. Fact is, very few houses have less than 15 issues. Best ones are after an inspection where issues were truly repaired. New houses have more issues than most 10 yr old houses. EIFS has usually been removed by now. When they say moisture they mean that the wood behind it has moisture. (If they inspected it correctly). Holes must be made to jab a special moisture meter in past the EIFS. I used an IR camera on the interior which finds a lot and told the buyer to hire a stucco specialist to check for moisture in the walls. The liability is very high for any type of stucco homes.
There should be a time period for the buyers to do their inspections.

The worst things other than the normal Roof, Plumbing, misc electrical, misc plumbing, HVAC are wet crawlspaces, bad windows, Zinsco and FPE StabLok panels, EFIS, polybutylene piping, aluminum wiring, fungi, foundation problems and grading problems.

[Bruce King]

Agents get sued more than home inspectors. The smart ones will require the buyer to have items fixed by a licensed contractor. Homeowner repairs are usually a total disaster. I sold a townhouse once that had a defective treated 2x12 stair stringer outside. The inspector noted a spot the size of a silver dollar but when I started probing it was about 6x8. 6 feet off the ground and no roof drainage hitting it. I knew to rush before they asked for replacement, made a template, grabbed a big 2x12 and made it longer at the top so two structural bolts would fit. Nailed it up with twice the nails needed. Looked beautiful. No one saw it yet because they didn’t know it was fixed. Got the call two days later, they want it replaced. I said nope, it’s better than new. Never heard back, they bought it for asking price.

[Nathan Johnson]

My first thought was government-backed loan also.
But I keep hearing the housing market is on fire. Shouldn't a seller be able to find a line of less picky buyers?

[glenn bradley]

Boiler plate response around here is that the only things I will fix are health and safety issues. Termite damage is separate. A crack in the driveway, mediocre sprinkler coverage, a rickety fence? Tough. Last place I sold, the potential buyer just couldn't understand why I wouldn't fix a roof that had already been repaired years ago but, the stains still showed in the garage. Sent 'em packing and sold to the next buyer for more. There must be a leprechaun that watches out for home sellers ;-)

[Bruce King]

CA Inspectors are only required to write up things that affect the value of the house. That is so very wrong, how do they know the appraisers job. Generally though even the worst inspector should find the items not functioning properly. Agents love to say that something is functioning as intended even if it’s falling apart. After I got past the first 5 years of working for anyone I ended up with agents that are multimillionaires that wanted to protect their name. I also had a few builders hiring me to keep theirselves out of trouble. I ended up doing nothing but new construction the last 3 years.

[mike stenson]

Stuff like wells and septic are big ticket items. I've seen a lot of houses that had problems that the owners ignored, and didn't believe was a problem. Then again, I've repaired more than enough structural termite damage in my life too. I've both bought and sold houses recently. It's business, my advise is to simply treat it as such.

[Bill Dufour]

IS the Op in the states, which one, or what country at least?
I never heard of EFIS. From responses it seems to be used in the states? Is it still in use?
Bill D.

https://iclg.com/practice-areas/real...ations/ireland

[Bruce King]

Yes, well and septic can be problematic but depends on what part of the country with wells and age of septic. The dumb banks started requiring dye test on septic back in the late 70s or early 80s. It required putting dye down a toilet and running a tremendous amount of water to see if the dye surfaced in the field area. It would often ruin the system since it was not designed for that much water in a short amount of time. The new problem might show up a few weeks after the new owners move in. Many houses are vacant when sold. Any home inspector who does a dye test needs his head tested. Agents have been known to dump bleach down a well on a vacant house in hopes to prevent a bacteria finding that might scare a buyer away. They also have needy contractors dispute some inspector findings as a favor so they can continue doing jobs for the realtors office. Some agents also tend to believe the sellers who claim to have experience with some trade and dispute an inspectors findings. The buyer ends up screwed and often sues the seller and agent. I worked in two states, uncountable townships, counties and cities so my experience is different from the patty cake inspector that hands out biscuits at the broker office. Licensing, enforcement and individual inspector abilities are all over the map. The problem is that you will never know for sure if the agent referral is for the best or just average Inspector. Online reviews are not reliable due to them being made to get a discount, made before they know what was missed etc. Some of the worst inspectors who are agents buddies buy their way out of trouble before a bad review is made. My experience showed that 90 percent of the realtors wanted just an average inspector and would even bad mouth good ones. It’s human nature in a business where high commissions are hanging in the balance.
edit: I was not a perfect inspector, no such thing as one. I never got asked for money and never got sued.

[Bruce King]

EIFS info, quite complicated.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exterior_insulation_finishing_system