Back to the Table to Negotiate (hopefully!)

Not a good idea to do an inspection the week of Thanksgiving - especially if you find lots of stuff wrong with the house and you need to get contractors in to get estimates. We went down to the wire today in getting carpenters into the house to check out the damage by termites to the sill, floor joist and rim joist - not to mention the stairs and other sections of the basement that were hard to see. They gave us a pretty good idea of what was going on - but I'm glad we had two separate estimates to work off of to figure out a number for the termite damage repairs. (I keep saying "we" and "us" - I'm referring to me and my agent Christine...I'm not moving in with anyone but the kids).

In the end we had an electrician, a plumber, two carpenters, and a roofer, not to mention the home, lead paint, radon, and insect inspection. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do in the house (the list of what I don't need to do is much shorter), and I still absolutely love it!

We went back to the seller tonight requesting a pretty big chunk of change off the negotiated price - I can't figure out how I think they are going to respond. The issue are there - and I really only went back to them for the big ones. Anyone else who looks at the house is going to see the same thing. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they are aware and realistic.

Reality Check - The Inspection

The inspection went pretty well overall, but wow, are there some things to consider! Nothing that would make me run away from the house screaming, but issues that Christine and I noted when we first went through that are much more extensive than we recognized.

Harvey Sancousy did the inspection, and we had John do the radon, Anne do the lead paint, and ServicePro do the termite inspections. It was busy! At the end of the inspection a roofer and an electrician came by to give estimates of costs to repair and upgrade as well.

Turns out there is some fairly extensive historical termite damage along the sill, joists, and rim joist that can be seen from the basement. Termites have eaten through the old staircase to the basement and from the back porch outside, which have been repaired, but damage still remains. The screened-in porch also has had extensive damage in the supports, and the porch is pulling away from the building, probably because of settling, maybe caused by the munching termites.

Although some of the roof has been repaired, the rest of it is in bad shape. I was hoping I could get some more life out of the roof before I had to replace it, but looks like this and repairing the termite damage is my top priority. So there were sections of the roof over the back porch that you could see daylight through! Pretty bad!

There go the finished hardwood floors and wallpaper removal! No problem - plan B: I'll do the wallpaper myself after we move in (its practically all peeling off anyway), room by room, and the floors will come later. Not a bad option since I plan on doing work in the house anyway, and the floors could just get damaged.

What else? Oh yes - some of the plumbing fixtures don't work. I have to get a plumber in to take a look at that issue, and I'm already looking for someone to come in a re-glaze the bathtub - its is pretty bad, and its the only tub/shower. Since I won't be doing that bathroom for a year or so, its a priority. The babies need a clean bath to clean their tushies in!!

Oh, another thing that needs attention right away - the first floor bathroom floor. The floor is saturated and warped, and the linoleum tiles are peeling from years of bad aim, so to speak. The smell of urine in the bathroom is unmistakable, and it needs to be addressed right away. Yea! My first tiling job! I've always wanted to try it, and this is a small space so a good first place to learn.

There are some other, issues too, like wiring and outlets that needs to be updated and made safe (like outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms - they are ungrounded and too close to water sources).

But I feel really good about my House Team! Dad was at the inspection and it was really great to get his thoughts on the house. Between Christine and Harvey I think the inspection was thorough. We had to keep Harvey and Dad on track so a debate about cap and trade didn't ensue, but that was minor! :)

The roofer did a a great inspection and already got me a quote, and the electrician was very flexible in prioritizing the work based on what is essential to have done, and what the cost will be.

So now I go back to the owner with a request to lower the price based on the extensiveness of the termite damage, the roof repairs needed, and probably the plumbing that doesn't work. Also the chimney needs to be mortered. Oh yeah - there is lead paint on almost every painted surface - but that was to be expected. We'll see where we get with owner negotiations, and I will keep you posted!

House Photos

Here are some photos from when I went to see the house, the day before I made an offer.










The house was built in 1912 and I bought the it from four sisters who grew up in it. Funny, the lead inspector I lined up grew up six or seven houses down the street and knows the daughters.



There were other small world coincidences with this house. First, the owner is a client of Tighe & Bond's and I had written a memo about green roofs for Holyoke Housing Authority, for which she is the Director. Not sure if she would've recognized my name, but that was just in the past month that the memo went to her Assistant Director. T&B also works for the Holyoke Fire Department, and the Fire Chief recently asked a coworker of mine if he knew me. Turns out the Fire chief is married to another of the four sisters. Holyoke is a small town, which has its pros and cons.

Well friends, probably needless to say, but I am thrilled about this house. Once they accpeted my offer I searched inside myself for days to see if there was even one little grain of buyers remorse or concern and found none. This is a good, solid house in a great neighborhood where the kids can play in the yard, ride their bikes on the street, and its just enough space for all of us.

Yes, it needs new everything, and the inspection tomorrow will likely reveal even more issues. But not everything needs to be done right away. I want to get some basic stuff done that is best to do when the house is empty, and then move in with the kids and take a deep breath. We'll all get accustomed to the new situation and once things have settled down, I'll start thinking about what I want to do with the kitchen and baths. My guess is other maintenance things are going to come up that will play into when I start my projects.

My plan is to have the wallpaper removed, walls painted, hardwood floors redone, and the house deep cleaned before we move in on or around January 1st. That effort will go a long way in making the house seem fresh and more up-to-date. Essentially with that done, the bedrooms, dining room, and living room will be all set except for fixtures and decorating details. Christine, my agent, is in this picture. She has been a GREAT agent and friend throughout my house hunting (she is the mother of a good friend), and I have been comforted and guided by her good advice.

Got the House!

Making an offer on a house right after it goes on the market can result in a lot of waiting while you wait for the owner to catch up to the reality of the situation. In this economically-tough buyer's market, not all buyers are created equal, and sellers need to be realistic about the price a house can command. After two and a half weeks of showings and an open house while my offer was on the table, and after me saying my offer was coming off the table in two days, the sellers finally saw the light. We agreed to a purchase price and they accepted my offer. Yea!!

I just bought the "worst house in the best neighborhood." The house had been lived in by two generations of the same family, and ultimately the kids had grown and moved on to their own homes and families and their mom lived in the home she had raised her kids in until she passed on. The house shows the wear and tear of decades of deferred maintenance and needs a new just about everything. Through listing and selling the house, at least, the sellers have run a new electric service from the street, upgraded the fuse box to a panel, and updated some of the knob and tube wiring. They are also going to remove the underground storage tank, switch to natural gas for heat, and upgrade the Volkswagen in the basement that passes for a furnace.

Its a sweet home, a gambrel on a small corner lot in a neighborhood with streets named after colleges and universities. Its the kind of neighborhood you feel absolutely safe walking your dog in at night, or having your kids play in the yard or riding bikes on the sidewalks. Finishing the floors, taking down the old wallpaper, and painting will go a long way to highlight the simple elegance of the home.

It was very empowering to buy a home on my own after separating from my husband. There is no doubt in my mind that I negotiated a good deal on a great house and that with some hard work on my part (and my contractors!) I will have a fabulous home. Even better, in the short term, I have found a home for me and my kids that I will feel proud to live in, and considering all that has happened in the past year, this is an incredible place to land.

The inspection is on Monday and we have agreed to close on 12/15. Wow! Keep your fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.