I don't know what happened. I got blindsided.
The inspector said it was the worst house under 10 years old he had ever seen. He said he would never let his daughter buy that house.
The ONLY thing on the disclosure was a 2004 "repaired" leak. Well, it was wet. I touched it myself.
The foundation was jacked, the stairs weren't adequately supported and had cut the trusses with a 5 inch incline. It had been treated for termites. The doors had been trimmed down so they would close in the buckling floors. The drywall had been patched multiple times in the same places. There was mold in the garage. There were way, way more roof repairs than disclosed.
Any one of these things (roof, buckling floors, foundation) would be bad. All of them. Ouch.
I'm shellshocked. I thought this was done. I honestly thought we had found the one and we were going to move in a couple weeks. I had all the blinds in my cart online. I already had the loan lined up. I had the blinds in my cart!!!
I'm so exhausted from my job, and this is just terrible. I can't decide if I am mad or sad, or maybe just tired.
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22 comments:
At least you got a good inspector. Can you imagine if you *had* bought it? You dodged a bullet. They must have done a nice cover-up job that you didn't notice the problems. Though, if drywall is still wet after a repaired leak, that's not a good sign. Water stains are one thing, but persistent wetness is not. Was it a townhouse? You mentioned condo insurance, but it sounds like this place is more like multilevel townhouses type deal rather than a big building with single-level condos.
Maybe now is not such a great time to be buying a house. A new job and a new house are way up there for causing stress.
Maybe get settled in your job first?
You will find a house. The housing market isn't going to suddenly recover either. You have time - take it and save a little sanity.
Well, at least you found out before hand - that is the whole point of the inspection.
You can have all of those emotions, and all at the same time.
It sounds like a huge learning opportunity though for the next home that you look at.
Thank goodness for the inspector!
Goodness gracious. I'm sorry to hear that!!! Well its good you went through that inspection. At least you didn't get stuck with a crappy house!
Don't get discouraged. Wait until you put up your new blinds in your future house... It'll be insanely satisfying, I'm sure!
What a bummer! That's too bad. I hope you guys are able to find another home you like.
Welcome to the world of house buying. Inspectors are worth their fee as you now well know. It is so easy to get caught up in house buying and not see those things.
PLEASE, get a different and good realtor. The realtors I have worked with helped me see several of those kinds of issues on the initial walk through. A good one is worth way more than their fee.
I feel for you! I really do! But I think that this is good - atleast you can now walk away from a bad deal. Never fall in love with a house till you close!
Be MAD!
The seller is required to disclose those items.
Sounds like its too much trouble for you to do any repairs, even if they GAVE you the house.
Can you get your earnest money back?
Oh no! That totally sucks. Are you going to walk away?
This is why I said always get an inspection (even if you can pay cash for a home). Keep the name and number of that inspector you'll want to use him again. He just kept you from making a very, very expensive mistake.
Congratulations.
LindaB
so sorry to hear that the inspection was sub-par, but at least you know this now. The house buying process is long and exhausting but hopefully when you find your home it will be worth the wait.
You may have been looking for the right home for quite sometime or you're just expecting a non-exhausting house-hunting job. I can feel your exhaustion too. Go out, do things that are far from the details of a house. Have a sip in a bar or do something relaxing. By doing this, you'll be relaxed by the time you'll sit by with your inspector to talk with a new prospect house and this time, you have more tolerance to this stress...
I agree with Sara - get a good Realtor. They would see things first. And if you do get a good one, then they are worth more than their fee, but as a buyer you're not paying the fee. Using a Realtor to help you out is free to you and commission paid by the seller so I still don't know why people wouldn't use a Realtor to buy unless they want to try and get a kickback on the sales price.
I've read that it's important to you to foremost "get a good deal" - unfortunately this is usually what you deal with when you spend all your time looking for a good deal and low ball offers. It's hard to find a solid house with no major problems for a "good deal" because most people know what their house is worth.
Good luck with the next one. I'd consider putting it all off until spring - you'll have a bigger selection of houses. Not many want their house on the market during the holidays.
Thank goodness you paid for an inspection! And it's also great that your inspector was so honest with you!
I agree with the other commenter. You should get another Realtor. I had a crappy one and it only got worse after the inspection. Get a good one...it's worth the effort!
How did you find your realtor? Did you do any research on finding someone with a solid reputation & years of experience for sales in your area? I've bought and sold the5 houses that we've lived and have found that it pays to hire only those realtors who have experience and a good reputation. Just picking someone out of the phone book is not the way to go. I communicate with them my price range and requirements and expect them to present me with a reasonable number of acceptable houses. I have never had a bad realtor experience and have felt that they earned their commission with their knowledge and expertise of the market. They have always saved me time and effort. You need a different realtor.
It's pretty hard to go after sellers for non-disclosure, that's why they do it. You have to prove the intentional cover up, most owners will plead ignorance and the burden is on you. I bought my place despite some serious red flags in the inspection, but an 80 year old house was certain to have problems and it was the only place we could afford. Now I wish I had backed out, but not much I can do now.
At least you found this out beforehand, I take you have an inspection contingency? Stick with it, something will come along. My co-worker was home shopping but after seeing a home bid up over $500,000 by 13 other interested buyers, he decided to wait. Somehow there is still some craziness in the collapsing LA market.
I don't envy you, home shopping was extremely stressful and escrow is way worse. Can you hold off the home shopping for a bit, with a new job this might not be the best time. I honestly spent most of that month at work, not doing work! I was setting up home inspections, loan shopping, setting up insurance etc for most of the day. Fortunately my work was sympathetic, but if I had been new, maybe not so much.
So sorry to hear that, but it's so lucky you found out NOW and had a good inspector!
People always think that new construction is a GOOD thing. But to be honest (at least in NZ), they really don't make them like they used to. Especially townhouses/apartments - I wouldn't touch any of those with a bargo pole; they're all leaky. Older houses might not be so well insulated and might need work but they do tend to be better constructed and are structually sound and solid.
Oh gosh!! Thank God for the inspection!! I was soooo afraid for you when I read the post. I don't know much about property law having never bought a place of our own but I would have been shattered if I was in your shoes too. Better to have known before than after.
How disappointing for the two of you. I know what you mean about already planning the decorating. At least you can get out of the contract and live to househunt another day.
Glad you found out early! It happens. I was in love with a house until an inspection came back.
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