Question about one aspect of buying a house

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
As often is, my question is probably one that others know first hand more than I do. Mostly we have rented but now we have an accepted offer on a nice little home.

We had the home inspector out and he mostly found little stuff that my hubby can easily fix but there WAS a possible future problem with the wiring in the attic so we asked the seller to fix it. He is bringing in an elevatrician to see how much it will cost .Our guess is broad....$500 to $5000. It is unlikely to be either at the low or high end.

If seller digs his feet in and says no, should we offer to pay half? Is that appropriate? Ask to have something off the house? Or do most buyers just pay it.

This will be listed as a defect on the house if he does not fix it and we thentdint buy it because it potentially could start a fire.

On the other hand, I have come to love this cozy home with a pellet stove, deck and fenced yard... On a quiet block with only one neighbor next to us (and we met him....he is nice with four dogs!). We are trying to be frugal but we know a house is an investment.

Thoughts?
 

BloodiedButUnbowed

Well-Known Member
If you really want the home, and the problem can be completely repaired by the seller before closing, if it were me, I would ask that the seller repair it without my further involvement, but if the seller won't go for it you can negotiate either a credit at closing for the repair cost (so you and hubs can hire whomever you like to fix it once you close, but the seller has gifted you the cost), or I would split the cost down the middle with him/her/them.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks. Hopefully he won't give us trouble. We really want the house. Probably more than he needs to sell it as the real estate market here right now is a seller's paradise. There are many more people wanting to buy than those selling and it's crazy! Houses that have been on the market for 200 days are selling. People are offering more than the asking price.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Under the market conditions you mention, I would be more likely to negotiate as a buyer. Start by listing all the things wrong, then tell them, BUT all we want you to fix is this wiring issue. If you are using a realtor, they should know this stuff. If not, that's how I'd approach it. Then if he says no, you still have the option of saying, "if you get the estimate, we'll split the cost you." You can add that to the cost at closing, or he can give you his half at closing and you can then have the work later.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Make purchase contingent upon reinspection after repair. We got screwed on this when we bought our house in Chicago. Seller did a plumbing repair on bathtub drain trap. When it started leaking a year later, we had a plumber out and found out the whole trap and pipe run had to be replaced as it wasn't up to code. 1800 dollar plumbing bill.
 
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