Selling house and deciding repairs

[Luvz2travel]

My realtor isn’t being much help and I’ve still yet to hear back on all the repairs they want. A lot of capped wires, repair loose fascia, trim tree branches, have sewerline cleaned of roots. If you have little money what are the repairs you are obligated to so. They also want a dryer vent.

 

[Della]

You should consult your city’s housing department for the codes your house needs to meet. That is part of what your realtor is asking you to do by giving you a list of needed repairs.

Apart from that, the appearance of your house is very important. If people see minor repairs left untended they will wonder what other, perhaps bigger ones need to be done.

Anyone considering selling their house should set up a fund in advance and then pay into it, like a Christmas fund. Then he will have money to do repairs and to meet standard codes so his house will sell in a timely way instead of sit on the market for months, or not sell, or have to take a much reduced sale price. It well worth putting a few hundred into repairs to gain a few thousand more in the sale price.

 

[Xantippe]

My realtor isn’t being much help and I’ve still yet to hear back on all the repairs they want. A lot of capped wires, repair loose fascia, trim tree branches, have sewerline cleaned of roots. If you have little money what are the repairs you are obligated to so. They also want a dryer vent.

I’m not a handyperson, but the trim tree branches and the dryer vent might be things you can do yourself without too much trouble. The tree branches are especially important as a cosmetic issue–as a house hunter, I’ve always been repelled by houses that look like they’re being eaten by the surrounding trees and bushes.

Try standing outside your house and looking at it as if you were thinking of buying it. Is it being eaten by trees? Is the lawn overgrown? Are there spider townhouses on the front step? Is the glass on the front door smudgy? Wasp nests in the eaves? Crud in the gutters?

Some decluttering would probably help a lot, too. I’m sure you’ve heard about the trick involving baking cookies or baking an apple pie before a showing–it will make the house smell more homelike.

Here’s a three minute video from Jim the Realtor explaining his cheapo express staging system:

bubbleinfo.com/2011/02/27/home-staging/

Jim the Realtor is really good, so I would definitely suggest googling “bubbleinfo staging” to see some other ideas.

Good luck!

 

[PaulinVA]

My realtor isn’t being much help and I’ve still yet to hear back on all the repairs they want. A lot of capped wires, repair loose fascia, trim tree branches, have sewerline cleaned of roots. If you have little money what are the repairs you are obligated to so. They also want a dryer vent.

You have a contract on the house, right?

The standard is to give “allowances” for various issues, meaning lowering the selling price to compensate for some shortcomings.

You are not obligated to do anything that is not code-related. The buyer could back out if you don’t, though. That’s why it’s a negotiation.

My smart aleck response to the dryer vent is to buy one at Home Depot and leave it on the kitchen table for them.

 

[Xantippe]

You have a contract on the house, right?

The standard is to give “allowances” for various issues, meaning lowering the selling price to compensate for some shortcomings.

You are not obligated to do anything that is not code-related. The buyer could back out if you don’t, though. That’s why it’s a negotiation.

My smart aleck response to the dryer vent is to buy one at Home Depot and leave it on the kitchen table for them.

Ha!

My husband fixed one of those for us–we needed to do it so that critters couldn’t move into our house. It’s really not hard. (I say who didn’t do it.)

 

[Jeanne_S]

We just purchased a home for my daughter and SIL to rent ,until which time they can take over the loan.The home buying process was a real eye opener,in that the process is designed to give potential buyers,every opportunity to back out and receive a return of earnest $$$,even in a sellers market.The general rule is,it has to meet code,secondly,if anything such as AC!heater,appliances are older,but in working condition,the buyer can request a one year warranty on any repairs that may be needed in the future.
Anything cosmetic,I would put the overgrown tree in that category,unless it could fall on the house,you need not take care of that.
There was a rather long list of items the inspector flagged as needing attention.We chose to focus only on the ones that were a safety hazard.

 

[Xantippe]

We just purchased a home for my daughter and SIL to rent ,until which time they can take over the loan.The home buying process was a real eye opener,in that the process is designed to give potential buyers,every opportunity to back out and receive a return of earnest $$$,even in a sellers market.The general rule is,it has to meet code,secondly,if anything such as AC!heater,appliances are older,but in working condition,the buyer can request a one year warranty on any repairs that may be needed in the future.
Anything cosmetic,I would put the overgrown tree in that category,unless it could fall on the house,you need not take care of that.
There was a rather long list of items the inspector flagged as needing attention.We chose to focus only on the ones that were a safety hazard.

We also had an enormous list of items from the inspector. We asked the sellers to fix all of the safety hazards and ignored cosmetic stuff.

 

[HopenHappiness]

Hi,

If I remember right you just sold the house, so these demands are those of the buyer. Which probably turned up in a home inspection, though I don’t know how they know there are roots in the sewer pipe. You are within your rights to refuse to make these repairs and then the buyer will decide if they can live with doing them themselves. Now if your short on cash and can’t make the repairs. Then you can see if there can be a stipulation of that you will make an allowance that upon closing, you will give them x amount of dollars out of your profit from the sale of your house. I would not be to thrilled with your realtor, she should be right on top of all this and earn her commission.

Good Luck

 

[gh4]

The last house I sold, I read the report from the inspector and I decided what issues I would fix. I only had 3 issues and I had my son fix 2 of them. The third one was that they wanted the insulation in the roof area raked. My son and I refused to do that, it has like several feet of blown in pink insulation and if they wanted to rake it, fine, feel free, but neither of us was going to do that!

The last house I bought the inspector found some really big things, there was no main water shut off… that’s a code violation and they had to fix it.There were a few other things too, can’t remember what they were, but got the sellers to fix most of them and my son fixed the rest of them for me.

I think there is always some give and take on stuff like this, you have to choose carefully when deciding what to fix and what not to fix.

Good luck.

 

[Luvz2travel]

Thanks for all the advice. My realtor came over and explained the repairs to me and most are minimal. They did a sewer lateral and were unable to get the camera all the way to the end of the line. They requested clean up but it may also need to be replace if so depending on where it is the city may replace it. The city only replaces them if they are along the main part of the system and not on my property line Pretty much of the sewerline needs to be replaced that would end the sale and I would just let the bank have the house as I don’t thousands to replace it. In any case I still hope for the best that it only needs to be cleaned out.

 

[PaulinVA]

Thanks for all the advice. My realtor came over and explained the repairs to me and most are minimal. They did a sewer lateral and were unable to get the camera all the way to the end of the line. They requested clean up but it may also need to be replace if so depending on where it is the city may replace it. The city only replaces them if they are along the main part of the system and not on my property line Pretty much of the sewerline needs to be replaced that would end the sale and I would just let the bank have the house as I don’t thousands to replace it. In any case I still hope for the best that it only needs to be cleaned out.

They gave your house a colonoscopy?

I had no idea…

 

[MJJean]

They gave your house a colonoscopy?

I had no idea…

Really? In my area home inspectors have come equipped with a scope camera thingie to check ducts and pipes for years now as part of their standard service. I figured it was like that everywhere since the equipment is lighter and so much cheaper than it used to be.

If the inspector doesn’t have a scope to check pipes and ducts, doesn’t check under ceiling tiles and carpet, and doesn’t crawl all over the roof and attic then get a new inspector!

 

[PaulinVA]

Really? In my area home inspectors have come equipped with a scope camera thingie to check ducts and pipes for years now as part of their standard service. I figured it was like that everywhere since the equipment is lighter and so much cheaper than it used to be.

If the inspector doesn’t have a scope to check pipes and ducts, doesn’t check under ceiling tiles and carpet, and doesn’t crawl all over the roof and attic then get a new inspector!

Well, I haven’t bought or sold a house in 30 years, so I guess I am hopelessly outdated in my knowledge. Thanks.

 

[MJJean]

Well, I haven’t bought or sold a house in 30 years, so I guess I am hopelessly outdated in my knowledge. Thanks.

Wow, that’s awesome. I can’t wait til we’ve lived in ours that long. We’ve only had the house for 11 years. We’re not planning on leaving for the south like a lot of Michiganders do so I hope to never need a home inspection again!

 

[PaulinVA]

Wow, that’s awesome. I can’t wait til we’ve lived in ours that long. We’ve only had the house for 11 years. We’re not planning on leaving for the south like a lot of Michiganders do so I hope to never need a home inspection again!

Yeah, I’ve pretty much replaced everything at least once by now…

 

[PaulGH]

My realtor isn’t being much help and I’ve still yet to hear back on all the repairs they want. A lot of capped wires, repair loose fascia, trim tree branches, have sewerline cleaned of roots. If you have little money what are the repairs you are obligated to so. They also want a dryer vent.

For listing your house to sell, I would concentrate on cosmetic issues. Then when you get an offer, the buyer will probably make the contract contigent on a home inspection. You can then negotiate on which problems to fix after the home inspection. You can either get the problems fixed before the closing, or offer to give the buyer an agreed-upon amount of money to cover the repairs, and this money can be given to them at the closing (which may help you with cash flow). At least that is how it has worked when we have bought houses (in three different states!), but the process may be different in different locations. Definitely do listen to the advice from your real estate agent though.

 

[Luvz2travel]

For listing your house to sell, I would concentrate on cosmetic issues. Then when you get an offer, the buyer will probably make the contract contigent on a home inspection. You can then negotiate on which problems to fix after the home inspection. You can either get the problems fixed before the closing, or offer to give the buyer an agreed-upon amount of money to cover the repairs, and this money can be given to them at the closing (which may help you with cash flow). At least that is how it has worked when we have bought houses (in three different states!), but the process may be different in different locations. Definitely do listen to the advice from your real estate agent though.

I signed the agreement to just take care of the the repairs. I honestly didn’t think they were out of line. They could have asked for a lot of more expensive stuff. I will be happy just to be free of the money pit. My brother in law will help me with some of the stuff. I won’t have any money at all when all is said and done and I’ll be living with a lot of debt for years but at least I can maybe stop it increasing and pay it off or at least have a hope to. I signed up for an apartment. My dad will loan me the deposit money and I get the first month free if I get it so I can pay him back right away almost. I just don’t want to run short with all the repairs. I’ll be working everyday no days off either so hopefully that will help pay some of this off.