Skip to main content

Seller refusing to extend inspection period 3 days to get an estimate on newly discovered septic issues. Should we walk?

My husband and I are in Vermont, looking for an older home with no major system issues that we can gradually improve, mostly DIY. We thought we'd found the perfect place. It's early 20th century and has been well maintained. It's adorable, it has some land, original wood floors, mostly restored with a couple still under ugly linoleum. It's been on the market for a bit, so after a bit of back-and-forth we landed just under the asking price.

So, we quickly got our inspection going. Results were almost entirely positive - the original slate roof doesn't leak, and is just in need of standard maintenance, the foundation and structure are sound, electrical is 100A, but external wiring is sized for 200, newer propane heat and hot water. There's quite a bit of cosmetic/upgrade work to do, but it was all pretty much what we were expecting.

Then we got to the septic. It has a newer plastic tank, but the leach system is an ancient dry well. It hadn't failed, but was completely full. So basically it will need to be replaced sometime between tomorrow and 5 years from now. Due to regulations in Vermont, that replacement is going to cost 20-40k unless we get extremely lucky on the perc test (most likely will have to install a mound and pump station). New systems also require an engineer to design and sign off.

So, we asked for a 10k price reduction to help offset the cost, and 3 extra days on our inspection window (which was only 2 weeks to begin with) to get an engineer out and to get the results of a perc test. This would be at our expense and would not delay closing. The seller verbally agreed, and we scheduled the test. Then the next day, they suddenly said no more addenda, no price change, no extension, take it or leave it. We offered to drop the credit, and just for the extra time to make an informed decision. Seller refused.

We are flabbergasted. The only two rational explanations I can think of are that 1) They have a side offer and want us to back out, or 2) They actually know what we're going to find with the perc test, and want us to be locked in before we find out. Otherwise, I'm totally baffled.

If it turns out the septic is going to be in the 40k range and the old one dies before we have time to save back up/build some equity, it's not going to be a great situation. Not lose-the-house bad, but a pretty tight spot.

We've kind of fallen in love with the house, and leaving the septic aside, it's a really good deal. It's going to take a while to find something else in our price range that checks as many boxes as this one. But, with the risk and the bizarre seller behavior, do we just walk?

submitted by /u/intrepidnovice
[link] [comments]

source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1hytwhh/seller_refusing_to_extend_inspection_period_3/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina – “One to Buy; Two to Sell”

I realize I will likely have to contact a real estate attorney but also hoping to hear insights and experiences from others! I have a house in NC that I bought by myself in 2009, and paid off, in full, in 2022. I got married in 2023. My spouse and I have not lived in the house as our "marital residence". We have maintained separate residences even after we got married. (That a separate topic!). I am now selling this house. Realtors have told us that my husband has to sign the deed at time of transfer but I am not convinced since the house has not been our marital residence. The realtors like to use the phrase "one to buy; two to sell", which seems like a broad-stroke statement which is not applicable under all circumstances. And of course, the realtors don’t realize the details of my specific circumstances: I purchased and paid for the house in full prior to marriage Only my name is on the deed And most importantly, we have never lived in the house as a marit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aren't comps/CMAs useless with buyer credits at close happening now?

I'm looking into buying a new construction townhouse in my HCOL US city. I'm seeing builders offering interest rate buydowns worth $20k-$60k on $800k homes (rather than just lowering prices) in order to keep their comps high for their other units, now that buyer demand has been declining. I asked my agent about these, and he said these buydowns aren't even the full story: buyers can write all kinds of other credits into an offer, like their closing costs, prepaid sewer fees, etc. Apparently cash buyers can just write in a "buyer credit at close" for any amount in their offer. So a new townhouse that appeared to sell for $800k in the MLS might have actually been a cash offer with a $100k+ buyer credit at close, meaning the buyer only spent $700k or less in total, but to the rest of the world they can only see the $800k! So that made me realize I can't trust comps/CMAs for other new construction townhouses. The sales prices could be way lower than they appear...
1 comment
Read more

Co-signing as non-primary resident - effect on size of required downpayment & first time home buyer status?

Contemplating co-signing on a house with my mom and splitting the mortgage payment. I currently have a significantly higher income and much better credit than her. I'm looking at potential home costs and related downpayments but have difficulty using some of the online estimators. From my perspective, this would be somewhat of an investment purchase (I intend to stay in my current location in a different state and contribute to the mortgage), however, for my mom, this would be a primary residence. For purposes of the downpayment size and the type of mortgage arrangement, would it be an investment property or a primary residence? Many thanks for any help. submitted by /u/piercalicious [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/km4hvl/cosigning_as_nonprimary_resident_effect_on_size/
Post a Comment
Read more