The seller has agreed to pay approx 70% of my closing costs but is it too much to ask for additional credits?

Question

for issues found during the home inspection. There are lots of cosmetic issues that I can address at a later time and will not prevent me from living in the home, but there were a handful of safety issues my inspector found.

A laundry dryer with exposed live wires, the water heater pressure valve does not extend 6 inches from the floor, a potential burn hazard, and the guardrails in the front are completely unstable and loose, a definite fall hazard. I noticed the nail at the top hinged in the bathroom door does not go all the way through the hinge. But the door appears secure. And the termite tubes found in the garage. The house didn't even list a garage and I was informed the garage was being sold as is, but is it possible for the termites to migrate to the house and cause potential damage.

I don't think I'm asking for too much or am I?

Answer 1

YES, I think you are asking for too much.

Let's look at inspection issues:  dryer exposed live wires, should be fixed;  water heater pressure valve--very common problem as standards changed, rare for anyone to be harmed; Hinge on bathroom door--get new pin yourself; Garage sold AS IS, no credits, and yes termites could migrate and YOU should have exterminator in after closing;  Guard rails were visible and you should have noticed them.  Your home inspection should have looked for termite infestation, particularly after finding them in garage.

Your seller has given you a lot and you're asking for more.  Inspection clause is not for piddly little things, but major problems you couldn't see/discover on your own, and so that YOU know what you are buying, not so that Seller can repair every little defect.  READ the inspection clause.  If you're insistent, the dryer wires and the water heater, are the only items that could be stretched to fit the inspection clause contingency.

Hopefully you aren't overextending yourself with this purchase, as that, along with the declining real estate market is why there are so many foreclosures.

Answer 2

No. Ask now or you will regret it later. Check with YOUR attorney who is handling the closing and negotiate it with the seller.

If the seller is willing to pay your closing costs, I'm sure they will be willing to pay a few dollars more.

Especially in this market.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Your contract is probably contingent upon a clear home inspection.  Those are safety/livability issues you've mentioned and they shoudl either give you additional credits or fix them.  If not, you can easily back out of the contract without legal ramifications.

Answer 4

It depends on how long the house has been listed and how bad the seller wants to unload it. Small things like the rails and the bare wire are things you can do on your own and present no real danger to you if you handle them timely. The pressure valve is something that could be negotiated, maybe not. the termites would have me concerned, though. In buying real estate, everything is a negotiation. You could try for a few extra credits, if you think the seller would go along. Asking for too much though, could blow the whole deal for you. How good a price are you getting? Is it worth fussing over these things or would you be better off and further ahead to deal with them on your own if the price is really good? These are things only you can answer.

Answer 5

My Advice:  

Once you start fixing problems, esp on an older home you will ALMOST always run into other problems you did not anticipate and this can lead to more money than you may not have.  I would not accept the money for the fixes, because you will only get the money for fixes you are aware of and have identified. Any other issue you would have to prove that the previous owner have knowledge of.   The problems that lay beneath could be much worse.  I would only accept it the home after THEY fixed the problems and have it re-inspected.  My concern primarily in your case would be the terminates and the damage you can't see.

Answer 6

Big Investment for you. You shouldn't buy something that your going to regret later. That's what the inspections are for.

Answer 7

It never hurts to ask for *anything* in real estate. It's all one big poker game. I live in an area where r/e prices rise and fall with oil and gas. Back in the early '80s, my former boss, a real shark of a r/e broker, used to "low-ball" desperate sellers--frequently presenting contracts for a mere fraction of asking price. Once, a contract was returned with this scrawled across the face, "Too low to be considered," but otherwise, as I remember, I believe most of his terms and conditions--and low-ball offers--were accepted...

70% closing might as well turn into 100% of your closing costs. Ask yourself why the seller is willing to do 70%, and also, if it's tied in with the overall poor condition of the house. Seller might as well *at least* compensate for, in not repair, the safety issues (which, in my state, sellers must fix before house can sell, anyway). All they can do is say "no"; and in r/e, the spoils go to the one with the biggest cajones. I learned this from my tyrant of a former boss. He was a shark, but a very successful one.