Home Inspection/Negotiation Advice

[Evan W.]

Hey guys, I recently got my inspection report back for my first home and house hack in Raleigh, NC. Was hoping to get some of your thoughts and guidance as this is my first time going through the buying process.

It’s a brick ranch built in 1953 with a 500sqft addition. Asking 250k. Offer accepted at 255.5k. It’s kind of a half-*** flip. Updated kitchen and refinished bathrooms. Refinished hardwoods. Old windows. Cracked driveway. HVAC is 7 years old.

Main takeaways are:

- Moisture and mold in the crawl space. (No vapor barrier, damaged insulation. Some soft spots in the floor).

- Sitting water on the roof due to incorrect grading of roof membrane. Other than that, the roof is good condition.

- HVAC cooling system is causing the drain pan to fill with water because pressure is lower than it should be. Also, ductwork is ~25 years old.

- Outdated aluminum wiring and 15+ ungrounded outlets.

I’m thinking that I will have them pay for mold remediation and vapor barrier installation (assuming that is the root cause of the moisture). I’ll have them replace the roof membrane. And I’ll take cash towards close for the quoted repairs for HVAC. Not sure what to do about the electrical. May just leave it out if they agree to everything else?

What would you do?

[Corby Goade]

if you are paying over asking price, it's safe to assume your market is pretty competitive? You may not have much leverage here. In my experience, if you want the deal to work, there's a delicate balance to be struck here. Are you working with a realtor? I hope so- that realtor should be negotiating some of these items behind the scenes before you reply in writing. Setting expectations and gauging the sellers motivation should guide you in your response. 

The mold is a material fact and it should be easy to get the seller to pay for remediation. Beyond that, many of those other items might need to be compromised on in some way and you'll have to decide if the deal still works for you if there are issues that you want to address after close. 

Best of luck!