All Forum Posts by: Marc Izquierdo

Hmm, that's tough.  I'm not sure how old the seller is but even after 30 years (assuming you don't refinance out and they live that long) they are still taking a 20k cut on the house from the list price.  With inflation, it's even worse.  I see it as they'd have to be motivated to sell (frustrated landlord still looking for cashflow, old and still looking for cash flow, etc) to accept an offer that low. 

I've never seller financed a property before but from what I've read, most of the time it seems that you'd offer a higher than list price because the seller is holding the note for you.  You'd also expect an interest rate higher than what  you could get at a bank.  4% is a bank rate.  It makes sense that in a deal (where both sides benefit), you would pay higher than list  and a higher interest rate for the benefit of not going through a bank.  That's just my view on seller financing.  I'm sure others would argue differently.

Yea it's been on the market for 2 months, but this month I've seen 3 different instances (including my own deal) where a seller, whose house has been on the market for 2-3 years, won't budge on $500.  I think this deal depends on the people and what their motivation is.  You may be more subject to their terms due to the seller financing. 

@Roy N.

Yes, the seller obtained all of the required certifications and, as of yesterday, the inspector from the municipality came out to perform the final Use and Occupancy inspection.  In order to pass the inspection, all of the identified deficiencies need to be corrected.  As far as I know, he corrected them.  We are still waiting to hear the results of the inspection.  Once that is complete and confirmed to be satisfactory, we go to settlement. 

Thanks for all of your advice.  Fortunately we were able to get the seller to sign an addendum to extend the closing date out to December 15th.

Sorry for the late reply, thank you all for your advice. 

@Tom W. You're right.  My HVAC guy said the same thing.  By some miracle, the seller got the heater certified as-is without needing any repairs.  The guy certified it as an "open return".  After I saw the certification, I started to question this contractors credibility.  Not sure what I could do at this point.  Certifying something like this seems to call his licensing into question.  Not sure how that works though. 

This furnace does not feed the whole building.  Only one unit.  I'll be moving forward with the deal with a new heater and ductwork installation on the to-do list immediately.  Luckily I believe I'm getting a good enough deal where this issue can be weathered.     

Hi all,

I am supposed to close on a Duplex today.  However, the seller has not gotten municipal required inspections completed yet (heater certificaiton and electrical certification).  Both of these are outstanding and are identified in the contract to be ordered at the seller's expense no later than 15 days prior to closing.  For this violation, I have an attorney involved as this makes the seller responsible for all required repairs once the inspections take place (and there will be repairs - no duct work on heater).  Since this is the case, my realtor and I drafted up an addendum to extend closing in order to get this work completed once the seller pays for an inspection (again, required per the contract).  We are currently waiting on the seller to sign and agree to an extension.  It would be ridiculous of them to not sign it, but I was just wondering, what happens if they don't?  What happens at midnight tonight when the contract expires?   We briefly talked about it with my attorney but he suggested that we focus on getting the extension and we'll go from there.  He doesn't think they wouldn't sign it.  However, I'm just curious as to what would happen.  Does anyone have any experience with this and could shed some light?

Thanks in advance

Marc

@Benjamin Cooper

@Mike Cumbie Thanks, I appreciate the response. 

During my DD period is when I had my home inspection completed, as well as having a HVAC contractor come in to look at the heater.  We specified in the contract that I could have a HVAC contractor (or any contractor) come in for an inspection during my DD period.  All of my inspections were legal and timely.  You're right on the "unofficial estimate" portion.  I did not have the contractor do a full on inspection so he could not give a formal, written estimate.  I knew that and was ok with it. 

After my DD period ended, I did not re-negotiate or request anything from the seller.  We proceeded.  As a requirement in the contract (separate from the DD period), the seller has to have a Use and Occupancy inspection completed (paid for by the seller), which includes obtaining all required certifications.  One of the certifications is to have the heater certified.  The seller is contractually obligated to have the heater inspected and certified by a licensed HVAC contractor.  However, the seller is deciding not to have it inspected/certified (despite the contract saying that he has to).  Once he has it inspected by the certifying contractor, he can either pay for any repairs himself, or say that he won't pay for the repairs.  From there, I can decide to pay for them or terminate.  In order to sell the property to anyone, he has to obtain the proper certifications from licensed contractors.  He is (potentially - still confirming) deciding not to pay for the inspection/certification and any repairs that are required coming out of the inspection.  Again, this is not part of the DD period.  These are municipal inspections that if not satisfied, he cannot legally sell me (or anyone) the property.  It sounds like something he should be taking care of.       

@Michael Plante I did not change my offer to reflecting the seller to pay for it. 

However, our contract specifies that the seller will obtain, at the sellers expense, certifications from the appropriate municipal departments. If repairs are required, a notice will be provided to the buyer (me) within 5 days. The seller will decide whether or not to pay for the repairs. If the seller decides not to pay for repairs, within 5 days, the buyer will agree to pay for the repairs or terminate the contract (EMD returned).

In this case, the seller does not want to even obtain the certification (which it says he will in the contract).  Therefore, he is not presenting me with a notice of repair. 

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice.  I have a duplex under contract in Bristol Borough, PA with a closing date scheduled for Nov 21st.  Since day 1, the seller and listing agent have been extremely shady and not co-operative with much of anything.  During my inspection period, the home inspector had pointed out some issues with the heater (no return ductwork specifically).  I ended up bringing in a HVAC contractor to check it out.  The listing agent was very angry that I did this and essentially tried to tell me that I wasn't allowed (despite still being in my inspection period).  Nevertheless, the contractor identified the lack of return ductwork to be illegal in my area and he also identified that the heater is way to big for what the building requires (heater cycles on and off on safety limits).  He unofficially estimated repairs to be approximately 5k (conservatively). 

This area requires that the seller get a contractor to get the heater inspected and certified as part of the Use and Occupancy (U&O) inspection.  We are 6 days until closing and the seller says that he does not want to get the heater certified.  I'm assuming he knows what's wrong with it and doesn't want to face the music.  This was only conveyed to myself and my agent via an email from the listing agent but we are in the process of confirming that the seller is requesting me to pay for the inspection and any associated repairs.

To me, this seems like something that the sell HAS to take care of himself.  He cannot sell the property without fixing this (to me or anyone).  He also can't rent it like this, I believe (he also lost his section 8 housing privilege - but that's another story).  I'm not sure what the seller is trying to pull.  I don't feel like he has any leverage.  I'm a young investor (27 yrs old - first property purchase) and my agent is about the same age.  Both the listing agent and the seller are older and have experience.  I have a feeling that we're being "bullied" because we're young.

I wanted to see if anyone could offer some advice on handling this situation.  I can obviously decide not to pay for the certification and repairs and terminate the contract.  However, even with the 5k in unexpected heater repairs, I believe the property is still a good deal based on the potential income it can produce.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance!