All Forum Posts by: Raymond Hill

@Isaac Hebron I am not willing to spend $30K all at once, but depending on the findings for the property whether there is all knob and tube or some here and there. (I am assuming everything is k/t wiring I should have a good idea where I stand.

@Andrew Syrios I agree, I am leaning more towards that option.

Thanks for your input

@Jonathan R McLaughlin I agree, that is all I want them to do. But once I get the home inspection report I'll know more.

@Dennis M. I am not getting cold feet. I am only throwing out ideas and getting feedback on it with everyone here. I am scheduling a walkthrough with a contractor once I get my hands on an inspection report. So I can communicate the repairs with them as well. As stated previously, I know its a good deal just looking to make it a great deal given the situation.

@Jonathan R McLaughlin I do want the property for it is a great stepping stone for my fiancee and I to start investing. I do not want to pull out of the deal, I just think that this is definitely a bargaining tool that I can use to my advantage to make the deal better for me. I understand the insurance is a key factor and I am factoring these costs into the equation. Overall this is a property I want to keep for the long term. 

I deeply appreciate everyones input. Please keep adding your two cents. I'm very appreciative.

@Jonathan R McLaughlin @Dennis M. I think what I am going to do after speaking to my home inspector is use the knob and tube as a bargaining tool as previously discussed. See where they want to take it as far as a counter offer. From there, if they don't budge I will contact the appraiser myself and let them know that the property has knob and tube in the home in which then she will most likely deny the loan from moving forward until the exposed wiring is repaired. That way I can get them to remove some of the knob and tube and stay within my mortgage contingency so I don't lose my deposit either.

I think, because the seller told me that the knob and tube was inactive and unable to show me proof nor is she able to tell me where she got this information from. I feel that she deliberately tried to hid it so now I am going to try to see what she will do once I get the home inspection report. 

What are your thoughts?

@Anthony Thompson You bring up a very good point Anthony. The other two items are things I can definitely address after taking ownership. In this case having the bathroom and the gutters repaired are items that are not detrimental but can be addressed. With the K/T situation, I am going to be speaking with the home inspector this afternoon and I have an electrician that can give me a quote on the whole rewiring aspect. In addition, since the seller did say that the k/t is inactive. I am going to contact her as well and ask her to supply documentation that it is inactive or get me in contact with whom told her this information. I rather exhaust all options before walking away from this deal which is pretty much going south quickly. THANK GOD FOR HOME INSPECTIONS!

@Alex G. Thank you Alex for your input, things aren't looking so well with the k/t info advice everyone is telling me. It is a bit more troubling then what I initially walked in on. It's tough since I have been looking for over a year and found this property that seem like a great deal. Again, I have not received the home inspection report, and I think I'll get an electrician to take a look at all the units to see if maybe there is some k/t wiring, but maybe there inactive in some areas. In which that is less daunting versus the entire house have active k/t wiring. I am hoping what the seller told me is correct, then again if I am relying on the seller to be 100% honest then I am 100% foolish.

@Mike McCarthy @Ryan Short @Anthony Thompson @Anthony Rosa I deeply appreciate you all assisting me. This is a big help. Judging by all your responses. I feel that I should do the following. Please let me know if you agree.

1.) Ask for a repair credit off the purchase price after obtaining a quote from a license electrician on the cost to rewire the property. If the k/t wiring is prohibiting me from getting the loan or factors into getting insurance then I can ask the seller to rewire the visible k/t wiring in the basement area. What I can try to do is anytime there is turnover, open the walls up in each unit to remove the k/t and rewire where possible. I just spoke to my mortgage lender and he did say that if the knob and tube wiring is exposed in the basement and its active (which is it) then more than likely our loan will be denied because the inspector will spot it and red flag it on site. He asked that I keep him posted. 

2.) Ask the seller to repair the bathroom area, or ask for a repair credit in this case. The home inspector stated that the repair could cost anywhere from 1K - 3K depending on the water damage if its down to the studs I am looking at a bigger remodeling project in that bathroom area. 

3.) Installing gutters, there currently is not any visible moisture in the basement and running a dehumidifier will assist with this. I have a guy going to get me a quote on installing that gutters for the property, there are a bunch of cuts and corners on it so I am expecting it to be a sizeable job around 2K - 5K.