Offers on houses under contract

[Mears]

I'm currently under contract (buyer) with a property and went through a home inspection today. There were a few things wrong that I'd like the seller to take care of. However, I'm wondering if sellers are privy to the details (or existence) of current backup offers. It doesn't seem right that they should know the details because if someone put a backup offer in that is $10,000 higher than what we're currently under contract for, there is a fair amount of incentive to try and get me out of the contract.

 

[tm37]

Your realitor should have put in the amount they were willing to repair.

Yes they can back out and yes they are privy to the other offers.

However considering that this is the largest investment you will make I would say don't jump on something you are unsure of.

What are the repairs that are needed?

 

[waggy]

lets see if i got this right.
you have a contract to buy a house.
you had it inspected. there was some problems with the inspection
you want the seller to fix them.
seller has a $10k higher offer for the house.

well it looks like you don't have any leverage to force them to fix them. in fact its better for them for you to back out heh

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

A seller will know about every offer that is made on the property. Their realtor is bound by law to present all offers up until the closing.

They don't have to disclose the other offers to you. If you make the sale contingent on the repairs, they have every right to say no and the buyer can cancel the deal.

Edit: Forgot a couple of words... oops.

 

[Mears]

Originally posted by: tm37
Your realitor should have put in the amount they were willing to repair.

Yes they can back out and yes they are privy to the other offers.

However considering that this is the largest investment you will make I would say don't jump on something you are unsure of.

What are the repairs that are needed?

Well they can't back out unless I change the terms of the contract due to the inspection (i.e. let them know that I want them to pay for something). If I don't ask for anything, the contract is as is and they're locked.

The roof showed some signs of wear (hail damage and creases) and was spot repaired in some places. The inspector thought it would have about 3 years of life left on it, so I'm thinking at a minimum, I will request that they get it certified for 5 years by a licensed roofer. Ideally, I'd like to ask them to just replace it.

The furnace is 13 years old and the inspector said that that they typically last 12-15 years. The house only has a crawlspace, so it's a horizontal mount furnace and quite pricey to replace. I was thinking about asking for a 5 year certification on this as well.

Lastly, their breaker box is no longer considered safe (the name escapes me at the moment) and there are several handy man 3-prong outlet installations that aren't grounded. The inspector said that many homes built in that period have that type of breaker box, but I was still planning on asking for a replacement.

 

[Mears]

Originally posted by: waggy
lets see if i got this right.
you have a contract to buy a house.
you had it inspected. there was some problems with the inspection
you want the seller to fix them.
seller has a $10k higher offer for the house.

well it looks like you don't have any leverage to force them to fix them. in fact its better for them for you to back out heh

That was exactly my point. However, I don't know if they have any offers, so I'm basically gambling.

 

[Agentbolt]

It doesn't seem right that they should know the details because if someone put a backup offer in that is $10,000 higher than what we're currently under contract for, there is a fair amount of incentive to try and get me out of the contract.

It might not be fair, but it's completely right. You can't keep them in the dark about a higher offer. If you're under contract with them and they don't make a good-faith effort to honor it, then you might have a case whether they had a higher backup offer or not. Good luck proving it under your current contract, however, since you're asking them to fix extra stuff.

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
A seller will know about every offer that is made on the property. Their realtor is bound by law to present all offers up until the closing.

They don't have to disclose the other offers to you. If you make the sale contingent on the repairs, they have every right to say no and cancel the deal.

I don't believe that the realtor can disclose other offers to the seller AFTER an offer has been accepted. Once the seller accepts an offer they are bound to it under the good-faith agreement. You can't agree to sell the house and then back out just because someone offers more money.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Mears

Originally posted by: waggy
lets see if i got this right.
you have a contract to buy a house.
you had it inspected. there was some problems with the inspection
you want the seller to fix them.
seller has a $10k higher offer for the house.

well it looks like you don't have any leverage to force them to fix them. in fact its better for them for you to back out heh

That was exactly my point. However, I don't know if they have any offers, so I'm basically gambling.

Oh then WTF!?

sheesh have themand take the risk OR if you got a damn good deal fix it yourself.

oh and it is fair. the seller has to know EVERY offer that is put in on the house.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: Mears

Originally posted by: tm37
Your realitor should have put in the amount they were willing to repair.

Yes they can back out and yes they are privy to the other offers.

However considering that this is the largest investment you will make I would say don't jump on something you are unsure of.

What are the repairs that are needed?

Well they can't back out unless I change the terms of the contract due to the inspection (i.e. let them know that I want them to pay for something). If I don't ask for anything, the contract is as is and they're locked. OK you have optiones

The roof showed some signs of wear (hail damage and creases) and was spot repaired in some places. The inspector thought it would have about 3 years of life left on it, so I'm thinking at a minimum, I will request that they get it certified for 5 years by a licensed roofer. Ideally, I'd like to ask them to just replace it. Get a quote and save for two years. Or do it your self

The furnace is 13 years old and the inspector said that that they typically last 12-15 years. The house only has a crawlspace, so it's a horizontal mount furnace and quite pricey to replace. I was thinking about asking for a 5 year certification on this as well.
my furnace is about 15 years old and runs great. You need to get it cleaned (by a pro) and you should be fine
Lastly, their breaker box is no longer considered safe (the name escapes me at the moment) and there are several handy man 3-prong outlet installations that aren't grounded. The inspector said that many homes built in that period have that type of breaker box, but I was still planning on asking for a replacement. are you handy with electrical? I did alot of electrical work in my house and really it is pretty easy. GO to the library and get a boo0k

Id this the first house?

Do you think you offer is low enough to add 10K on to the price and just pay to get the stuff taken care of?

You can ask however they can say no. I had an offer and I got them to fix about half of the stuff and I took care of the rest. I was able to walk into about 15K in equity however.

 

[bctbct]

All offers must be presented. If there is a sold sign I doubt they will get any more offers.

Usually a contract is written that you assume a dollar amount of repairs and they pay over that amount. They can back out but you must accept if they agree to pay for the repairs.

I doubt you will find a roofer that will tell you in writing how much longer a roof will last. If they claimed insurance on the roof and then did not make repairs you might have a hard time getting it insured without making the repairs. Electrical items seem pretty low cost.

Furnaces last longer than 15 years. I threw a 35 yo functioning unit away for the energy savings. GL

 

[DrPizza]

Have you been looking at the market for a while and THIS is the house you definitely want? Or are there other houses that you'd be satisfied with? Depending on the market, you may just be plain out of luck on the roof. A lot of roofing contractors - at least the better ones - are booked for a couple of months.

I just replaced a furnace at my old house - the furnace was 50 years old. Except for routine maintenance every few years, it never had a problem.


Good luck!

 

[richardycc]

you want the seller to know every defects about the house, and if they dont want to fix it, and your deal fall apart, the seller has to disclose all the defects to any potential buyers in the future, you can use this as a leverage. Are those defects serious or just mostly cosmetic?


edit: forgot to mention that this is how it supposed to work in a prefect world, real life may vary.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: Thorny

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
A seller will know about every offer that is made on the property. Their realtor is bound by law to present all offers up until the closing.

They don't have to disclose the other offers to you. If you make the sale contingent on the repairs, they have every right to say no and cancel the deal.

I don't believe that the realtor can disclose other offers to the seller AFTER an offer has been accepted. Once the seller accepts an offer they are bound to it under the good-faith agreement. You can't agree to sell the house and then back out just because someone offers more money.

The realtor is obligated by law to present all offers up until closing. This is to protect the seller should the buyer back out, fail to get credit or cancel the deal due to issues raised by the home inspection. (As is the possibility with the OP)

The seller may be sued for specific performance by the OP if he chooses to back out and take the higher offer unless there are contingencies in the sales contract that specifically allow the seller to accept a higher offer should one come along. If the OP elects to take the house as-is with all the faults then the seller has to sell.

If the OP demands a new roof and breaker box, the seller can say no. At that point the OP has the option to walk away without penalty. (assuming that contingincy was in the sales contract - and it usually is)

If the seller has backup offers waiting he will not be very motivated to cave into the OP's demands.

 

[Mears]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Have you been looking at the market for a while and THIS is the house you definitely want? Or are there other houses that you'd be satisfied with? Depending on the market, you may just be plain out of luck on the roof. A lot of roofing contractors - at least the better ones - are booked for a couple of months.

I just replaced a furnace at my old house - the furnace was 50 years old. Except for routine maintenance every few years, it never had a problem.


Good luck!

I've been looking at places since January. This is by far the nicest place I've looked at, but it's also near the top of my price range.

I was talking to my dad and he said that where I grew up, you could put a second layer of shingles on instead of replacing the original layer. Then again, that was in BFE and would probably be a code violation in my area.