Home Inspection Concerns - Old Wiring

creeper

Don't worry about using this forum as a sounding board for your concerns. Thats what it is for.

The price is awesome as you say because its a buyers market and he knows he has knob and tube. But is it awesome enough to cover the cost of new wiring.

This seller is being difficult and he is in for a rude awakening when he realizes his awesome price needs to reflect both the market conditions and the defects.

In all my deals I've done as a Realtor, not once have I experienced a Seller getting angry for the potential buyer being present. Does he expect you to make the biggest investment of your lives, sight unseen? Most Sellers either leave or offer coffee and doughnuts and stay clear unless called upon.

Is your Realtor being assertive enough?

If you threaten to walk if he doesn't negotiate and he takes you up on it, you can always resurrect the offer in a few weeks after the seller has had time for reality to set in.
In the meantime you can keep looking

AllanJ

Caution: The broker who you work with when you simply walk into a real estate office must look out for the best interests of the seller.

You must specifically ask a broker in the office to act as a buyer's broker where there is an agreement that you might pay some of the commission, if you want the broker to be assertive for you. Not all offices have buyer's brokers and in a few instances dealing with specific houses your buyer's broker must bow out due to conflict of interest.

Now you can ask any question you want and a broker representing the seller is expected to submit the question to the seller. The seller has the right to remain silent including not counteroffering an offer he does not like, but the broker should relay that tidbit of information to you. Neither the seller nor a seller's broker is obligated to volunteer additional information to you beyond what you asked for, other than certain disclosures that are required by law.
That is the same as having you pay those costs.

Oh, by the way there will be timing (logistics) problems. You don't want to arrange for and pay for rewiring the house prior to closing. The house might be uninsurable after the closing when the seller's grandfathered insurance stops and before the rewiring is finished. And it will take some time to accomplish the rewiring. With this in mind, you may have to be prepared to walk away from that house.

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The disadvantages of crab apple trees. In summer, the apples are too sour to pick and eat. In winter the birds come and leave dropping all over the place.

creeper

[quote=AllanJ;917309]Caution: The broker who you work with when you simply walk into a real estate office must look out for the best interests of the seller.


Why on earth would you say that?
Unless that Broker(age) happens to be the one that is specifically under contract to that particular Seller then no fiduciary duties lay with anyone.
If as a Buyer you seek my services without a contract then you are a customer and are still legally entittled to duty of care. Which includes acting in the best interests of that customer. As soon as you sign you become a client and then are entittled to fiduciary duties which include client confidentiality.

You must specifically ask a broker in the office to act as a buyer's broker where there is an agreement that you might pay some of the commission, if you want the broker to be assertive for you. Not all offices have buyer's brokers and in a few instances dealing with specific houses your buyer's broker must bow out due to conflict of interest.

Disclose Disclose Disclose...thats how its done. I'm not sure if multiple representation is allowed where you are, but where I am as long as both the Seller and Buyer agree in writing the same agent can handle both sides of the deal. It can be a tricky situation, but if you do everything above board it can work. Double ending the deal sure is sweet.

Now you can ask any question you want and a broker representing the seller is expected to submit the question to the seller. The seller has the right to remain silent including not counteroffering an offer he does not like, but the broker should relay that tidbit of information to you. Neither the seller nor a seller's broker is obligated to volunteer additional information to you beyond what you asked for, other than certain disclosures that are required by law.

That is the same as having you pay those costs.

Oh, by the way there will be timing (logistics) problems. You don't want to arrange for and pay for rewiring the house prior to closing. The house might be uninsurable after the closing when the seller's grandfathered insurance stops and before the rewiring is finished. And it will take some time to accomplish the rewiring. With this in mind, you may have to be prepared to walk away from that house.[/quote]

Or you can ask for a bridge mortgage and have the wiring done after closing but before occupancy

AllanJ

What happens if the regular mortgage loan that will succeed the bridge mortgage is not approved?
If you expect to receive a co-broke commission from the seller's listing brokerage then you have a fiduciary relationship with the seller. In the process of disclosing that you are representing the buyer the amount of co-broke commission may or may not be negotiated.

A seller signs up with a brokerage with nationwide connections with the intent that all of those offices nationwide will be acting in his best interests unless otherwise disclosed.

__________________
The disadvantages of crab apple trees. In summer, the apples are too sour to pick and eat. In winter the birds come and leave dropping all over the place.

creeper

Your lender will commit to both at the same time. I don't mean to be rude but it would be kind of silly for a bank to give a bridge mort without approval on the entire loan don't you think

AllanJ

If the entire loan is approved then why bother with a bridge loan?

__________________
The disadvantages of crab apple trees. In summer, the apples are too sour to pick and eat. In winter the birds come and leave dropping all over the place.

creeper

The bridge loan occurs if the Buyer wants to take possession of the new place earlier then he wants to vacate the current home. It can only happen if you have a firm buyer for the current home.

creeper

A listing brokerage writes the commission to the co operating broker into the listing agreement and then it is posted on the Realtors only MLS and not the publics MLS website.
As a co broke I NEVER negotiate my commission. In fact I've never heard of a buyers agent cutting commission for a Seller. Thats a listing Agents problem.

Brokerages are franchised. I work for Coldwell Banker. My Broker of Record owns 6 offices. I do not owe interests to clients in any other Coldwell Banker offices except those 6. There are hundreds of CB franchises

karabearblu

The seller is under contract with a different agent within the same company. The person we are working with helps us and us only. She is doing an awesome job. She actually typed up the inspection response and brought it out to the t-ball field tonight when my daughter was playing to try to get things pushed through. I know she wants to make a buck, but I can tell you as a first time home buyer and clueless about the whole process, I now know a lot more than I did when we started looking for homes because of her. She was prepared to come out the other day when the seller did not leave during inspection, but was out of town. She wasn't happy about the whole situation because his agent specifically told him to be gone when we got there. He was there the majority of the time.

Or you can ask for a bridge mortgage and have the wiring done after closing but before occupancy[/QUOTE]

karabearblu

I believe everything has to be done before closing. I'll have to get that clarified.

Or you can ask for a bridge mortgage and have the wiring done after closing but before occupancy[/QUOTE]

karabearblu

At this point, I am prepared to walk away and I have discussed it with my husband because he tends to jump into a decision without thinking beforehand. I think he was prepared to fix all of this ourselves, but there is no way I am getting into a money pit. If that was something we were able to do at this time, I would definitely go in and fix some major repairs and gut part of the house, but at this point in our lives we want something more move-in ready. I LOVE this home. It's the old home with all the character and SO much potential in the areas that need work, but I am starting to detach myself a little.

creeper

Excellent! Keep a clear head. I'm glad you found an Agent that you can trust, and yes of course she wants to make a buck. She is not working hard for you on a volunteer basis. She has bills to pay!

If the Seller is under contract to the same Broker of Record then it is to be considered Multiple Representation. The offices can fall under the same umbrella of a company name. Its important that you find out, especially if your Agent is fairly new. It needs to be disclosed in writing.

For example Re/max All Stars is not the same Brokerage as Re/max Energy. Same company name...different broker of record or owner. No fiduciary duties are owed to the other side.

Remember...an equally as nice house is around the corner if this deal falls apart and then you say " I'm so glad we didn't accept that other one"

Good luck

karabearblu

Thanks for all of your help!

karabearblu

Well the seller agreed to pay half of the wiring expense but won't budge any more so he's pretty much made up our mind for us. We also found out the central air has to work for a USDA appraisal, plus there are tons of other little $100+ expenses and that's not something we want to get into right now. We want something move in ready. So I guess it's back to looking!