A Sign from God for a Potential Homebuyer

[SayItAintSoJoe]

So my wife and I are looking to move. We found a nice private school that we would like to send our kids to but it's about 1 hr and 10 min drive from our home. The good news is that from our current home it's in the direction of where my wife works which is about a 45 min drive. I can work from home so moving for me is no big deal.

 

So we find this house that we like in a really nice subdivision. The house was built in 2007 and is now bank owned. It has never been lived in and was previously owned by the builder who went belly-up after 20 years in the business. The house is right across the street from the sub-division's amenity center. 2 pools, basketball court, workout room, children's playground the whole 9 yards. We could literally sit on the front porch and watch are kids playing at the center.

 

So after checking the house out a few times we set up an appointment to meet the realtor at the house to put together a formal offer. We walk through the front door and the first thing the realtor says to us is that she has something to show us. We follow her into the kitchen. The way the kitchen is set up the range is built into the countertop and the oven and microwave are off to the side built into the cabinets. Above the range is an exhaust hood attached to the bottom of a cabinet. Well since we were last there the exhaust hood had completely fallen off of the wall and come crashing down onto the range shattering (and thus completely ruining) the glass range top. The exhaust hood was still hanging from the electrical wiring.

 

My wife and I just stood there staring at this thing in disbelief. Needless to say we didn't have a nice "warm & fuzzy" feeling about this deal. For the next hour I inspected the home as well as I could. Turning every knob, banging on walls, pulling on fixtures but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Still I had a bad feeling.

 

My wife, more so than I, was willing to overlook the issue with the exhaust fan because she is absolutely in love with the location of the house. I on the other hand interpret it as a sign from God that we need to just walk away from this home altogether. I mean what are the odds that this home that had been built in 2007 would have its kitchen's exhaust hood come crashing down almost on the very day that we were going to put in our offer. Just looking at the 2 little screws that had been holding up the unit would have let anyone know that it was installed in a haphazard fashion. What else could be wrong with this house that I can't see?

 

My wife wants to have a home inspection done and if nothing is found continue with our offer and just consider the cost of replacing the range when coming up with the figure.

 

I want to totally walk away.

 

So am I overreacting and being too superstitious?

 

One last thing. With the exhaust hood just hanging there I noticed that there wasn't even a real vent in the wall that would carry the exhaust to the outside. Instead the air would just be re-circulated back into the kitchen. Last week when I replaced my microwave the wall behind it did have a vent to the outside, so builders do put them in around here. Is the lack of a vent in this new house I'm looking at another sign of a builder taking shortcuts or is it commonplace?

[Zooty]

1st off- our stove vent (under the microwave) doesn't vent to the outside. Our smoke detector goes off if you make grilled cheese. But apparently the venting or lack of seems common.

 

2nd- walk away.

Our house was built in 2005 and as we do upgrades we find things that were short-cuts. We are having tile put in part of the first floor (kitchen, bath, Laundry). The linoleum wasn't glued down (not normal), the toilet was only held down by 1 of the 2 bolts (the plumber was shocked it didn't leak), the powder room sink wasn't mounted to the wall as it was supposed to be. We have found similar issues in other places too, non-standard electric wire (14 gauge instead of 12, I think), buckled faceplace under the front door that needs to be replaced. Non-square window in one bedroom that you only see when you go to hang a curtain. I could check with my wife for the whole list.

 

If that fell, I can imagine what else has done half-a$$ed. Plus no one has been there to fix any of these things yet so unless you are a DIYer, it could get pricey. Most of the stuff I mentioned won't get caught by a house inspection either. Of course if its a great deal it may be worth the fixing...

[Furd]

So god dropped a hood on a stove so that you wouldn't buy a house?

 

Really?

[ABearWithFurniture]

I'd highly recommend not living across the street from the community center...the traffic/parked cars/loose children will be a nightmare, not to mention all the teenagers that like to party on playgrounds/basketball courts at night.

 

And you are right to believe that if he skimped on nuts/bolts and basic ventilation, he also probably skimped on the correct capacity sized AC, water heater, glass panes, etc...

 

Don't walk...run!

[dmarc117]

if you like it, put in an offer contingent on inspection. pay up for a good and tough inspector.

[geeteebee]

Been there, done that.

 

My wife and I were in a very similar boat 18 months ago. We had been looking at a house for 6+ months that was out of reach and, we believed, overpriced. After touring it 3-4 times and really liking it, we councluded that we just couldn't swing it. One day I drove by it and noticed the for sale sign was gone so I figured somebody else bought it. I called the listing agent who told me that the bank now owned it because the builder's equity backers stopped his funding. She wouldn't give me any additional info because she wanted to represent me to the bank so she could get her commission. After much digging, I found the bank and found when the auction was. I went to the auction but did not bid because the bank loan was more than what I wanted to pay so the house reverted to the bank. I then called the banks REO department and started negotiating directly with them until we reached a deal.

 

So here's the other similarity to your situation. When touring the house, we noticed a couple of fixtures that weren't attached like they should have been. Also, when it was bank owned, someone had left a door wide open with the air conditioner on in Texas, in the summer. So the units, 3 of them, had been running for who knows how long. We decided to have the home inspected and the inspector found additional problems, the biggest being the drain in a second floor sink that was not connected to a pipe. Not connected. At all. So when your turned the sink on, water drained down the wall and onto the ceiling of the first floor.

 

Obviously there were issues with the house. So, I called the builder and had him come through the house with me. Even though he lost the house, he still wanted to build homes in the area and knew that I could damage his reputation if I told people how crappy his work was. Since he didn't have any money on the line for this house, he came through and gave me an honest assessment (at least I think so) of why certain things were down a certain way. He also told me which subs hadn't been paid, the plumber being the biggest. So before we bought the house, I had another plumber come out and do a thourough inspection and give me a written estimate of what it would cost to fix everything. Same with electrician and HVAC guy. Your builder may be willing to talk with you if he has any plans of building in the future.

 

Knowing that the bank was selling the property as is, where is, if is and without any kind of warranty, I knew there was a risk that I could be buying into the money pit. However, we adjusted the purchase price accordingly and had a cushion in there for the unknown. We presented the numbers to the bank who basically told us to F off. However, we convinced them that we indeed would close and get the property out of their inventory and they reduced the price.

 

It's worked out great for us. Yes, there have been unexpected items pop up here and there but the fact is we got a great price on the house that we intend to live in for the next 20 years.

 

So to answer one of your questions, yes, I think you are being overly superstitious. But I also think you are very wise being cautious. Best of luck!

[SayItAintSoJoe]

So god dropped a hood on a stove so that you wouldn't buy a house?

 

Really?

 

Sure. What did you expect? A burning bush?

[Chief Dick]

I have no comment because I hate homebuyers right now.

[TimC]

You obviously haven't seen builders lately. This is perfectly normal and should be expected.

[SayItAintSoJoe]

I have no comment because I hate homebuyers right now.

 

Lucky for you there aren't too many right now

[ABearWithFurniture]

Lucky for you there aren't too many right now

 

You haven't been to Austin lately...the house next door to me is for sale and there must be at least 20 cars a day that swing by and look at it.

[matt770]

While the range hood is a red flag, it's a leap to assume the entire house is poorly built. I wouldn't let that alone sway me from buying if everything else -- location, price, square footage were ideal.

 

I'm somewhat handy so if it were me, I'd do a thorough visual inspection myself to get a feel for the quality of construction. A lot of stuff is out in the open and not difficult to evaluate. Look hard at the cabinets, check the plumbing for leaks, check stair railings to see if they are loose, check for squeaky floorboards, etc. Then I'd hire a good inspector and ask him tons of questions as he goes along. Make sure he checks everything from the roof and siding to the plumbing to the HVAC to every electrical outlet in the house. It should take several hours. If he finds many issues, I'd steer clear. It is normal to find a few minor things that need to be fixed. If you go ahead with the purchase, get a home warranty from a reputable provider (some are ripoffs).

[dmarc117]

You haven't been to Austin lately...the house next door to me is for sale and there must be at least 20 cars a day that swing by and look at it.

 

 

having the urge vs having the means a big problem these days

[SayItAintSoJoe]

Good stuff here huddlers! Thanks for the input thus far.

[Chief Dick]

Lucky for you there aren't too many right now

 

 

Oh, I've had 2 contracts on my house, only to fall through because:

 

a). Bad Inspectors and Entitled Buyers are a bad combo

 

b.) Some buyer are just pure evil.

 

These days buyers feel like they are entitled to the perfect house when they buy one. And they will bend you over backwards "because they can." The whole process now, relative to where it used to be, makes me ill. But then again, it's just a reflection on people as a whole right now.

 

 

So in your case, if you are going to be hung up over THAT, without doing any kind of formal inspection, then you may as well stay put, because no house will satisfy your expectations.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Chief Dick

[dmarc117]

Oh, I've had 2 contracts on my house, only to fall through because:

 

a). Bad Inspectors and Entitled Buyers are a bad combo

 

b.) Some buyer are just pure evil.

 

These days buyers feel like they are entitled to the perfect house when they buy one. And they will bend you over backwards "because they can." The whole process now, relative to where it used to be, makes me ill. But then again, it's just a reflection on people as a whole right now.

 

 

So in your case, if you are going to be hung up over THAT, without doing any kind of formal inspection, then you may as well stay put, because no house will satisfy your expectations.

 

 

yep, buyers have all the power these days. dont let it get personal though. stay strong!

[Azazello1313]

so how is pantherdave these days anyway?

[TimC]

Are all your shrubs there? You need to get moving if you really like the house. The old retired people thought it was okay to dig up some of the foreclosed property people's shrubs in the empty house across the street from them a few days back. I can only imagine what others are doing by helping themselves to cabinets and windows.

 

We couldn't believe it when we saw the old people with the shovel.

[Furd]

Sure. What did you expect? A burning bush?

 

 

I'd settle for a Jesus visage in a tortilla.

[ABearWithFurniture]

having the urge vs having the means a big problem these days

 

Homes are selling pretty well here...one of the few places in the U.S. where values/sales are actually going up.

[SayItAintSoJoe]

I'd settle for a Jesus visage in a tortilla.

 

check on EBay

[JoJoTheWebToedBoy]

yep, buyers have all the power these days. dont let it get personal though. stay strong!

 

But a couple of years ago the shoe was on the other foot and homebuilders were treating buyers like Vick was treating his dogs. So what goes around comes around. In Arizona, you could not believe the crap homebuilders were getting away with.

 

As for the house.....

 

Don't let one thing scare you away. If the price is right and you like the location, SF, etc..... find a quality home inspector and have it checked out. Just remember, there is always going to be little things with any house. Once you have the inspection results, look at it with a realistic eye and make an offer......

[SayItAintSoJoe]

Oh, I've had 2 contracts on my house, only to fall through because:

 

a). Bad Inspectors and Entitled Buyers are a bad combo

 

b.) Some buyer are just pure evil.

 

These days buyers feel like they are entitled to the perfect house when they buy one. And they will bend you over backwards "because they can." The whole process now, relative to where it used to be, makes me ill. But then again, it's just a reflection on people as a whole right now.

 

 

So in your case, if you are going to be hung up over THAT, without doing any kind of formal inspection, then you may as well stay put, because no house will satisfy your expectations.

 

Hey CD, sounds like you had some bad experiences. That stinks.

 

I've been on the other end of the inspector delema too when I was selling my house in MI years ago.

 

The inspector pointed out to the prospective buyers that the home didn't have some type of drainage trap in the basement. As it turns out the drainage trap that he was referring to was only a requirement for new homes and the home I was trying to sell was about 60 years old. There probably wasn't a home with these traps within 10 mi of my house. Either way this spooked the buyers and they wanted to bring in some kind of professional plumber to look into the issue. The only problem was that they couldn't get him to look at it for another 5 days.

 

Needless to say I was pissed because I knew this was a non-issue brought about by an incompetent inspector. Lucky for me though the market in MI (years ago mind you) was hot. It was definitely a sellers market. So I tell the realtor ok, they can bring in whomever you want to check it out. But in the meantime lets void the current contract based on the buyers inspection contingency and put the house back on the market. Once the buyers have had time to bring their guy in and okay the drainage "issue" they can submit another offer. Now mind you this is back when houses were flying off the market so unlike today the seller had some leverage in the deal. Sure enough the buyer's realtor called us back in 10 minutes and told us that they'll take the home and forget about the whole drainage trap thing.

 

Now this time around, although the purchase of the new home won't be contingent on the sale of my current home, I will be putting my current home on the market. I'm sure I'll be getting some of the types of buyers that you are referring to. Hopefully not too many of the pure evil ones.

 

As for the new house there is no way I would ever purchase it without a formal inspection(s) being done even if the exhaust hood incident had never happened.

 

I don't think the exhaust hood incident is an absolute deal breaker as there are so many other things to consider. However I must say that when a new home has fixtures falling off the walls I get a little nervous.

 

BTW, good luck with your next contract. I hope it works out for you.

[Kid Cid]

1) There is no God so it couldn't have been a sign from some higher power.

 

2) It is a sign that the builder did a chitty job of hanging that vent. I would make sure that I had that house thoroughly inspected before submitting any offer. Take nothing for granted that it was put in correctly. It could be an honest mistake but where there is one there is likely more. Like TimC said, that is unfortunately the norm these days with builders trying to put up as many homes as possible in as little time as possible.