Do not share your predicament on having to be out of your apartment.
You need to employ a power move even if it is a bluff.
Being that this is so close to closing, the seller is very likely eager to get it over with.

This may take a while to sink in, but it was advice my Dad gave me at a very young age...Never buy when you need, buy when you want. Works for every purchase.

Leftlane, from the inspector and my roofer out looks good at the intersection even though the patio is floating in the roof and not properly tied in.
52Carl, I'm trying to figure out how top bluff this hand. I don't want to be forced to show my hand. I'm looking for a lawyer to take my apt to court.

Wanna Be, that's great advice. I've been trying incredibly hard all year to buy a house but the market is insane right now. I've put in maybe 2dz offers in 3 months. And that's just the ones we were fast enough to get in. Houses are lasting hours. It's rare to see a house on the market more than 2 days without an accepted offer. I've probably seen close to 200 houses.

You need to contact the realtor and explain everything to them. They are the ones responsible for the contract. Don't let them pull a bluff or a scam on you. If that crap is fixed correctly, you will have problems. If not now sooner or later and then you won't be able to do anything about it except pay for it. Those inspectors usually work under a license from the authority of the county engineers, in most states I have been in. You might drop a hint to your realtor that you are going to talk with the county engineers department. Good luck and hope for you the best.

Garry-

Good idea actor

Just did an online search and couldn't find a permit for the patio

Find out if a permit is required, and if it is and there was never one issued that’s a can of worms you don’t want to open. This deal is getting more and more hairy by the minute. I’d be inclined to walk from this one. How is your credit? I would be inclined to buy raw land, get a construction loan and build a new home if the market is as tight as you said. If you must get out of your apartment before it is finished you could spend a couple thousand on a camper and live out of it for a few months. Not ideal, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It make sense to seek recourse from the seller, try to negotiate some money off etc.

If that failed I may still go through with the purchase, it would be nice to stick it to the guy but the stress of having to find another house may be worth the 5 grand lost on the patio provided that is the only issue.

Good luck with whatever you do, I read your other thread about trying to find a place, sounds like nightmare.

My advice is to walk away and find a different house

Pretty sure that would not pass any inspection around here and going to be a major headache to pull it all out and start over

And if it is an area where you need permits etc to add on/repair I doubt it was done properly anyway

Can you extend the closing date AND still move in on the 1st? Seller might agree. Then you have time and a residence.

I am pretty sure that there is a federal prohibition on evictions right now. I know it is set to expire at the end of this month but I suspect it will be extended. That might give you a little more time.

You might also consider increasing the amount you are budgeting for a house. I think I would consider your price on this house and increase it by10-20 thousand for the repairs needed and the ones you can't see. Use that new number to shop for a different house.

I , for sure , would walk away from those problems and a seller who may be dealing in bad faith

Bob credit is great. Can't afford the 20% down needed for a construction loan. Current loan is 3.5% down locked in at 2.5% interest.

This house was at my budget limit. We're going to ask for a 5k credit. If the deal falls through I'll have top scramble to find a place. My realtor doesn't think the seller will go for it. Yup it's going to be a pain to replace the entire thing and add proper footings.

I'm sure I can push the closing but that gets me 5 days max.

White that's what I was thinking. I don't trust this complex. They will probably switch my locks or kill my utilities. This apartment has been a nightmare

Would make me wonder what else mr fix it's been into

If itz in the contract to be fixed by closing date . Close then file a law suit. I can't believe that the inspector signed off on the fix and that the bank didn't put a hold on the loan till its fixed properly. Make sure the seller knows that the building inspector for the county has been notified so he has to fix it one way or another. That might make him open to the new offer. That and his realtor will have to disclose this issue to all future buyers too.

You've been given good advice. Not much to add but I'll repeat a couple things:

Do NOT allow the seller to "fix" it himself. You've already seen how that goes. Settle for nothing less than a credit for the estimate from an approved licensed contractor OR the seller gets it fixed by an approved contractor.

HOWEVER, not knowing exactly how the housing market is there, and as you need to get into a house, you might just have to suck it up and eat it. Meaning, if the market is hot enough that someone else will buy it without a deduction, then you basically have to choose between buying it as-is or not.

Wanna-be's advice is good, but sometimes we get stuck with making a non-ideal decision. Been there.

Honestly if it's only a $5k repair, and the rest of the house is a decent deal, it might be worth taking. $5k isn't that much in the long run, and a bad patio isn't an imminent health/safety risk. Good luck Adam, praying for you.

It sounds like you might just have to take the hit. It sucks but a guy does need a place to live. I would definitely do everything suggested here to try and get the seller to make things right, but a $5k loss isn’t the end of the world.

One piece of advice from someone who bought a house with no down, which 3.5% is practically nothing down, once you get in there spend every dime you can spare on paying it down. Otherwise you could end up like me, needing to sell it and you can’t because the market won’t bear the price you need to get for it in order to break even. Especially with a market as hot as yours, you can bet investors are pouring money into housing projects and in 3-5 years your market is gonna cool off, way off, as supply catches up with demand.

Never purchase problems. Never.
Do not think any court will help down the road. I personally have been a witness in two proceedings, one even had the home owners son confess the father was lying and the son had helped hide faulty repairs. Both cases suits were lost by the buyer. One judge even said “ buyer beware “.

Osky

Thanks everyone I appreciate it. Lots to think about for sure.

TNorman, I'm curious too. The reinspection revealed he added a 2nd strike plate to the master bedroom so it closes properly. Reinspection said most things were corrected. The patio being one of the items that weren't. Another thing was at stone point they ran the water lines through kitchen cabinets which the inspection noted. The reinspection couldn't check them again since the owners hid the lines with particle board which was screwed into the base. Inspectors here can't unscrew or "open" things up to inspect. They don't crawl in attics either.

Nvw I already will be in court for this apt. I'm looking for a lawyer. I don't want this one in small claims court since it's a corporate who owns this complex along with many others in the SW.

Kk, after initial inspection I insisted repairs be made by licensed professional. Supposedly he's a licensed professional Hahaha. This patio is an imminent risk. It's seriously barely being held together. One snow load or one high wind and it's gone.

I've asked for a credit to fix it. I hope to fix it for less than half the cost and have extra to fix other things. That's why I'm curious how to fix wood stain on concrete.

Yup going to try to pay it down quick. I fear the economy will tank next year worse than Bush and Obama.

Osky, I think you're right.

I just gave my realtor my contractor's review let's see what she says and what the seller and their realtor say.

Man every time you post it seems like the seller either covered up or bandaided more issues. Sounds a lot like the house I bought. It passed inspection, but there were so many things that I discovered after the fact that were nightmares to fix. I learned a lot about what to look for when I’m buying my next one. It’s just The price you pay for experience. And it’s still costing me money. Can’t sell it. Had it on the market for 6 months and couldn’t even get a lowball offer. I even dropped the price till I would walk away from the deal with zero money, just to get it off my back, still no takers. Of course I picked this year to sell it, but who could have known all this was gonna happen. Now I’m having to rent it out to make the payments. The renter got great references, from their job, two previous landlords, and they had decent credit, but wouldn’t you know two months into the lease guess who hasn’t paid December’s rent yet.

Moral of the story, if it feels bad in any way, walk. I’d live in a camper for a year or two rather than go through all the headaches a bad deal on a house has caused me. I’ll be lucky to walk away from this house $30,000 poorer when all is said and done. Buying a house is only wise if it’s done right, if everything is exactly what it seems.