I was a bit on the fence about paying for a home inspection on the 1002 S. Main property, as it was pretty straightforward and I knew lots of stuff would pop up, due to the fact it needs some work. I decided to go ahead and pony up the cash for it, as it’s a relatively small expense and better to be safe than sorry, especially with this first one.
I won’t say the inspection was the best $185 I’ve ever spent, but the peace of mind is nice. Nothing horribly unexpected cropped up, although my faint hopes that the furnace could be repaired were dashed, as the heat exchanger is cracked, so the whole furnace will need to be replaced.
The roof needs to be replaced, which I planned on, but the plumbing and electrical had been recently updated and checked out fine, which was what I was the most worried about.
A couple of areas could use spot leveling, as it’s a pier and beam foundation built in the 1930s, with all the normal expected settling over time, but it’s not at all as bad as many of the houses I’ve looked at. I may simply leave it be, as the finished product is still going to be very much in the starter home range, and I don’t think slightly unlevel floors in a few spots are going to cost me that much on the asking price.
None of the above necessary repairs scare me too much, but the budget for repairs is already creeping up, likely more like $7,500.
I’m a bit on the fence as to whether to try to haggle more, as the sellers didn’t mention anything on the disclosure about the furnace being shot, so there’s room to come back and ask them to knock off $1,000 the purchase price for something as major as that.
On the other hand, they didn’t bother countering our $60,000 offer when it was listed at $65,000, so that may have been a pre-emptive move, based on the fact that they knew the furnace was shot, that we’d realize it and want to haggle, etc.
One tendency that I need to break myself of is the impulse to avoid confrontation and say “Screw it, I want the house, it’s not worth dickering over $500 in the end.” That was true in the past when I’ve been buying personal homes to live in for years and years, but not so much with these flips and investment properties, especially if I’m going after quicker, lower margin deals.
It’s easy to imagine the worst, that they’ll completely balk and back out if I have the gall to ask for a discount for repairs for unexpected things that crop up during the inspection, but the reality is that they’re likely much more motivated than I am to get this thing done.
