Selling our lake house and got an inspection report back with a shocling $20,000 worth of "repairs" needed. many because an electrical outlet was not "up to building codes." And saying lighting fixtures did not work but they didn't check to see of the current was still there and the lightbulb was just out.

Also got a report that they needed $15,000 to "repair" the pier and beam foundation in one room. A bedroom roughly 12x13 feet due to soil settlement issues. Can't those just be shimmed?

Further they said our water pressure coming from the water supply company was too high?

It has been a lot of years since I have dealt with home inspection issues even with building codes in place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

Now i have a bogus inspection report that I have to disclose for new buyers after this.

The foundation cliam is completely bogus. The light bulb being out does not mean the the electrical wires to a light fixture is "faulty"

This guy even complained that the water pressure from the main from the water company 400 feet from the house was too high. Water pressure? He is saying the water pressure needs to be less, with newly instaled Pex lines?

This seems to be the game with buyers and inspections especially when the market is soft. Once you settle on the price, the inspection always have a laundry lists of needed repairs. Either you negotiate down and land somewhere in the middle, or you are stuck with a laundry list of repairs that will scare buyers off esp when it comes to foundations.

During the current high interest rates, lake homes on LBJ are sitting for months and some over a year. These same homes in 2022 with the current prices would not last more than a week on the market. I have seen a big drop in prices, so think carefully if you tell them to pound sand.

aggiehawg said:

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Selling our lake house and got an inspection report back with a shocling $20,000 worth of "repairs" needed. many because an electrical outlet was not "up to building codes." And saying lighting fixtures did not work but they didn't check to see of the current was still there and the lightbulb was just out.

Also got a report that they needed $15,000 to "repair" the pier and beam foundation in one room. A bedroom roughly 12x13 feet due to soil settlement issues. Can't those just be shimmed?

Further they said our water pressure coming from the water supply company was too high?

It has been a lot of years since I have dealt with home inspection issues even with building codes in place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

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Did they give you an idea of the pressure reading for the water? It could be a simple fix with replacing the regulator value. Those sometimes crack and degrade over time. Do you have a regulator valve inside the house? Sometimes in rural areas, they push high pressure in the main pipes to make sure they can get water to places in more than a trickle.

Can't speak to the foundation without seeing the property, can you provide photos? Any cracking in the walls? Settling is normal in Texas…and foundations can be concerning but it's tough without know more context about the property, location, layout within the lot, etc.

But $20K to fix some broken light bulb and un-updated building codes on outlets? That's hogwash.

My house was built in 2018 and it has items not up to code. The code changes regularly, so it's natural to have things "out of code". But just because it's out of code, doesn't mean it's broken or needs repair.

I'm not saying to echo the words of others, but don't hesitate to consider a credit in an amount you deem fair and provide a take it or leave it type offer. If they (and most importantly your realtor) know you ain't gonna play ball - it should help. But asking for a $35K credit or pricing reduction is pretty steep unless this is a $2M or whatever sale price. Make your realtor earn their commission and hold the line to not give into the BS.

It is not particularly unusual to have a specialized contractor (foundation, roof, hvac) come out at the same time as the inspector. I do it as a realtor, and work with many good Realtors as an inspector that do it, when there is a reason to suspect a issue on a big ticket system or if the client is particularly, um, let's say "detailed oriented and careful."

Really it is a time thing with option periods being so short around here. You suspect the inspector will call it out so you just cut out the middle man, so to speak for time's sake.

The propane thing is a catch 22. If I smell gas, I have to report it. It could be a major safety issue. The inspector doesn't know any history.

Try to stay unemotional, I know it is hard, all the other stuff you mentioned really doesn't matter. Give then your final counter and see what happens. Sometimes it is hard as a seller to remember the buyer probably wants to buy the property as much or more than you want to sell it.

Remember the inspector is hopefully just trying to do his job, I know I am. I don't want to blow up a deal. I don't pass or fail a house, I just report what I see trying to protect my client. What happens after that is out of my control. I have had clients walk on houses I thought were really good and buy houses I thought were money pit disasters. You just never know. I hear all the time, especially on here, "the stupid inspector has to find something to justify the fee.". Nothing could be farther from the truth. I get paid regardless of what I find. My job is easier if the house is really clean and I find practically nothing. I don't mind at all telling the client that. But the situation is pretty rare.

As to the question of applying building codes to a residence for which there are no building codes? Inspectors have to cite them even if they don't apply?

And it is hard to not ge a little emotional over this since the only reason we are selling is due to health issues. We can't enjoy it anymore. I practically grew up on that lake as my grandparents had a place there when it first built in the late 40s. So a whole lot of memories of many departed family members.

But as to the buyers' enthusiasm they have been out to the place, even without their realtor, multiple times according to our neighbors. They also managed to piss off our neighbors by going into their boathouses on adjacent and even a few lots down. They are invested judging from that. They were out at the house the day they submitted the offer for instance and that was after three realtor showings.

Lack of comparable inventory, all of the new construction, new boatdocks, major remodeling happening on our point and around the surrounding coves. Two complete tear downs and new builds. Safe investment by most real estate standards for them. But if they walk, they walk and I am stuck with a crappy inspection report but our price is lower than other listings on worse water.

One other odd thing that I alerted our realtor about yesterday. Our listing dropped off of Zillow and other sites. Not relabeled with "Contract Pending" as I expected. Just gone. from the moment the listing went live I have been monitoring the traffic on those websites and as we are now entering prime season for lake property, that bothered me. Our realtor was unaware and said it was still on MLS but she would go back and check if it had dropped off for some reason. Is that something that happens occasionally?

aggiehawg said:

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As to the question of applying building codes to a residence for which there are no building codes? Inspectors have to cite them even if they don't apply?

And it is hard to not ge a little emotional over this since the only reason we are selling is due to health issues. We can't enjoy it anymore. I practically grew up on that lake as my grandparents had a place there when it first built in the late 40s. So a whole lot of memories of many departed family members.

But as to the buyers' enthusiasm they have been out to the place, even without their realtor, multiple times according to our neighbors. They also managed to piss off our neighbors by going into their boathouses on adjacent and even a few lots down. They are invested judging from that. They were out at the house the day they submitted the offer for instance and that was after three realtor showings.

Lack of comparable inventory, all of the new construction, new boatdocks, major remodeling happening on our point and around the surrounding coves. Two complete tear downs and new builds. Safe investment by most real estate standards for them. But if they walk, they walk and I am stuck with a crappy inspection report but our price is lower than other listings on worse water.

One other odd thing that I alerted our realtor about yesterday. Our listing dropped off of Zillow and other sites. Not relabeled with "Contract Pending" as I expected. Just gone. from the moment the listing went live I have been monitoring the traffic on those websites and as we are now entering prime season for lake property, that bothered me. Our realtor was unaware and said it was still on MLS but she would go back and check if it had dropped off for some reason. Is that something that happens occasionally?

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correct. They're required to inspect to current code. No inspector would be able to try to match what was code when the home was built/updated vs what is there presently. Just levels the playing field.

There's no requirement to bring the home to current code. The buyers agent should be telling the buyer that, but they probably don't care, as it sounds like they just want to knock the price down.

Sorry to hear there are bad reasons you are selling. That sucks.

As Dig said, inspections are done to a standard that is a messy combination of the latest codes and the TREC SoP. The SoP sites various things specifically and then basically says to the latest code or if it is wrong. That is why there is some much variation between inspectors.

Even out in the boonies, there are minimum state codes and national standards and manufacturer installation requirements and just common sense safety concerns.

Good inspectors and agents will explain the things that were not required to be updated (which really is most everything) and are not major compared to the things that are realistic major concerns or safety concerns that matter regardless of what standards you are using.

You are absolutely correct that many buyers are just trying to use the report to lower the price. Having not seen the report, I really cannot comment on if it is good or bad. Sounds like a foundation company put out the quote on the foundation stuff. I agree 20k seems really high for a P&B, as you are correct that they can usually be shimmed and "tuned up." But again, without seeing it, no one here can say whether that is right or wrong. You should get another foundation specialist to come take a look. Around Dallas they usually look for free.

Unfortunately, the argument that there are always problems around there with foundations really doesn't work. If there are, it is completely valid that it was called out and that they are not willing to accept it that way. Just as it is completely valid for you to say, "I am not fixing it."

Edit to add:
You keep mentioning being stuck disclosing the "bad" report. But if things are actually really in need of repair, the next buyer's inspector will probably note it regardless of disclosure. Heck, inspectors rarely ever see any disclosures. That is really the bigger concern. You need to try to be objective and honest with yourself about what might be major problems. Sometimes those do exist and as a homeowner we don't really notice them or are willing to live with them, but a buyer, any buyer, may not be. It may be easiest to just take the hit and be done with it. Only you can decide that, but the more info you provide here, the more it sounds like there is a certain amount of validity to their requests. If this deal falls through and these things will just come up on the next deal, is it worth the money and time and hassle for you to mess with them? Again, try to step back and be objective.

Nice lake house!

One thing everyone who happens to read this thread should take from it - always get a second opinion from your own contractor if thugs feel off from theirs. I have seen wildly different opinions on the same house/issue so many times I have lost count.

Good luck with the sale! Whether to this guy or the next. And I hope all the health things work out for the best for you.

Thanks. Did the best I could.

What lake?

aggiehawg said:

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Selling our lake house and got an inspection report back with a shocling $20,000 worth of "repairs" needed. many because an electrical outlet was not "up to building codes." And saying lighting fixtures did not work but they didn't check to see of the current was still there and the lightbulb was just out.

Also got a report that they needed $15,000 to "repair" the pier and beam foundation in one room. A bedroom roughly 12x13 feet due to soil settlement issues. Can't those just be shimmed?

Further they said our water pressure coming from the water supply company was too high?

It has been a lot of years since I have dealt with home inspection issues even with building codes in place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

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Where is this? Looking for this type property myself!

Camp Creek Lake in Robertson County.

I did not include all of the pics, so for the record.

Three bedrooms and bunkroom. Two full baths. One full kitchen with pullouts in cabinets for ease of access. Separate kitchen area to support outdoor entertaining with a separate refrigerator and sink with extra counter space for prep. I used a metal pegboard system so utensils were visible and easily accessible.

My goal was to allow anyone to come in and find what they needed without any effort to assist with the entertaining. The banquet in the dining area has additional storage built in. Also have what I called an appliance garage that holds items like crockpots, toaster, blenders etc and power source inside to use them to keep countertops clearer when not in use. Pocket doors and barn style doors to preserve floor space. Does have an enclosed laindry room with additional storage with folding and hanging area.

Wel bar in the living with a small undercounter refrigerator for drinks and a large drawer for liquor storage. The TV mount on the wall of the living can be used to puulout and rotate the TV to be visible from the lakeside deck.

In short, I built a party hardy house to entertain both small and large groups. Septic system is two five hundred gallon tanks and drainfield installed in 2014 so no worries there either.

ETA: Other than the red slider chairs on the back deck and the red leather reclining sofa, everything else is available/negotiable from dishes, pots and pans on up.

Is there a link that I missed?

Diggity said:

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Is there a link that I missed?

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What do you wish to know?

My realtor is Katie Ruffino. 979 412--0118. Call her if you wish to see the place. Or ask me for the entire history of that house and my history of knowing that lake, and well knowing the lake.

Nothing really. Just think this would be a good place to market the listing.

Here you go!!!


https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/11618-Riley-Green-Rd-Franklin-TX-77856/231906766_zpid/

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Camp Creek Lake in Robertson County.

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Went to many, many fine parties out there thru high school & college!

Well that went wrong. Buyers never showed up. We still have not been paid as the sellers. Buyers changed the locks, so they are squatters now. And are tearing down things. Deed was recorded in error. No funding.

Anybody know a claimed lawyer named Stewart :Lyles? Says he's a lawyer in Bryan/College Station?

Man I hate this man and his neighbors at the lake hate him too. If he ever actually owns this property, he will be hated and shunned by his neighbors.

How does that happen? I've always been able to see funds at closing.