So Mrs. AUTiger89 and I have found what we think could be our last home, and I'd like some advice.

It's just over 13 acres, the house was built in the '70s, but it's mostly on one level. It meets a bunch of our criteria, including that I can set up some ranges on the back part of the property and shoot safely to my heart's content. It is further out from life's conveniences, but only 15-20 minutes or so.

The owner has dropped the price, but it's been on the market more than 6 months. We made an offer and settled on a contracted price higher than we'd like but do-able. After the inspections came in, there's a LOT of stuff that has to be done to house to make it livable.

- Radon in the home (pretty easily mitigated, but no too expensive)
- coliform bacteria (not e-coli) in the water (potentially easily mitigated, but could mean a break in the water lines somewhere)
- roof needs replacing
- HVAC needs repair or replacement
- they didn't drain the septic, so that needs to be done before the septic can be inspected
- many more smaller things, but they add up

The sellers aren't willing to repair anything or budge on the price. We don't have to urgently move out of our house to be able to afford the repairs, but they must be done before we can move in. In addition, we'd like to run natural gas to the house and put in a generator and gas insert in the fireplace. And paint, etc.

Can we afford all the repairs? Yes. I'm blessed enough that we can afford the house and have it paid off in a few years. But I don't want a money pit if there are things we don't yet know that also need repair. Overall, other than the repairs needed, the house is in good condition and well-taken-care-of on the inside. There are no structural issues.

So basically, I'm looking for some wisdom from the minds here. We can walk away and pay the termination fee, or we can take it, suck it up and pay for all the repairs that need to be done.

What says the forum?

I know it would be your last home, could you resell it to break even with the purchase cost and repairs even if you don't intend to?.

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The sellers aren't willing to repair anything or budge on the price.

If it were me, I'll need to decide if the selling price is right or too high for the amount of repair needed. Too high, even after factoring in the emotional want? Walk.

I'd keep looking.

The roof and HVAC are straightforward, if expensive. Around here those would be $25k+, with another couple thousand for radon mitigation.

The water lines and septic are the potential quagmires. Could be simple, or could be a hassle to fix.

Considering there's nothing driving you to move right now, you have time to be patient, keep looking, and find an even better option at an even better price/value.

And don't just assume that it'll cost you a termination fee. Check with your agent. You often have the option to walk away after a negative inspection with no penalty fee.

Having been through this a few times with older homes, what has been identified is usually just the start. In my experience, the mentioned items are signs that the homeowner has let things slide as long as possible. I’d be a hard pass.

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And don't just assume that it'll cost you a termination fee. Check with your agent. You often have the option to walk away after a negative inspection with no penalty fee.

Rogue is right and if that's not a contingency in your contract, you have a really bad agent. Should have an appraisal contingency too.

Add up the estimated prices for all the repairs (and possible septic repairs, once it has been inspected) along with the price.
The A/C and new roof are likely to be the big items.
Also be aware that most things cost more than you think once you get into them.
A house that old will have various needs due to the age and that's normal. Has the maintenance generally been done of has it been patched over time in your opinion?

You may have a hard time with insurance without a new roof. Also get a new survey, or title insurance won't cover some potential issues.

Ask yourself, is the area a generally slow market or is this not a fair price with repairs in other peoples eyes?
Has your agent done a market comparison to see

It had been on the market for about that amount for six months and didn't sell before the sellers dropped the price.

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Originally posted by rizzle:
I know it would be your last home, could you resell it to break even with the purchase cost and repairs even if you don't intend to?.

That sounds like way too many expensive things (except Radon which is like $1500) to make it worthwhile IMO. It’s one thing to need a new roof but a roof AND a new well AND a new septic system AND a new HVAC system? Nope

I’m a real estate lawyer.
I say cancel the deal if they won’t move on price. The realtor needs to eat and right now it’s a shot time to sell a house in the middle of Christmas season. It’s been sitting for 6 months so they cut the price or it sits.

It's on a well, and the coliform issue could be resolved by "shocking" the system. But if there's a leak in the water lines, that's another issue. City water is also available at the road.

We've been looking for 5-10 years, and haven't found one that checks so many of our boxes. But we are prepared to walk away if we need to.

Much of the house is in great shape. I believe the owners did much of the repairs to the house, but some stuff doesn't meet codes. The roof has been patched several times, but it needs to be replaced.

The seller did already cut the price 6% before we even looked at it last month.

Our agent believes it's a lot for the money, based on comps. He's experienced and competent, and we trust him.

Emotion vs logic makes for a tough decision!

My gut feeling is walk away from this one. There will be other homes in the future to choose from. If you've done due diligence on pricing with your agent, then you know what the cold financial value is. Are the intangible desires worth the additional costs and risks?

Water supply and septic worry me, and could be expensive or difficult problems. The level of neglect in this home is a warning that there may be other surprises once you live there.

The market is likely going to get better for buyers over the next couple of years, so my guess is that you shouldn't feel a pressure to buy this one right now.

Unless you waited until after the contract inspection due diligence period, you should be able to walk without penalty. Deposits are commonly refunded within some period such as 21 days. Read your contract.

If you have to live in the house during the repairs, forget it. If you have alternative living conditions during the repairs, I still say, "forget it."

The things you know about are not all that will have to be repaired/replaced. It's not worth it.

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Originally posted by dpsouthhtr:
In my experience, the mentioned items are signs that the homeowner has let things slide as long as possible.

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Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
The level of neglect in this home is a warning that there may be other surprises once you live there.

That's my thought as well.

Nothing wrong with buying a well-maintained older home. But this doesn't sound like it.

Besides any unknown problems that may be lurking, you've already got the two big known-unknowns in the septic and water systems, on top of the known problems like the roof/hvac/radon.

So either they make a good enough deal that it renders the risks worthwhile, or you walk. And since you say they're not willing to budge, that makes the choice easy.

Even if they decide they're willing to make a deal, I'd still want them to pump the septic and then have it reinspected first. That could at least confirm or rule out the potentially pricier of the known-unknowns.

That is a lot of major stuff.

I completely agree with Timdog6. Great advice.

Yeah I could fix the water by shocking the well and the purging will flush and clean any pipes, broken pipes are easy to fix.

I know the roof would be expensive and I’d have to call the man. And it’ll likely be 20-25k

I understand how AC works but I’d have to farm it out and a whole new system can be 10k

Pumping the septic is 500 bucks and that and an inspection would be a deal breaker. A new septic and drain field can be 20k depending on type (mostly labor)

The other things would have to be removed from the list price, or repaired before the sale

Without knowing how many of your boxes this place checks....

If it's every single box, but it and deal with the extra $50-100k or whatever.

If not, ask for $50k off and walk if they balk.

Is it possible to find something similar? Are you in a rush to move?

Place me in the camp of walking, especially if they refuse to fix the major issues or cover the cost to do so.
One rule that has saved me a couple of times. NEVER get emotionally attached to a house. Don't love something that can't love you back.

We had a somewhat similar situation recently. Had agreed to purchase a house that was new construction. Had discussed who was going to pay for the needed wall around the yard. About a week after we did the inspection I get a call wanting to know if I wanted a quote on the wall. Nope, we had agreed that the builder was doing that and had confirmed it twice. Told my realtor, either clear this up or let's start looking at houses again.
It was cleared up within 20 minutes.

Based on all the advice here, we're leaning toward walking away.

However, here are some of the positives.
- mostly on one level. We're in a 2-story now, and we're only going to get older.
- well water, city water available, and a creek down the hill behind the house
- the terrain behind the house will facilitate hiking or building a pistol range and rifle ranges at multiple distances
- there is a very nice separate workshop
- there is a good amount of storage space and garage space
- some of the rooms are spacious and open
- there is room for livestock and a garden
- it's away from everything, and quiet
- there's room for one of our aging parents to move in, when the time comes
- it's in an area we like

We did ask for them to perform the repairs or come down further on the cost, and we provided the inspection reports. They refused.

And all of those things can be found elsewhere, with a lower risk/better price for the risk level, given enough time looking.

Yeah, we've been looking a long time. But you're right about the risk level.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:
And all of those things can be found elsewhere, with a lower risk/better price for the risk level, given enough time looking.