Post
by mbnc » Mon Nov 25, 2019 3:41 pm
Agree with the others. We bought a house that had been under contract, had some repairs done, then the deal fell through. We wound up paying our painter to tear out the "fixed" trim from the previous contract and redo it because of how cheaply and poorly the seller's contractor had performed the work. Always hire your own people.
That being said, here are my thoughts on the issues.
Bay window on the first floor has settled and doesn't seal properly
Barring any continued settling (foundation issues), this isn't a big deal. You can probably fix this yourself if you're comfortable working with windows, but if you hire it out, it shouldn't cost much.
In the garage, the main beam has been cut to run the automatic door tack through (which compromises structural integrity). Metal support under the main beam has rotted and needs replacing.
Agree with the suggestions to find an engineer to help you out on this. This is the one that concerns me the most. Pictures may help you decide whether it's something to evaluate before or after closing. This shouldn't be a five-figure repair, but the work needed depends on how deeply it was cut, what they did to mitigate it, and how much load it's bearing. Worst case is you have to hire somebody to come in, temporarily support the joists above, and replace the beam.
Poor drainage in the backyard. Needs to be re-graded.
From your last reply, this sounds like a small area that stays muddy after the rain, but isn't a threat to the house. If that's the case, a load of topsoil from your local mulch yard and some grass seed should get the job done. You could also consider a French drain if you need to divert the water somewhere. Either way, you're not looking at a whole lot of money unless you hire it out. I wouldn't argue about it.
Mortar is loose at sections of the retaining wall along the driveway.
Doesn't sound urgent, but does need to be addressed at some point. The cost of this will obviously depend on the length and height of the wall. Get quotes from 2 or 3 masons on this and bargain with the seller on a concession.
Water heater nearing the end of life and will need to be replaced within 3 years.
It happens. Not worth fighting about. Once you move in, see if you can replace the anode rod (probably not). If not, just be prepared for it to fail. They all do eventually.
Rear door leading to backyard needs adjustment to close properly.
This usually isn't a big deal. If a lot of doors are catching on the frame, that could be an indicator of settling issues. But if this is the only one, chances are it's something benign in nature - door has warped, weatherstripping is too thick, etc.
No Flashing added to the deck. Needs to be added.
Putting up flashing is the easy part; that alone wouldn't scare me. The real issue is whether there's any water intrusion which would cause the house's framing members behind the deck to rot. If you can get behind the ledger board (the deck joist that butts up against the house), try and prod around back there with a screwdriver to check for rot. Are the bay window, back door, and deck all along the same exterior wall? If so, I'd be more concerned about water intrusion. If not, and there are no other issues on that wall, it's probably fine.
not an engineer in that field.