06_Putting Third Offer

We didn’t wait long after our second offer went south. On May 23^rd, we put an offer to the house at Wakefield Dr., Summerhill. This house had been on the market for 3 years, there was no way that we would encounter the same ‘multiple offers’ again.

Before we put the offer, we walked through the house again. Visually, we could see some water damage and some cosmetic works to cover up other flaws. Based on this walk through, we decided to put an offer for $110K or $5K lower than its asking price. However, I personally thought that $110K was overpriced.

The response came fast. In the same day, the seller accepted our offer. So to keep the ball rolling, we asked Kristin to schedule a home inspection for the next day.

Home Inspection

On May 24^th, we had a home inspection by ADG Inspection & Services, LLC. at the Wakefield house. The inspector, Brian, said that it would take him around 5 hours to conduct the home inspection. He promised to send the report on the next day.

We didn’t receive the report until the day after, or on May 26^th. The report itself basically confirmed what we had seen and beyond. The main problem was water damage, particularly around the chimney’s flashing. This caused some moisture areas on the interior walls. In addition, the sink drains at the kitchen and bathrooms were all leaking.

Examples of the Water Damage.

Counter Offer

On May 28^th we asked further price reduction for $100K based on the home inspection report. The seller responded that he was aware of the chimney flashing problem and willing to fix it. However, he asked that the price stay on its asking price: $115K.

We were not too keen with such response. First of all, if he was aware of the problem, why didn’t he fix it before selling it? Secondly, we had seen what he had done to the house and it was not convincing. How could we be sure that the fixing would meet our standard? So, again, we withdrew.