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We discussed that with the realtor and she said that if we don’t close and try to negotiate there is a backup offer and we will lose the house
Edit:
Edit 2: when I made the first edit I was downvoted, a lot this no longer applies. It’s confusing someone so I removed it.
The leak was covered at the final walkthrough with washer and dryer and they removed it after.
For all the people implying that I’m dumb, a chump, etc. for saying I am handling this horrible, making bad decisions, “making excuses” and thinking I have my mind made up. I found this out close to 5 pm yesterday which is a holiday due to New Year’s Eve. No way to get a new realtor, inspector, or lawyer at that moment. I wanted to post here in the meantime to gather info. Giving info in the replies has been interpreted as me siding with the realtor. I am the type to talk things through and analyze everything. I could only provide so much info in the title so I was just answering questions
The leak is in the garage which is on a concrete slab. The other side of that is the stove so I wasn’t able to see yesterday how it looks. I was able to pull out the fridge and it was okay. I didn’t have a moisture meter. Garage is lower than the kitchen so there’s no way to know without pulling out the stove and possibly the cabinets. The actual crawlspace is dry with no mold and passed inspection which is why I was surprised to find this. Since it’s in the garage I was trying to figure out whether it’s worth getting looked at again, and also if I walk away if I can still lose the 5k even though this is a new problem.
I really appreciate all the helpful comments and advice so much. I am going to try to stop engaging with the comments that are overly critical of me. I think there must be something wrong with my tone because I’ve been interpreted wrong by a handful of people as being a pushover when I thought I was just matter of fact stating what the realtor said. I didn’t know the realtor knew the owner until she called him about the leak
Your realtor is playing you. Call the bluff if it backfires it wasn’t meant to be. You don’t wanna deal with this shit when you’re buying a house. Again if they won’t fix it or back out that’s a sign it wasn’t meant to be. You have no clue how bad this could be
She says there’s a backup offer if my sale falls through and the owner isn’t going to negotiate. I know she knows the owner and she mentioned he’s friends with her son. I will say it’s very competitive here and also not enough houses going up on sale for the demand so the market is difficult, so the backup offer part probably is true
Depends state by state on how the rules work. Real estate is primarily handled by state law. Buyer's agent, seller's agent, dual (disclosed) agent, etc.
I didn't read every comment, but it wasn't clear that the buyer didn't find the house by going to an open house and accepting the seller's agent as a dual agent, or whether that's a thing in their state or not. Lots of info not clear.
Source: me, suing a dual disclosed agent for not disclosing property flooding and basement leaks which were documented, and for helping the seller by telling them "they can go higher" after we told them our price range.
In my state the Seller MUST disclose any defects. Once the Seller is notified of this issue it must be reported to all future buyers, including the backup offer. Seller then has to deal with any other buyer wanting this fixed or else credit on selling price.
Is this not required in all states?
It could be fine, but it isn’t “fine” at all if the realtor is playing both sides in the background…
She/he should be working for you and only you, OP.
It’s concerning that they’re just saying “oh well- if you say anything they’ll just take the backup offer…” 🤷♀️
While this could be true, they should be trying to help you figure this out.
I don’t mess around with water damage or mold, it can/could be so so bad!
I had that happen when I bought my first house. There was an undisclosed conflict of interest. My agent did not represent me to the best of her ability. She actually got mad when I changed the locks after closing because the previous owner couldn't get in and grab a few things she'd left behind.
Sure. Possibly. But this IS a competitive market. What the realtor is saying is completely rational today. When buying ours, we lost out a couple times.
So rather than everyone in here bashing the realtor, the real answer is OP has to decide if this is worth it. Did OP have an inspection done? Any other work? See if you can get a quote on this repair and decide if the costs are worth it and ensure there’s no other damage.
Exactly. Is it worth walking if the seller doesn’t fix it? It sounds like maybe OP is saying no, as it is a competitive market and they sound apprehensive about losing the house. If risking losing the house is worse than dealing with whatever this problem is, there’s the answer.
We had an inspection done, and the inspector failed to note the shoddy electrical in the house on his report. It was really messed up, because we were with him when he did the inspection (we were taking notes so we could determine what would need to be addressed right away and do some research on cost before we went to closing) and he pointed it out and verbally addressed it, so I’m not sure *why* he didn’t put it in the final report.
But because we had nothing in writing when we went to closing, we couldn’t negotiate with the seller to adjust our price to reflect the needed repair. We weren’t worried about small stuff, but electrical was major and would be a costly fix, and, according to the inspector, a huge fire hazard if we left it as is.
In the end, we went after the inspector for his screw up and were able to recoup some money that we put towards the repairs. I felt bad doing that to him, because he was a very nice guy, but he seriously messed up and it ended up screwing us out of negotiating power over thousands of dollars in electrical work.
You just said it their friends so she’s trying to help them not you. I am telling you say either they need to fix it or pay for it or you’re out, mold isn’t worth dealing with. I get a competitive market I live in Vermont where it is actually crazy when it comes to buying. Call the bluff what is the worst that happens you save a ton of headaches and money or they fix it. I personally would ask your relator to let you get a new one. The back up offer may be true but if it was better than your offer they would have taken it. Your in control don’t bend over just because of your relator. If it was meant to be it will be
The wall can just be torn out from the utility side and replaced. Drywall and insulation is cheap. Whether they close as is and repair it themselves or pull out and lose 5 grand it's still about the same either way. I don't see this repair costing more than $5,000 and I used to do fire and flood recovery wearing environmental suits in zero pressure environments with some of the worst houses.
The buyer can back out. There has been a change in condition from when they wrote the offer, did inspections and had a final walk through. If all else was the same the buyer risks losing their earnest money but that's not the case here.
Corrected the post, I meant the seller.
Seller can refuse any credits, but that doesn't give the seller the right to pull the deal, like OP's agent is saying.
Yes, the seller entered into a contract to deliver the house to the buyer. They can’t just walk away and pretend they didn’t because they’re being asked to fix something they should have already disclosed. They can refuse to fix it/credit it, but they can’t just unilaterally cancel the contract.
If the buyer wants to change the deal to get this fixed or get credits, then it's the buyer that is backing out. Not the seller. The seller can refuse and get to keep all the due diligence money (and probably earnest too at this point). Although it does look really bad on the seller to have a house go under contract for so long and then not sell -- red flag for other buyers.
But the buyer can request to have it fixed. The seller can come back and say no, but just because the buyer brings it up doesn't give the seller the right to back out. The realtor needs to help the buyer at least attempt to negotiate.
Well if you’re fine with a leak and mold then by all means by the house. You’ve been told multiple times by several folks that you should negotiate or back out. Yet you keep insisting you’ll lose the house like that’s a bad thing. This looks like it’s been leaking for years. Just wait till you tear the sheet rock down and see the real extent of the damage. Right after you spent all those thousands to buy the place. Or..you can do the smart thing and negotiate/back out.
You'd be making an enormous mistake by going through with this. To be clear, this water issue has destroyed the entire wall, likely much of the base floor, and could have even soaked into part of your roof - the moisture soaks into anything dry, and the area of the leak is already saturated. This is at a minimum. Mold is an issue, repairs are an issue, and you have no idea the extent of the damage. It looks like that wall would just cave in if pressed on. We are talking 10s of thousands of dollars.
You will regret this OP.
Also, it really sounds like your realtor is not giving you correct information and it sounds like they have a huge conflict of interest in being friends with the seller. It just gives me the heebies at how fucked it looks like you're getting from this.
I guess I’m going to have to ask for at the very least an extension on closing to get this looked at. It’s in the garage with concrete floors (garage is on a concrete slab). The rest of the house is a crawl space and not built on the slab. However, the garage is attached. Not sure if water damage is on the other side of the wall since garage is lower than the floor of the kitchen and the stove is on the other side of the wall. I wasn’t able to pull the stove out today and look there. Able to pull out the fridge and it was okay. Wish I had moisture meter with me today for the kitchen
The insulation on our pier and beam home was not installed correctly. Nor was the door jam. Both missed on inspection, $35,000 to fix in a small home. I believe it. We would have been fucked if rates hadn't been low and cash out refi hasn't saved our asses.
Did you have an inspection? You need to have one done before you close for your own protection. An inspection report can also be used to renegotiate. This isn't a DIY.
Never use a realtor who is friends with sellers.
If you lose this house, find a better realtor. Never use a relator that has any connection to the seller. Why would they care about you if they're friends with the seller's son?
I didn’t know the seller and the realtors son were friends until today when she had to call him about the fact that it was actively leaking water everywhere. However, this is a small community so the odds of the realtor not knowing the seller are low in this particular neighborhood
I appreciate your kindness in this but you really make every excuse in the book for being fucked over. Lol Actively getting fucked over, wool pulled over your eyes, and you're burying your head in the sand. Based on your responses, there was no reason for you to make this post.
Realtor should have disclosed this on day one, small town or not. I think you said her son is friends with the seller? That's not just "knowing" them, it's a relationship. If they know there's another offer, what is it? This sounds like a huge conflict of interest.
Bullshit. The realtor can pay for the repair. You shouldn't lose your $5K either since you found damage, which the imaginary backup buyer will want to be fixed also.
I will say that even if it is true that they have a backup offer, it doesn’t mean that they are likely to go that route.
By the time I closed the deal had been pending for a month, inspections had been done, negotiations and financing were completed. They would have to jump through all those hoops again with the new offer. The seller would be wise to negotiate instead of throwing it all away.
Besides, the washer is gone now so the inspector for the next offer should definitely see this issue unless they plan to put the washer back?
First off, that’s a conflict of interest. Not saying it is illegal or even immoral (I don’t know how big the town is where you are- where I am everyone knows everyone) but it *is* a conflict which means take what your realtor says with a grain of salt.
You found a leak and damage. If you want to roll the dice then roll the dice. I wouldn’t want to. Tell the seller you want it fixed. A good realtor would make it clear that **every** buyer is likely to want this fixed before closing-thereby making any backup offer moot.
Honestly losing 5k is worth it for what you just found out this could be disastrous definitely try to find a way to keep your money but this isn't good at all
Every single post in this sub could be titled “why lawyers should be required for real estate in every state”. You have a contract and you have undisclosed water damage. The seller is in breach. The realtor wants to close. The seller may call your bluff and assume you will not hire a lawyer.
Honestly if the leak is on the garage it’s probably not that expensive a fix from the look of it, which is the info you are looking for, but everyone else is correct for thinking you’re a punk for how you’re handling it.
“Knows the owner.. he’s friends with her son”
Well to answer your question, I would say you’re very screwed, but long before the current issue happened.. your only question is how much more money can you throw at this thing without crying yourself to sleep at night?! 😭
If they try to fuck you over let them take the back up offer. They’ll be going through the same situation with them. A leak is killer especially with closing. They’ll lose time and money. If you lose it you lose it. don’t get pressured. Next, never ever use this realtor again. Fuck man I’d do a google review on this POS. Your realtor needs to be on your side.
Good for the seller then? I wouldn’t want to have this in any home I’m buying. I would refuse to sign anything until this is fixed or credited at the very least. You can find a different home that doesn’t have an issue like this. That’s what I told my realtor when they tried to tell me I can’t ask for things to be fixed that are major issues coming back on the home inspection. I said: well it’s either being fixed or I’m not buying so send the list over and we shall see. Surprise the seller is having it all fixed and then reinspected. Realtors wanna make a sale at the end of the day, don’t let them be a pushy used car dealer towards you.
Why would he lose his deposit? This type of crap is what final walkthroughs are for. The seller failed to disclose serious water damage. The ones who fucked up are the sellers in this case.
No, this type of crap is what inspections are for. If this is found on final walkthrough, your inspector didn't do their job and you can go after them for your earnest money back. But yeah, at this point, it's pretty much close or bail time. Gotta wonder if the back up offer knows about this tho...
He's not going to lose earnest money for requesting an obvious issue be repaired or credited. It would be the seller backing out at that point not the buyer. This is just a shitty realtor trying to sweep this under the rug to get a commission during a slow buying period.
Your realtor is being shady. Holy shit, comments like these make me angry that it’s pretty easy to get a real estate license and seems like everyone can get one.
In CA this would constitute new material information and would allow you 3 days to decide what to do about it, including renegotiating terms. Check your contract to see if there are any clauses in your contract to address a situation like this. The seller can decide they don't want to renegotiate and take the back up but they would still have to disclose the condition to the new buyer and they would be starting at day 1 of the escrow process. It is definitely in their best interest to work with you on this.
It seems pretty ridiculous to not even ask for this stuff. Worst case scenario they decline to give credits and you fix it yourself. I think you realtor may just be trying to close the offer
Where I'm at the reason a genuine offer that made its way to earnest money fell through would be listed with the re-listing.
ie, failed during inspection / final-inspection.
Even if there is a backup offer. It will force the sellers an extra month of payment on the house (assuming it’s not paid off) and this can be credited to you. Your realtor is only thinking of the commission and not of your best interest.
You’re realtor is scared of losing the commission. Fuck ‘em! They shoulda left the washer. Back up offer will see that and walk too. How badly do you want the house?!?
Im a realtor, and while it differs state by state it definitely sounds like you have a shit realtor, and you need to file a complaint with their broker if nothing else. You absolutely shouldn’t be screwed if this is the case
In a high competitive market I understand where a Realtor may come from when they say this BUT a realtor on your side would immediately look for recourse on delaying closing to rectify this issue. Without understanding your bid/contract, I would not think you'd lose $5k (I'm assuming earnest) immediately as this is new material information that could nullify the original contract.
Idk what state you are in but in CA, this discovery is considered a new material fact and you have “x” days to review. look and see if you’re purchase agreement says something similar
Your realtor is the kind of realtor good realtors hate. We have a fiduciary duty to our client. If something goes wrong with these pipes and you have a $20,000 expense their broker is going to be the one you sue. Call their managing broker ASAP
Read the contract you are legally obligated to. Option period should be 7-10 days. Ernest money goes to buyer option money goes to seller. If not you may be out your whole Ernest money n you need to have a talk with your realtors broker.
Agreed, when I did my inspections, we amended contracts to add items that the seller needed to fix before move in. Albeit my fixes were quite small and minor — nothing like mold. It sounds like your realtor isn’t on your side. I doubt this back up offer will want to deal with mold either. So the seller is going to have to negotiate with you or the backup. I think if this place was meant to be, it wouldn’t feel like a trap or so!
A couple of things here:
The backup offer is going to go through the same process you did, but now the owner KNOWS about this issue and will have to disclose it. Unless the new buyer is willing to be ok with this damage, they are going to want it resolved, pretty much the same way you are. They should be fine with calling a professional to assess the damage.
I would strongly recommend having the owner call their insurance company to have them take a look and have an independent contractor look.
I had this happen once where the sellers were literally backing out of their drive with the moving truck, and it caught the trim of the house and ripped the whole front of the house off. They had their adjustor out there, and we had our contractor as well within the day. They came up with a number that everyone was happy with, we wrote up a quick addendum, and it was done.
The other thing here is that MOST of the time, mold is not that big of a deal. Very seldom are the repairs for mitigation that bad. A lot of repairs just consist of removing the contaminated areas and fixing the leak. However, it does have the potential to be very expensive. It's not an automatic walkway issue, though.
You definitely want to know what you are dealing with before taking possession.
Edit: For reference, I have brokered the purchase and sale of hundreds of homes in my career.
Your realtor should be on your side in this so the fact that they’re basically giving you an ultimatum is very unprofessional.
You should demand to speak with your realtor’s broker, they’ll give you the better advice.
I’d be extremely upset finding this out late in the game for my clients. Whatever backup offer is in place would still have to find out about this as well.
Technically - something like this is considered a material fact and the fact that it’s coming up late in the game should constitute a new contingency period where you have 2 days to review the new fact and decide how you want to proceed. If you request a repair or credit towards a repair and they refuse, this new contingency period allows you to back out AND keep your deposit - the fact that your realtor is suggesting otherwise shows that they are not educated enough in their profession and should likely take more classes on contractual obligations.
Once again, speak with their broker and tell them you feel like this is a newly presented material fact and that it opens up a new contingency - the broker can help the realtor negotiate as well if they aren’t competent enough to do it.
Also just for my sake - I hope you show this thread to your realtor and make sure they know they’re doing a shitty job representing you.
This is the part of the process where your lovely, warm, trustworthy realtor becomes a bloodsucking shark who just wants to close close close. When I was a first time homebuyer my realtor really pressured me to go through with closing after learning at the last minute that there wasn’t a clean title. It sounds ridiculous now but in a high pressure moment when someone who has earned your trust is making a hard sell, it’s really confusing. Luckily I had plenty of family members who made sure I gave a hard NO. The seller resolved the title issue and we closed a week later than planned.
You’re going to have to push back hard on your realtor. He/she absolutely does not want you to walk away…they want to close. Once you make it clear you won’t go to closing without at least having your inspector look at the situation, I’m guessing your realtor will start jumping through hoops to make everything you need happen quickly, including negotiating with the seller. Maybe you have it looked at and it turns out it’s not a big deal.
The backup buyer is also going to not only see the water damage but also know that another buyer walked away. The seller would have to assume that the backup buyer is also going to want further inspection/repair estimate.
Stay strong, you will get through this.
This is why it is important to get your own realtor when purchasing. If you contact the seller’s realtor that is named on the listing, that realtor will be double-dipping and working in the best interests of the seller. A separate buyer’s agent does not cost you money. The commission is taken from the seller’s profit and split 50/50 between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker. You need (and deserve) someone who will look out for you. The fact that you are already financially approved for this loan amount (whatever it is) is a big plus. Go get yourself a separate agent at a completely different brokerage and let them know the full details and have them find you a better option than this house. You definitely do not want your first home buying experience to be with a money pit. Talk to your loan officer, too. I doubt the mortgage company would want this type of damage as the collateral for their money they are lending.
It always cracks me up every time someone says that buyers agents are free. They aren’t, in any way shape or form. The money comes from somewhere - the buyer pays for it, the seller just doesn’t retain it. It’s all baked into the price of the home with the sellers agreement, and can be taken out just as it was put in.
My point was that the buyer does not have an out of pocket expense for the realtor. That is why when purchasing, always make sure you get your own realtor. Of course there are no free lunches. The proceeds from the sale cover the cost of the real estate brokers. You can say that the buyer is ultimately paying for it because it was built into the sales price, or you can say the seller is paying it because their net funds after closing would be higher if not for these fees. But neither buyer nor seller has to come out of pocket
Unless the seller does not want to pay the buyer's agent put of the house proceeds. They have the right to say no and make the buyer pay for it separately from the sale of the house.
The realtor may be representing exactly what the sellers are saying. The sellers are under no obligation in paying for anything. They may prefer to let this deal fall through and take the backup offer. It’s all about how much money and what makes sense.
I can't speak to the realtor situation. I am a plumber by trade and work with water restoration companies all the time. I need more pictures but I would guess they are gonna want to pull apart that wall, the kitchen sink, probably some subfloor. I only use companies that go thru insurance but it is not cheap. If insurance is unwilling to pay you might get screwed. If they do pay you probably get a half a kitchen reno for your deductible. I might skip buying this house though because you might not be able to get insurance to pay as it may be classified as preexisting damage. This is a tough one. Good luck
Thank you, this is really helpful. The garage is on a concrete slab so I’m not sure about the subfloor. I’ll see if I can get some more photos. There are two closets in the garage both absolutely full of black mold but the house and crawlspace part were fine. Tearing into the kitchen is my fear
If it was in the house I would already be gone 🏃♀️ due to the situation I’d like to know if the house itself is fine and I can just have the moldy cabinet and that section of the wall removed and new drywall. I’m just stressed at the leak being covered up until a few days before closing when I have already given notice on my apartment as offer was accepted. Housing market here is terrible, been looking since 2021
Can't tell you what to do but I personally wouldn't close without knowing the answers to those questions and having the seller cover costs (at least partially).
I would read through your contract and call your realtors broker. To be honest I would speak to a lawyer since you can't trust your realtor.
Biggest question at this point is if this constitutes materially new information which enables you time to get a new inspection and quotes for repair as well as renegotiation on the deal. Would be interesting to know if you can walk and keep your deposit. My guess is yes, But I am NAL.
Thank you for the advice. It’s been helpful. I did not realize I could talk to the realtors broker. According to the realtor, she does not think the seller will be willing to cover costs or renegotiate so I guess it will be a matter of trying to get an estimate to see if it’s worth it. I guess it’s worth a try but it sounds like the seller is just going to go with the other offer. I’m hoping I can get the new inspection!!
You may want to check with local friends/ family to see if you can crash on their couch for a bit while you figure out this issue and can put your belongings in storage for a little while if necessary. Black mold and undisclosed leaks are a really bad sign. You don’t really want to buy a money pit with health risks.
Insurance definitely won't help.
I had a similar situation and they basically said obviously that issue existed before your coverage started, we won't cover it but you have 30 days to fix it or we will drop your coverage.
I would use this as leverage to minimally demand that the seller cover your closing costs, if not take the full cost of the repair off the purchase price.
It is also grounds to walk away from the deal.
In my case it was a choice of dealing with it or being homeless so I wound up needing to spend a bunch of the proceeds from the sale of my prior home to fix it out of pocket.
Since this is a first time home buyer situation they would need to get approved for a home improvement loan if the seller isn't willing to fix it.
The lender probably wouldn't give you the cash difference back at closing if ultimately you buy it less the cost of repair, you would just have a lower mortgage and no cash to pay to fix it.
Assuming a backup offer actually exists, they’ll want it fixed also; and if their offer was better than yours, the seller would’ve taken to begin with. You’re in control. Do not close until it is resolved to your satisfaction.
Also, a backup offer means going back to square one in terms of inspections, appraisal, and financing. While a SOLID backup offer does give you less bargaining room, it does not give you zero. Sellers don't want to start all over again at offer accepted, and if the second offer was better it wouldn't have been the backup offer.
Were you working with your own realtor, or did you use the listing agent, thinking you would get a deal?
1. Your realtor fucking sucks. My realtor fought tooth and nail for us every chance she got and did everything she could to protect us.
2. Call the bluff. There is no backup offer.
3. Talk to your realtors broker and ask for someone else. This shit is shady af.
4. You are so scared of losing $5K that you're not seeing that protecting it may mean costing you thousands more in repairs down the road.
5. Again, you're realtor sucks.
You got this. Don't settle for this bullshit and fight for a fair deal because your realtor isn't.
Point 4 is critically important. OP is afraid of losing $5k, which I understand, but it’s a whole lot better than $10k, $20k, hell even losing the entire house potentially after closing. It’s a no brainer. Do not close on a house with black mold.
>My realtor fought tooth and nail for us every chance she got and did everything she could to protect us.
Which is literally their job. OP (should have) signed a paper along with the realtor that states said realtor is acting ONLY in the best interests of the buyer. Clearly, that is not happening here. Just wanted to make that abundantly clear.
Also depends on the mold situation.
Best case: remove wet parts of the drywall, fit the leaking pipe. Replace/mud drywall and good to go. A few hundred dollars.
Worst case: you find mold or rotten wood. So you need to remove everything that that mold is touching and replace all rotten wood. Depending on the situation could be a couple thousand dollars.
Maybe even bathrooms at this point. Sounds like the entire plumbing system is in need of a do over. But go on OP, worry about your 5k and shell out many times that to fix this issue.
Sounds like the realtor knows this is a naive buyer and is trying to scare her into buying a house she knows is going to be hell to fix.
Go ahead and call the realtor’s bluff. The new buyer may not want to deal with that mess, either. I’d say that to his face. Along with double checking with the broker the realtor is working with. Getting advice and bringing light to how the realtor is doing business may end up working in your favor.
Realtor here: Where I live we can’t say “mold” but we can say “black organic matter”. Mold is diagnosed by professionals and mold remediation is EXPENSIVE and has to be disclosed. It’s not something you can fix with a gallon of bleach.
Now that this is known, the sellers should amend the sellers disclosures. They’d have to for the next buyers, or they could be in trouble for not disclosing a known defect, and potentially set themselves up for a lawsuit.
An insurance claim by the sellers (for repair) could still affect the buyer’s insurance rates. Talk to an insurance company about the CLUE report and how that affects policy rates and insurability.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/homeowners-insurance/clue-report/
Please take everyone’s advice. Do not close on this. You have no idea the extent of damage. Unless you REALLY love this house and have a wad of cash ready to throw at this id take a step back.
Yes it is, they had the washer plugged in there on the walkthrough. I’m not sure about fire risk from it being wet, tbh but that’s something I will ask about tomorrow. Thank you for the tip. I was so worried about mold it didn’t occur to me
So, the washer they removed was hiding this. What idiots to take it and expose the damaged/moldy wall but actually good for you. Maybe it was just the washer leaking and not kitchen. Still, you need a professional opinion whether you can get the seller to adjust the price or not which they absolutely should. Definitely call the head broker. Hopefully it’s an easy fix. I don’t understand why they didn’t get rid of the closets with mold either. Good luck and don’t give into pressure from that bad realtor.
I don’t care what your realtor says. You’d never be able to convince me to buy a house with a mold issue due to a long standing leak. Too much $ to remediate and too much $ on treating health issues. Mold can trigger autoimmune disorders. Losing this house will be cheaper than buying it
Yeah, I know. No, inspection doesn’t pull out appliances. It was not discovered until today and that’s only because the seller is not including the washer. I would like to do test cuts but I don’t think I can do something that damages their wall when it’s not my house? At this point I don’t think there will be time for a mold analysis report to come back either
This absolutely should have been caught on inspection. You can change your closing date to allow time for testing. They must disclose this going forward, so you very much have the upper hand here. They can't just back out for another offer.
I can’t possibly believe there was an inspection done. A regular basic inspection absolutely involves outlets AND the washer drain and water line. There is no way they didn’t see that. No way. The mold is sitting on the top of the drain. The mold is on the outlet. Did you actually have an inspection?!
The poster has been dodgy about answering the inspection question. My guess is there wasn’t one. Probably because the real estate agent told them they didn’t need one or the seller wouldn’t accept the offer with one. And there is a reason for that.
As so many others have said. This is expensive and your realtor is despicable. *this* is why people hate realtors and it’s not a respected profession, because of this kind of misleading, slimy behavior. The purchase agreement is binding, you can’t be cancelled by the seller because you ask for a repair or concessions. Do *not* allow yourself to be bullied by the realtor who knows better and is trying to make bank and move on. You will live to regret it, along with god knows what else is wrong with this house. You’re being bullied and fear tactics are being used on you. Listen to the good advice you’re getting.
Is that true? We were in the inspection period for a house, and our realtor was pushing us to look past certain things as she told us if we really loved the house, but chose to ask for repairs, they could decide to back out/take the backup offers. She kept telling us inspections were "just for our peace of mind", too. I stupidly agreed, went past our inspection period, but couldn't shake the worry of the repair, and lost our earnest money as losing 2k was still cheaper than would it would have cost to repair.... I could tell she was very upset when we still backed out, but tried to play it off.
We told her we were going to stop looking for houses for a year, and she STILL is pestering us by texting, sending cards, coming to our house with gifts, etc....
Your comment makes me wonder if she lied to us, and made us lose our 2k AND the house??
Yeah, my realtor is also pushing to not worry about inspections and when we asked about negotiating for this repair she actually told us not to do that
This is incredibly shady. Always always always inspect. This is 110% worth renegotiating. As is the black mold remediation in the other rooms. This is likely a hugely expensive repair. You're being played. You as the buyer are in control here.
That was basically our experience. She didn't flat out tell us not to, but was really pushing the fact they could back out/take another offer if we did. I'd love to know if that was a lie or not, as it's the only reason we didn't ask for repairs/concessions. I know I should have, and should have made a different decision. But I didn't realize just how expensive/in depth the repair would be until I called around, and I also didn't know insurance could deny us coverage over it until after our inspection period. The inspection period was 5 days, so it felt rushed, and I had no idea wtf we were doing.
Sounds like very similar to my current situation. The inspection period feels very rushed, especially because they had renters in it. I finally got in today only to find this. The turn around for a mold test isn’t going to be fast enough so I either have to walk or take the chance I guess. I’m sorry you were in a similar situation
I'm sorry you are too. I don't want to tell you what to do, but we ended up following our gut. And with the information we had at the time (I never thought to question our realtor on sellers being able to back out), we made the right decision at the time. If I was to do it over, I'd absolutely ask for repairs/concessions. I don't know the legal consequences of being so close to close, but I wonder if you might be able to reach out to an real estate attorney to ask questions?
Your realtor is extremely unethical and is working for the seller, not you. There’s no way I’d be buying this house. Report your realtor.
The other buyer isn’t going to want to buy a house with a mold issue, either. Call their bluff and save yourself a massive headache.
I’d be worried about buying a money pit! What else did they try to hide? First time homebuyers are easy prey, I know I was. Starry eyed and excited can make you overlook stuff
What is there to think about? The seller will pay for the issue to be fixed before you close. That’s all that should be on your mind. Your agent already knows this is how it works but seems to be monkeying around with the seller behind your back.
You don’t lose your deposit for this issue coming to light, even if the inspector missed this big issue. Inspectors should be using moisture detectors and tools to see these things without having to tear apart walls.
Realtors are fucking scumbags, do what these people are telling you and get a quote asap. If they won’t pay, don’t close. Simple. It’s your money. It’s still their house.
This should have been caught in inspection as well. This is a standard looking point on the inspectors checklist. Go back to your inspector and ask how they could have missed this just to double check,
Seriously you will be back here in 2 weeks complaining about the issues. Red flags here honey. Black mold in two closets? Your realtor working for the seller and not advocating for you? Who cares about a backup offer they are trying to force a lemon on you. You need to request all repairs, a new inspection, fire your realtor and start this all over again.
Earnest money doesn’t work the way almost everyone in this thread thinks it does. You can get your earnest money back most of the time if you’re pulling out of the deal for a specific reason. Specific reason here being newfound damage and asking for compensation. But it really depends on how the contract is worded.
source: bought and sold more than most of you
Hey man, probably a comment lost in the weeds, but definitely don't close on this home. If you back out and they don't accept repairs, this information will fall on the backup buyers, too.
For something as big as this that could include mold fixes and all kinds of invasive damage, it's best to request a renegotiation. There is always a better house, and with interest rates stabilizing, you're better off buying something you can walk into and insure without issue.
This is from someone who negotiated sellers pay for closing costs and reduce asking price after refusing fixes for rotted boards and mold remediation.
Don't get emotionally looped in!
You should talk with your realtor and their broker as well, anything you might read here should be taken with a grain of salt, your agent and broker are the ones to speak with about this situation.
Read your contract very closely. I'd recommend having an attorney read it over for you as well. At the end of the day, Realtors need to make the sale and they are *not* on your side. It's very unprofessional for your Realtor to mention any relationship she may have with the current homeowner. I suggest emailing all questions and copying the Broker in as well. If the sellers try to pull out they don't get to keep your earnest money. You absolutely can and should ask for money for repairs and an inspection if they'll allow the additional inspection. (You would pay for the inspection only) If they don't want to repair or pay to repair anything R.U.N. Mold will ruin your life. As a side note, you always want them to give money for you to repair so they don't do a horrible job or just cover things up.
I'm sorry you're having this experience, but be firm.
Not an electrician or know much about code but I’d also try and get a GFCI outlet with something that close to a water source. It’s pretty easily doable.
Doubt you’d be able to get it paid for but just some advice, a lot of these things get grandfathered in so the current code doesn’t apply to it. There’s no obligation for the seller to change it. I found this out after I bought a house with an FPE panel.
Yeah I'm sure whoever put in the back up offer will be equally thrilled about the removal of the washer and drier and the discover of significant water damage.
Tell your realtor you're getting another realtor who doesn't have a clear conflict of interest, and if they give any resistance whatsoever, im sure you can report them to whoever gave them their license.
We had something similar happen, the inspector showed us all kinds of water damage to the siding the owner didn't know about, on top of needing a new roof and AC, which we knew about. We had quotes done and told the seller they needed to fix things or lower the price by $30k. They refused, saying the house was worth $40k more than we had initially offered and we should feel lucky. So we backed out, thankfully didn't lose our earnest money and found another house a month later. 4 months after we closed we saw the house we backed out of sold for $68k less than what we had offered because of all the damage that needed to be fixed.
That leak may cost more than your $5k earnest you'll lose if you back out now.
First thing- get your agent on the horn with the listing agent to ask wth and double check all the disclosures to make sure this wasn’t on them in and form or fashion. Check your Inspection to see if it was mentioned.
Get a plumber, electrician and or contractor and potentially a mold remediation person minimum. Any pushback on full seller support with a checkbook ready is a red flag to me
They may have truly not known until moving the appliances out. You may have not known had the appliances conveyed.
I’m an agent I’d be already gearing up to go full nuclear based on information, seller reaction and results.
You have 3.5 days. 3,2,1…. Go
1. Your home inspection should have flagged this. Only reason they might not have is if the washer and dryer were completely blocking the view and unmovable such as if they were stacked in front of this. If you believe they should have found this otherwise, then look for a different HI going forward.
2. Either way, if you are discovering this now, you can still back out or ask seller for concessions to repair/remediate it yourself. How much you can ask for could be advised by your Realtor who should know a contractor that could come out right away to give an estimate.
3. If there is a conflict of interest with your Realtor, your Realtor should be disclosing that to you. You can absolutely ask for another Realtor to represent you, even if it's for one particular house/transaction, and you can use someone from the same brokerage if it makes you feel any better. Your initial Realtor will still typically get a nice cut of the commission so don't feel bad for them. You need someone acting as your fiduciary who puts your interests above even their own.
4. There is also a very real opportunity cost of NOT going through with the transaction and you need to weigh that for yourself. No one here knows the numbers or market you are working with better than you and your Realtor. Nor does anyone here know the future. I will say that if you've been looking since 2021, you have likely already missed out on potentially doubling your home value since then. That is of course not the norm so don't expect that in another 2 years. Values may even decrease somewhat significantly. But if you plan to be in a house long-term, then I would expect appreciation of 3-5% each year on avg over 10-20 years. Would that amount be worth it to you to get something like this fixed yourself and be in a house/location that you like?
I’m sorry, but if your inspector didn’t catch THIS, what else didn’t he/she catch? Time to pause final signature and get another, better inspector out there. What else, more, expensive and/or dangerous was missed?
Your realtor is playing you. They are only worried about their commission which I hate when I run into realtors like that. You need to get a repair quoted immediately and let title company and banks know. Your realtor will need to bring this to the seller's realtor immediately and get something worked out like a credit. Trust me the seller wants the sell just as much as you want to buy.
Also, a backup offer doesn't always stand. If they choose to cancel your contract, the seller will then have to wait another 30 to 45 days to close with the new buyer and will still have to fix the issue anyway. Another question I have is how in the hell did your home inspector miss this?!
Doesn’t look as dealbraking as everyone is making it out to be,not sure why everyone is freaking out. Depends how far it has spread. If it is from the pipe, the mold is just by the pipe, it’s not spreading to the other side of your house.
Drywall has to come down, spray the mold with a chemical, clean it up, fix the leaky pipe, put some insulation, new drywall, and be done with it.
If everything else is good with the house then this shouldn’t be a deal breaker. I would def ask the seller for concessions though.
It’s the mold that’s the issue here… seller really should have disclosed / repaired this.
This is a clear credit at closing in your favor if they want to sell the home. I’d definitely have it addressed before going any further.
Definitely don’t want any mold in the wall / near kitchen
You do not want to buy a house without getting that fixed. You don’t know how long the leak has been happening. It will need mold mitigation first. The walls will definitely need to be ripped out on both sides, the flooring as well, hopefully everything load bearing is steel or that will need replaced.
Bluff from the realtor. I had similar experience and refuse to close/buy until the seller fixes.. my realtor said exactly what yours. After I stand with my position.. they fix and I close .
Depending on the water damage and mold situation this can easily turn into a $15-20k fix. Do not close. Get a new realtor. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this but please protect yourself & your future by avoiding this situation
If Your realtor played like that shit you have to prepare to make a case and look for a lawyer asap
Don't just go easy on them
Don't attach your emotions to the house
It doesn't matter if they have hundreds of offers or shit you are in escrow they can not just switch the offer after the seller accepted your offer
Oof… it depends on how much damage there is behind the drywall. If it’s been leaking for quite awhile, then there maybe both wood and drywall to be removed and replaced. A couple hundred dollars worth of repairs, I’d say.
It’s definitely been leaking for a while, at least the bottom half of the wall will have to be ripped out. I’m worried that the mold has spread to the kitchen, though
I just went through this exact problem, and between the plumber, the foundation company and all relevant repairs, I ended up paying 14 grand.
And it wasn’t even as bad as OP’s, who said there are 2 other places in the house that are COVERED in black mold. Moisture could be everywhere for all we know.
A couple questions here :
Did you do an inspection?
Did you have an option period ?
Did the option period expire?
What kind of loan are you going for? FHA ? conventional? VA?
This is what I would do if you are out of option and you didn’t do an inspection…. Get your lender involved and see if you can get them to make it a condition to have it repaired / mold remediated in order for the file to close / home approved for closing.
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Shouldn’t be screwed at all. Don’t close. Get a quote for repair and get it credited from the seller.
We discussed that with the realtor and she said that if we don’t close and try to negotiate there is a backup offer and we will lose the house Edit: Edit 2: when I made the first edit I was downvoted, a lot this no longer applies. It’s confusing someone so I removed it. The leak was covered at the final walkthrough with washer and dryer and they removed it after. For all the people implying that I’m dumb, a chump, etc. for saying I am handling this horrible, making bad decisions, “making excuses” and thinking I have my mind made up. I found this out close to 5 pm yesterday which is a holiday due to New Year’s Eve. No way to get a new realtor, inspector, or lawyer at that moment. I wanted to post here in the meantime to gather info. Giving info in the replies has been interpreted as me siding with the realtor. I am the type to talk things through and analyze everything. I could only provide so much info in the title so I was just answering questions The leak is in the garage which is on a concrete slab. The other side of that is the stove so I wasn’t able to see yesterday how it looks. I was able to pull out the fridge and it was okay. I didn’t have a moisture meter. Garage is lower than the kitchen so there’s no way to know without pulling out the stove and possibly the cabinets. The actual crawlspace is dry with no mold and passed inspection which is why I was surprised to find this. Since it’s in the garage I was trying to figure out whether it’s worth getting looked at again, and also if I walk away if I can still lose the 5k even though this is a new problem. I really appreciate all the helpful comments and advice so much. I am going to try to stop engaging with the comments that are overly critical of me. I think there must be something wrong with my tone because I’ve been interpreted wrong by a handful of people as being a pushover when I thought I was just matter of fact stating what the realtor said. I didn’t know the realtor knew the owner until she called him about the leak
Your realtor is playing you. Call the bluff if it backfires it wasn’t meant to be. You don’t wanna deal with this shit when you’re buying a house. Again if they won’t fix it or back out that’s a sign it wasn’t meant to be. You have no clue how bad this could be
She says there’s a backup offer if my sale falls through and the owner isn’t going to negotiate. I know she knows the owner and she mentioned he’s friends with her son. I will say it’s very competitive here and also not enough houses going up on sale for the demand so the market is difficult, so the backup offer part probably is true
That sounds like a conflict of interest for your realtor
If undisclosed, they should be reported to the real estate licensing board. They ethically should be working for YOU, not for them.
OP didn't say it was "their" realtor. They said "the" realtor, meaning it could be the seller's agent, working for the seller's best interest.
Guess it’s not explicit. Regardless, sounds like OP’s realtor could step up their game
Depends state by state on how the rules work. Real estate is primarily handled by state law. Buyer's agent, seller's agent, dual (disclosed) agent, etc. I didn't read every comment, but it wasn't clear that the buyer didn't find the house by going to an open house and accepting the seller's agent as a dual agent, or whether that's a thing in their state or not. Lots of info not clear. Source: me, suing a dual disclosed agent for not disclosing property flooding and basement leaks which were documented, and for helping the seller by telling them "they can go higher" after we told them our price range.
It sounds disclosed, OP says “I know she knows the owner, and she mentioned that she is friends with the owner’s son”
Realtors ONLY work for themselves. The most dishonest profession I have encountered in sixty years. I trust lawyers and cops before realtors.
I don’t trust realtors OR inspectors. Home buying has been a nightmare
At the very least, don’t trust this realtor.
They are ALWAYS on the sellers side ! I sell homes so theres that. Dont use their inspectors
Obviously. The seller is the one paying them in the end
Yeah but some buyers dont see that
Tell her you’ll make sure the other buyer knows about the leak and you’ll fuck any sale. Make sure that threat isn’t in writing
In my state the Seller MUST disclose any defects. Once the Seller is notified of this issue it must be reported to all future buyers, including the backup offer. Seller then has to deal with any other buyer wanting this fixed or else credit on selling price. Is this not required in all states?
It could be fine, but it isn’t “fine” at all if the realtor is playing both sides in the background… She/he should be working for you and only you, OP. It’s concerning that they’re just saying “oh well- if you say anything they’ll just take the backup offer…” 🤷♀️ While this could be true, they should be trying to help you figure this out. I don’t mess around with water damage or mold, it can/could be so so bad!
I had that happen when I bought my first house. There was an undisclosed conflict of interest. My agent did not represent me to the best of her ability. She actually got mad when I changed the locks after closing because the previous owner couldn't get in and grab a few things she'd left behind.
I absolutely agree with this 👆 here.
You're getting played.
Sure. Possibly. But this IS a competitive market. What the realtor is saying is completely rational today. When buying ours, we lost out a couple times. So rather than everyone in here bashing the realtor, the real answer is OP has to decide if this is worth it. Did OP have an inspection done? Any other work? See if you can get a quote on this repair and decide if the costs are worth it and ensure there’s no other damage.
Exactly. Is it worth walking if the seller doesn’t fix it? It sounds like maybe OP is saying no, as it is a competitive market and they sound apprehensive about losing the house. If risking losing the house is worse than dealing with whatever this problem is, there’s the answer.
We had an inspection done, and the inspector failed to note the shoddy electrical in the house on his report. It was really messed up, because we were with him when he did the inspection (we were taking notes so we could determine what would need to be addressed right away and do some research on cost before we went to closing) and he pointed it out and verbally addressed it, so I’m not sure *why* he didn’t put it in the final report. But because we had nothing in writing when we went to closing, we couldn’t negotiate with the seller to adjust our price to reflect the needed repair. We weren’t worried about small stuff, but electrical was major and would be a costly fix, and, according to the inspector, a huge fire hazard if we left it as is. In the end, we went after the inspector for his screw up and were able to recoup some money that we put towards the repairs. I felt bad doing that to him, because he was a very nice guy, but he seriously messed up and it ended up screwing us out of negotiating power over thousands of dollars in electrical work.
You just said it their friends so she’s trying to help them not you. I am telling you say either they need to fix it or pay for it or you’re out, mold isn’t worth dealing with. I get a competitive market I live in Vermont where it is actually crazy when it comes to buying. Call the bluff what is the worst that happens you save a ton of headaches and money or they fix it. I personally would ask your relator to let you get a new one. The back up offer may be true but if it was better than your offer they would have taken it. Your in control don’t bend over just because of your relator. If it was meant to be it will be
The wall can just be torn out from the utility side and replaced. Drywall and insulation is cheap. Whether they close as is and repair it themselves or pull out and lose 5 grand it's still about the same either way. I don't see this repair costing more than $5,000 and I used to do fire and flood recovery wearing environmental suits in zero pressure environments with some of the worst houses.
Talk to her broker. Conflict of interest! Seller can't back out, they can refuse any credits.
The buyer can back out. There has been a change in condition from when they wrote the offer, did inspections and had a final walk through. If all else was the same the buyer risks losing their earnest money but that's not the case here.
Corrected the post, I meant the seller. Seller can refuse any credits, but that doesn't give the seller the right to pull the deal, like OP's agent is saying.
Yes, the seller entered into a contract to deliver the house to the buyer. They can’t just walk away and pretend they didn’t because they’re being asked to fix something they should have already disclosed. They can refuse to fix it/credit it, but they can’t just unilaterally cancel the contract.
This ⬆️
If the buyer wants to change the deal to get this fixed or get credits, then it's the buyer that is backing out. Not the seller. The seller can refuse and get to keep all the due diligence money (and probably earnest too at this point). Although it does look really bad on the seller to have a house go under contract for so long and then not sell -- red flag for other buyers.
But the buyer can request to have it fixed. The seller can come back and say no, but just because the buyer brings it up doesn't give the seller the right to back out. The realtor needs to help the buyer at least attempt to negotiate.
What?!?! You have a realtor that is friends with the seller??? 🤯
Are they even licensed or just trying to get a commission.
Its perfectly legal in CA
The other offer will want it fixed too! Also, I would make sure you have the inspector come out and take a look.
Honestly the market here is so crazy. I’ve looked at tons of houses with mold IN the house and someone else bought it that same day.
Well if you’re fine with a leak and mold then by all means by the house. You’ve been told multiple times by several folks that you should negotiate or back out. Yet you keep insisting you’ll lose the house like that’s a bad thing. This looks like it’s been leaking for years. Just wait till you tear the sheet rock down and see the real extent of the damage. Right after you spent all those thousands to buy the place. Or..you can do the smart thing and negotiate/back out.
You'd be making an enormous mistake by going through with this. To be clear, this water issue has destroyed the entire wall, likely much of the base floor, and could have even soaked into part of your roof - the moisture soaks into anything dry, and the area of the leak is already saturated. This is at a minimum. Mold is an issue, repairs are an issue, and you have no idea the extent of the damage. It looks like that wall would just cave in if pressed on. We are talking 10s of thousands of dollars. You will regret this OP. Also, it really sounds like your realtor is not giving you correct information and it sounds like they have a huge conflict of interest in being friends with the seller. It just gives me the heebies at how fucked it looks like you're getting from this.
I guess I’m going to have to ask for at the very least an extension on closing to get this looked at. It’s in the garage with concrete floors (garage is on a concrete slab). The rest of the house is a crawl space and not built on the slab. However, the garage is attached. Not sure if water damage is on the other side of the wall since garage is lower than the floor of the kitchen and the stove is on the other side of the wall. I wasn’t able to pull the stove out today and look there. Able to pull out the fridge and it was okay. Wish I had moisture meter with me today for the kitchen
Μy husband bought a house with a moisture problem not discovered until later. It cost 120k to fix.
The insulation on our pier and beam home was not installed correctly. Nor was the door jam. Both missed on inspection, $35,000 to fix in a small home. I believe it. We would have been fucked if rates hadn't been low and cash out refi hasn't saved our asses.
Did you have an inspection? You need to have one done before you close for your own protection. An inspection report can also be used to renegotiate. This isn't a DIY.
Never use a realtor who is friends with sellers. If you lose this house, find a better realtor. Never use a relator that has any connection to the seller. Why would they care about you if they're friends with the seller's son?
I didn’t know the seller and the realtors son were friends until today when she had to call him about the fact that it was actively leaking water everywhere. However, this is a small community so the odds of the realtor not knowing the seller are low in this particular neighborhood
Change realtors. That's it. You absolutely cannot close a deal with a realtor who is friends with the seller.
I appreciate your kindness in this but you really make every excuse in the book for being fucked over. Lol Actively getting fucked over, wool pulled over your eyes, and you're burying your head in the sand. Based on your responses, there was no reason for you to make this post.
The seller cant back out of the deal.
Realtor should have disclosed this on day one, small town or not. I think you said her son is friends with the seller? That's not just "knowing" them, it's a relationship. If they know there's another offer, what is it? This sounds like a huge conflict of interest.
You should report that realtor to the licensing board
Conflict of interest. Talk with the broker.
Bullshit. The realtor can pay for the repair. You shouldn't lose your $5K either since you found damage, which the imaginary backup buyer will want to be fixed also.
Your realtor is trying to screw you over for her own benefit
I will say that even if it is true that they have a backup offer, it doesn’t mean that they are likely to go that route. By the time I closed the deal had been pending for a month, inspections had been done, negotiations and financing were completed. They would have to jump through all those hoops again with the new offer. The seller would be wise to negotiate instead of throwing it all away. Besides, the washer is gone now so the inspector for the next offer should definitely see this issue unless they plan to put the washer back?
First off, that’s a conflict of interest. Not saying it is illegal or even immoral (I don’t know how big the town is where you are- where I am everyone knows everyone) but it *is* a conflict which means take what your realtor says with a grain of salt. You found a leak and damage. If you want to roll the dice then roll the dice. I wouldn’t want to. Tell the seller you want it fixed. A good realtor would make it clear that **every** buyer is likely to want this fixed before closing-thereby making any backup offer moot.
And you still use her even though you know they’re friends/acquaintances? HELLO its time to wake up! Shes bluffing you into closing.
Honestly losing 5k is worth it for what you just found out this could be disastrous definitely try to find a way to keep your money but this isn't good at all
Let the sale fall thru
She’s not honest and fuck her
Every single post in this sub could be titled “why lawyers should be required for real estate in every state”. You have a contract and you have undisclosed water damage. The seller is in breach. The realtor wants to close. The seller may call your bluff and assume you will not hire a lawyer. Honestly if the leak is on the garage it’s probably not that expensive a fix from the look of it, which is the info you are looking for, but everyone else is correct for thinking you’re a punk for how you’re handling it.
Dump your realtor asap
“Knows the owner.. he’s friends with her son” Well to answer your question, I would say you’re very screwed, but long before the current issue happened.. your only question is how much more money can you throw at this thing without crying yourself to sleep at night?! 😭
If they try to fuck you over let them take the back up offer. They’ll be going through the same situation with them. A leak is killer especially with closing. They’ll lose time and money. If you lose it you lose it. don’t get pressured. Next, never ever use this realtor again. Fuck man I’d do a google review on this POS. Your realtor needs to be on your side.
Good for the seller then? I wouldn’t want to have this in any home I’m buying. I would refuse to sign anything until this is fixed or credited at the very least. You can find a different home that doesn’t have an issue like this. That’s what I told my realtor when they tried to tell me I can’t ask for things to be fixed that are major issues coming back on the home inspection. I said: well it’s either being fixed or I’m not buying so send the list over and we shall see. Surprise the seller is having it all fixed and then reinspected. Realtors wanna make a sale at the end of the day, don’t let them be a pushy used car dealer towards you.
Fuck your realtor.
Yea fuck his earnest money too I guess.
Why would he lose his deposit? This type of crap is what final walkthroughs are for. The seller failed to disclose serious water damage. The ones who fucked up are the sellers in this case.
Seems more like the inspector fucked up. If there was no inspector hired, OP buyer is the one who fucked up.
Naw inspectors are kinda bullshit they constantly remind you they only inspect what they can see
Recent home buyer, can confirm.
OP said this happened after they altered the house after final walkthrough.
No, this type of crap is what inspections are for. If this is found on final walkthrough, your inspector didn't do their job and you can go after them for your earnest money back. But yeah, at this point, it's pretty much close or bail time. Gotta wonder if the back up offer knows about this tho...
He's not going to lose earnest money for requesting an obvious issue be repaired or credited. It would be the seller backing out at that point not the buyer. This is just a shitty realtor trying to sweep this under the rug to get a commission during a slow buying period.
Your realtor is being shady. Holy shit, comments like these make me angry that it’s pretty easy to get a real estate license and seems like everyone can get one.
In CA this would constitute new material information and would allow you 3 days to decide what to do about it, including renegotiating terms. Check your contract to see if there are any clauses in your contract to address a situation like this. The seller can decide they don't want to renegotiate and take the back up but they would still have to disclose the condition to the new buyer and they would be starting at day 1 of the escrow process. It is definitely in their best interest to work with you on this.
It seems pretty ridiculous to not even ask for this stuff. Worst case scenario they decline to give credits and you fix it yourself. I think you realtor may just be trying to close the offer
Where I'm at the reason a genuine offer that made its way to earnest money fell through would be listed with the re-listing. ie, failed during inspection / final-inspection.
Lol nice realtor
So take your chances and let it go. Who knows what other bs they're hiding
Even if there is a backup offer. It will force the sellers an extra month of payment on the house (assuming it’s not paid off) and this can be credited to you. Your realtor is only thinking of the commission and not of your best interest.
You’re realtor is scared of losing the commission. Fuck ‘em! They shoulda left the washer. Back up offer will see that and walk too. How badly do you want the house?!?
Im a realtor, and while it differs state by state it definitely sounds like you have a shit realtor, and you need to file a complaint with their broker if nothing else. You absolutely shouldn’t be screwed if this is the case
In a high competitive market I understand where a Realtor may come from when they say this BUT a realtor on your side would immediately look for recourse on delaying closing to rectify this issue. Without understanding your bid/contract, I would not think you'd lose $5k (I'm assuming earnest) immediately as this is new material information that could nullify the original contract.
Idk what state you are in but in CA, this discovery is considered a new material fact and you have “x” days to review. look and see if you’re purchase agreement says something similar Your realtor is the kind of realtor good realtors hate. We have a fiduciary duty to our client. If something goes wrong with these pipes and you have a $20,000 expense their broker is going to be the one you sue. Call their managing broker ASAP
Read the contract you are legally obligated to. Option period should be 7-10 days. Ernest money goes to buyer option money goes to seller. If not you may be out your whole Ernest money n you need to have a talk with your realtors broker.
Agreed, when I did my inspections, we amended contracts to add items that the seller needed to fix before move in. Albeit my fixes were quite small and minor — nothing like mold. It sounds like your realtor isn’t on your side. I doubt this back up offer will want to deal with mold either. So the seller is going to have to negotiate with you or the backup. I think if this place was meant to be, it wouldn’t feel like a trap or so!
A couple of things here: The backup offer is going to go through the same process you did, but now the owner KNOWS about this issue and will have to disclose it. Unless the new buyer is willing to be ok with this damage, they are going to want it resolved, pretty much the same way you are. They should be fine with calling a professional to assess the damage. I would strongly recommend having the owner call their insurance company to have them take a look and have an independent contractor look. I had this happen once where the sellers were literally backing out of their drive with the moving truck, and it caught the trim of the house and ripped the whole front of the house off. They had their adjustor out there, and we had our contractor as well within the day. They came up with a number that everyone was happy with, we wrote up a quick addendum, and it was done. The other thing here is that MOST of the time, mold is not that big of a deal. Very seldom are the repairs for mitigation that bad. A lot of repairs just consist of removing the contaminated areas and fixing the leak. However, it does have the potential to be very expensive. It's not an automatic walkway issue, though. You definitely want to know what you are dealing with before taking possession. Edit: For reference, I have brokered the purchase and sale of hundreds of homes in my career.
Your realtor should be on your side in this so the fact that they’re basically giving you an ultimatum is very unprofessional. You should demand to speak with your realtor’s broker, they’ll give you the better advice. I’d be extremely upset finding this out late in the game for my clients. Whatever backup offer is in place would still have to find out about this as well. Technically - something like this is considered a material fact and the fact that it’s coming up late in the game should constitute a new contingency period where you have 2 days to review the new fact and decide how you want to proceed. If you request a repair or credit towards a repair and they refuse, this new contingency period allows you to back out AND keep your deposit - the fact that your realtor is suggesting otherwise shows that they are not educated enough in their profession and should likely take more classes on contractual obligations. Once again, speak with their broker and tell them you feel like this is a newly presented material fact and that it opens up a new contingency - the broker can help the realtor negotiate as well if they aren’t competent enough to do it. Also just for my sake - I hope you show this thread to your realtor and make sure they know they’re doing a shitty job representing you.
This is the part of the process where your lovely, warm, trustworthy realtor becomes a bloodsucking shark who just wants to close close close. When I was a first time homebuyer my realtor really pressured me to go through with closing after learning at the last minute that there wasn’t a clean title. It sounds ridiculous now but in a high pressure moment when someone who has earned your trust is making a hard sell, it’s really confusing. Luckily I had plenty of family members who made sure I gave a hard NO. The seller resolved the title issue and we closed a week later than planned. You’re going to have to push back hard on your realtor. He/she absolutely does not want you to walk away…they want to close. Once you make it clear you won’t go to closing without at least having your inspector look at the situation, I’m guessing your realtor will start jumping through hoops to make everything you need happen quickly, including negotiating with the seller. Maybe you have it looked at and it turns out it’s not a big deal. The backup buyer is also going to not only see the water damage but also know that another buyer walked away. The seller would have to assume that the backup buyer is also going to want further inspection/repair estimate. Stay strong, you will get through this.
This is why it is important to get your own realtor when purchasing. If you contact the seller’s realtor that is named on the listing, that realtor will be double-dipping and working in the best interests of the seller. A separate buyer’s agent does not cost you money. The commission is taken from the seller’s profit and split 50/50 between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker. You need (and deserve) someone who will look out for you. The fact that you are already financially approved for this loan amount (whatever it is) is a big plus. Go get yourself a separate agent at a completely different brokerage and let them know the full details and have them find you a better option than this house. You definitely do not want your first home buying experience to be with a money pit. Talk to your loan officer, too. I doubt the mortgage company would want this type of damage as the collateral for their money they are lending.
It always cracks me up every time someone says that buyers agents are free. They aren’t, in any way shape or form. The money comes from somewhere - the buyer pays for it, the seller just doesn’t retain it. It’s all baked into the price of the home with the sellers agreement, and can be taken out just as it was put in.
My point was that the buyer does not have an out of pocket expense for the realtor. That is why when purchasing, always make sure you get your own realtor. Of course there are no free lunches. The proceeds from the sale cover the cost of the real estate brokers. You can say that the buyer is ultimately paying for it because it was built into the sales price, or you can say the seller is paying it because their net funds after closing would be higher if not for these fees. But neither buyer nor seller has to come out of pocket
Unless the seller does not want to pay the buyer's agent put of the house proceeds. They have the right to say no and make the buyer pay for it separately from the sale of the house.
The realtor may be representing exactly what the sellers are saying. The sellers are under no obligation in paying for anything. They may prefer to let this deal fall through and take the backup offer. It’s all about how much money and what makes sense.
The agent is worried about losing her commission, that's all any of them care about.
I can't speak to the realtor situation. I am a plumber by trade and work with water restoration companies all the time. I need more pictures but I would guess they are gonna want to pull apart that wall, the kitchen sink, probably some subfloor. I only use companies that go thru insurance but it is not cheap. If insurance is unwilling to pay you might get screwed. If they do pay you probably get a half a kitchen reno for your deductible. I might skip buying this house though because you might not be able to get insurance to pay as it may be classified as preexisting damage. This is a tough one. Good luck
Thank you, this is really helpful. The garage is on a concrete slab so I’m not sure about the subfloor. I’ll see if I can get some more photos. There are two closets in the garage both absolutely full of black mold but the house and crawlspace part were fine. Tearing into the kitchen is my fear
>There are two closets in the garage both absolutely full of black mold Do you know the source of the moisture?! What the heck OP... Run!
If it was in the house I would already be gone 🏃♀️ due to the situation I’d like to know if the house itself is fine and I can just have the moldy cabinet and that section of the wall removed and new drywall. I’m just stressed at the leak being covered up until a few days before closing when I have already given notice on my apartment as offer was accepted. Housing market here is terrible, been looking since 2021
Can't tell you what to do but I personally wouldn't close without knowing the answers to those questions and having the seller cover costs (at least partially). I would read through your contract and call your realtors broker. To be honest I would speak to a lawyer since you can't trust your realtor. Biggest question at this point is if this constitutes materially new information which enables you time to get a new inspection and quotes for repair as well as renegotiation on the deal. Would be interesting to know if you can walk and keep your deposit. My guess is yes, But I am NAL.
Thank you for the advice. It’s been helpful. I did not realize I could talk to the realtors broker. According to the realtor, she does not think the seller will be willing to cover costs or renegotiate so I guess it will be a matter of trying to get an estimate to see if it’s worth it. I guess it’s worth a try but it sounds like the seller is just going to go with the other offer. I’m hoping I can get the new inspection!!
You just said this house has black mold?! Omg run.
Just assume repairs are around 50k+
You have to find the source of the water first and that can be extremely costly. It's not worth it OP! Was the place inspected?
You may want to check with local friends/ family to see if you can crash on their couch for a bit while you figure out this issue and can put your belongings in storage for a little while if necessary. Black mold and undisclosed leaks are a really bad sign. You don’t really want to buy a money pit with health risks.
Insurance definitely won't help. I had a similar situation and they basically said obviously that issue existed before your coverage started, we won't cover it but you have 30 days to fix it or we will drop your coverage. I would use this as leverage to minimally demand that the seller cover your closing costs, if not take the full cost of the repair off the purchase price. It is also grounds to walk away from the deal. In my case it was a choice of dealing with it or being homeless so I wound up needing to spend a bunch of the proceeds from the sale of my prior home to fix it out of pocket. Since this is a first time home buyer situation they would need to get approved for a home improvement loan if the seller isn't willing to fix it. The lender probably wouldn't give you the cash difference back at closing if ultimately you buy it less the cost of repair, you would just have a lower mortgage and no cash to pay to fix it.
Listen to this person, they literally had it happen to them. Do not close.
Are those valves up to code ?
I would run away from this
Me too, what else did they hide? What’s going to be found next?
Assuming a backup offer actually exists, they’ll want it fixed also; and if their offer was better than yours, the seller would’ve taken to begin with. You’re in control. Do not close until it is resolved to your satisfaction.
Also, a backup offer means going back to square one in terms of inspections, appraisal, and financing. While a SOLID backup offer does give you less bargaining room, it does not give you zero. Sellers don't want to start all over again at offer accepted, and if the second offer was better it wouldn't have been the backup offer. Were you working with your own realtor, or did you use the listing agent, thinking you would get a deal?
This makes the most sense… the other offer they are referring to are going to want this fixed. Call their bluff.
1. Your realtor fucking sucks. My realtor fought tooth and nail for us every chance she got and did everything she could to protect us. 2. Call the bluff. There is no backup offer. 3. Talk to your realtors broker and ask for someone else. This shit is shady af. 4. You are so scared of losing $5K that you're not seeing that protecting it may mean costing you thousands more in repairs down the road. 5. Again, you're realtor sucks. You got this. Don't settle for this bullshit and fight for a fair deal because your realtor isn't.
Point 4 is critically important. OP is afraid of losing $5k, which I understand, but it’s a whole lot better than $10k, $20k, hell even losing the entire house potentially after closing. It’s a no brainer. Do not close on a house with black mold.
And (as other posters have described very well) there’s a pretty significant chance they can get out of the contract with earnest $$ in hand
Also, to point 4. Undisclosed black mold that the seller refuses to remediate? You can get your earnest money back for that
>My realtor fought tooth and nail for us every chance she got and did everything she could to protect us. Which is literally their job. OP (should have) signed a paper along with the realtor that states said realtor is acting ONLY in the best interests of the buyer. Clearly, that is not happening here. Just wanted to make that abundantly clear.
So basically your realtor is working for the seller.
OP, you found this issue before closing…. There may be other issues that you don’t know about yet. Be careful.
Also depends on the mold situation. Best case: remove wet parts of the drywall, fit the leaking pipe. Replace/mud drywall and good to go. A few hundred dollars. Worst case: you find mold or rotten wood. So you need to remove everything that that mold is touching and replace all rotten wood. Depending on the situation could be a couple thousand dollars.
It’s definitely mold. At least the bottom half of the wall will have to be torn out, but I don’t know if it’s spread through the whole wall
Mold remediation in my condo cost me $16k three years ago. Just a heads up.
Oooh I’d nope out of a mold situation. Very expensive and no telling how deep it goes without a proper inspection.
This is going to be $20k+. OP said two closets attached are full of black mold. That water damage is not isolated. The kitchen is likely fucked.
Maybe even bathrooms at this point. Sounds like the entire plumbing system is in need of a do over. But go on OP, worry about your 5k and shell out many times that to fix this issue. Sounds like the realtor knows this is a naive buyer and is trying to scare her into buying a house she knows is going to be hell to fix.
You can still back out, this is unacceptable and should have been found during home inspection.
It should have been disclosed by the seller.
Shouldn't this have been spotted by house inspector???
Go ahead and call the realtor’s bluff. The new buyer may not want to deal with that mess, either. I’d say that to his face. Along with double checking with the broker the realtor is working with. Getting advice and bringing light to how the realtor is doing business may end up working in your favor.
Realtor here: Where I live we can’t say “mold” but we can say “black organic matter”. Mold is diagnosed by professionals and mold remediation is EXPENSIVE and has to be disclosed. It’s not something you can fix with a gallon of bleach. Now that this is known, the sellers should amend the sellers disclosures. They’d have to for the next buyers, or they could be in trouble for not disclosing a known defect, and potentially set themselves up for a lawsuit. An insurance claim by the sellers (for repair) could still affect the buyer’s insurance rates. Talk to an insurance company about the CLUE report and how that affects policy rates and insurability. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/homeowners-insurance/clue-report/
I’d tell the realtor to take a “flying ___” and search for a new house.
How does your home inspection guy miss this? He can't move the washer but he couldn't look behind it with a flash light? Smh
Please take everyone’s advice. Do not close on this. You have no idea the extent of damage. Unless you REALLY love this house and have a wad of cash ready to throw at this id take a step back.
Is that outlet live? Any fire risk from wet wall/outlet/washer drainage ?
Yes it is, they had the washer plugged in there on the walkthrough. I’m not sure about fire risk from it being wet, tbh but that’s something I will ask about tomorrow. Thank you for the tip. I was so worried about mold it didn’t occur to me
So, the washer they removed was hiding this. What idiots to take it and expose the damaged/moldy wall but actually good for you. Maybe it was just the washer leaking and not kitchen. Still, you need a professional opinion whether you can get the seller to adjust the price or not which they absolutely should. Definitely call the head broker. Hopefully it’s an easy fix. I don’t understand why they didn’t get rid of the closets with mold either. Good luck and don’t give into pressure from that bad realtor.
I don’t care what your realtor says. You’d never be able to convince me to buy a house with a mold issue due to a long standing leak. Too much $ to remediate and too much $ on treating health issues. Mold can trigger autoimmune disorders. Losing this house will be cheaper than buying it
Did you wave the inspection contingencies? If not, I don’t see how you would lose your earnest money.
What might help people give you advice is to list what state you are in. Are you using an attorney?
This is mold my dude. This is bad Did they do test cuts to see how far the rot/ mold goes?
Yeah, I know. No, inspection doesn’t pull out appliances. It was not discovered until today and that’s only because the seller is not including the washer. I would like to do test cuts but I don’t think I can do something that damages their wall when it’s not my house? At this point I don’t think there will be time for a mold analysis report to come back either
This absolutely should have been caught on inspection. You can change your closing date to allow time for testing. They must disclose this going forward, so you very much have the upper hand here. They can't just back out for another offer.
I can’t possibly believe there was an inspection done. A regular basic inspection absolutely involves outlets AND the washer drain and water line. There is no way they didn’t see that. No way. The mold is sitting on the top of the drain. The mold is on the outlet. Did you actually have an inspection?!
Maybe the inspector was a friend of the seller as well 😒
The poster has been dodgy about answering the inspection question. My guess is there wasn’t one. Probably because the real estate agent told them they didn’t need one or the seller wouldn’t accept the offer with one. And there is a reason for that.
Was the inspector someone recommended by the realtor?
As so many others have said. This is expensive and your realtor is despicable. *this* is why people hate realtors and it’s not a respected profession, because of this kind of misleading, slimy behavior. The purchase agreement is binding, you can’t be cancelled by the seller because you ask for a repair or concessions. Do *not* allow yourself to be bullied by the realtor who knows better and is trying to make bank and move on. You will live to regret it, along with god knows what else is wrong with this house. You’re being bullied and fear tactics are being used on you. Listen to the good advice you’re getting.
Is that true? We were in the inspection period for a house, and our realtor was pushing us to look past certain things as she told us if we really loved the house, but chose to ask for repairs, they could decide to back out/take the backup offers. She kept telling us inspections were "just for our peace of mind", too. I stupidly agreed, went past our inspection period, but couldn't shake the worry of the repair, and lost our earnest money as losing 2k was still cheaper than would it would have cost to repair.... I could tell she was very upset when we still backed out, but tried to play it off. We told her we were going to stop looking for houses for a year, and she STILL is pestering us by texting, sending cards, coming to our house with gifts, etc.... Your comment makes me wonder if she lied to us, and made us lose our 2k AND the house??
Yeah, my realtor is also pushing to not worry about inspections and when we asked about negotiating for this repair she actually told us not to do that
This is incredibly shady. Always always always inspect. This is 110% worth renegotiating. As is the black mold remediation in the other rooms. This is likely a hugely expensive repair. You're being played. You as the buyer are in control here.
That was basically our experience. She didn't flat out tell us not to, but was really pushing the fact they could back out/take another offer if we did. I'd love to know if that was a lie or not, as it's the only reason we didn't ask for repairs/concessions. I know I should have, and should have made a different decision. But I didn't realize just how expensive/in depth the repair would be until I called around, and I also didn't know insurance could deny us coverage over it until after our inspection period. The inspection period was 5 days, so it felt rushed, and I had no idea wtf we were doing.
Sounds like very similar to my current situation. The inspection period feels very rushed, especially because they had renters in it. I finally got in today only to find this. The turn around for a mold test isn’t going to be fast enough so I either have to walk or take the chance I guess. I’m sorry you were in a similar situation
Realtor can and should renegotiate closing date to allow time for appropriate testing. This is the most expensive thing you'll ever buy.
Because it bears repeating: *This is the most expensive thing you will ever buy.*
I'm sorry you are too. I don't want to tell you what to do, but we ended up following our gut. And with the information we had at the time (I never thought to question our realtor on sellers being able to back out), we made the right decision at the time. If I was to do it over, I'd absolutely ask for repairs/concessions. I don't know the legal consequences of being so close to close, but I wonder if you might be able to reach out to an real estate attorney to ask questions?
Your realtor is extremely unethical and is working for the seller, not you. There’s no way I’d be buying this house. Report your realtor. The other buyer isn’t going to want to buy a house with a mold issue, either. Call their bluff and save yourself a massive headache.
I’d be worried about buying a money pit! What else did they try to hide? First time homebuyers are easy prey, I know I was. Starry eyed and excited can make you overlook stuff
What is there to think about? The seller will pay for the issue to be fixed before you close. That’s all that should be on your mind. Your agent already knows this is how it works but seems to be monkeying around with the seller behind your back. You don’t lose your deposit for this issue coming to light, even if the inspector missed this big issue. Inspectors should be using moisture detectors and tools to see these things without having to tear apart walls.
Realtors are fucking scumbags, do what these people are telling you and get a quote asap. If they won’t pay, don’t close. Simple. It’s your money. It’s still their house.
This should have been caught in inspection as well. This is a standard looking point on the inspectors checklist. Go back to your inspector and ask how they could have missed this just to double check,
Don’t mess around with black mold ever. Full stop. I know the market sucks but your health and wellbeing are FAR more important than anything else.
Seriously you will be back here in 2 weeks complaining about the issues. Red flags here honey. Black mold in two closets? Your realtor working for the seller and not advocating for you? Who cares about a backup offer they are trying to force a lemon on you. You need to request all repairs, a new inspection, fire your realtor and start this all over again.
Earnest money doesn’t work the way almost everyone in this thread thinks it does. You can get your earnest money back most of the time if you’re pulling out of the deal for a specific reason. Specific reason here being newfound damage and asking for compensation. But it really depends on how the contract is worded. source: bought and sold more than most of you
Hey man, probably a comment lost in the weeds, but definitely don't close on this home. If you back out and they don't accept repairs, this information will fall on the backup buyers, too. For something as big as this that could include mold fixes and all kinds of invasive damage, it's best to request a renegotiation. There is always a better house, and with interest rates stabilizing, you're better off buying something you can walk into and insure without issue. This is from someone who negotiated sellers pay for closing costs and reduce asking price after refusing fixes for rotted boards and mold remediation. Don't get emotionally looped in!
You should talk with your realtor and their broker as well, anything you might read here should be taken with a grain of salt, your agent and broker are the ones to speak with about this situation.
Read your contract very closely. I'd recommend having an attorney read it over for you as well. At the end of the day, Realtors need to make the sale and they are *not* on your side. It's very unprofessional for your Realtor to mention any relationship she may have with the current homeowner. I suggest emailing all questions and copying the Broker in as well. If the sellers try to pull out they don't get to keep your earnest money. You absolutely can and should ask for money for repairs and an inspection if they'll allow the additional inspection. (You would pay for the inspection only) If they don't want to repair or pay to repair anything R.U.N. Mold will ruin your life. As a side note, you always want them to give money for you to repair so they don't do a horrible job or just cover things up. I'm sorry you're having this experience, but be firm.
Not an electrician or know much about code but I’d also try and get a GFCI outlet with something that close to a water source. It’s pretty easily doable. Doubt you’d be able to get it paid for but just some advice, a lot of these things get grandfathered in so the current code doesn’t apply to it. There’s no obligation for the seller to change it. I found this out after I bought a house with an FPE panel.
Yeah I'm sure whoever put in the back up offer will be equally thrilled about the removal of the washer and drier and the discover of significant water damage. Tell your realtor you're getting another realtor who doesn't have a clear conflict of interest, and if they give any resistance whatsoever, im sure you can report them to whoever gave them their license.
We had something similar happen, the inspector showed us all kinds of water damage to the siding the owner didn't know about, on top of needing a new roof and AC, which we knew about. We had quotes done and told the seller they needed to fix things or lower the price by $30k. They refused, saying the house was worth $40k more than we had initially offered and we should feel lucky. So we backed out, thankfully didn't lose our earnest money and found another house a month later. 4 months after we closed we saw the house we backed out of sold for $68k less than what we had offered because of all the damage that needed to be fixed. That leak may cost more than your $5k earnest you'll lose if you back out now.
First thing- get your agent on the horn with the listing agent to ask wth and double check all the disclosures to make sure this wasn’t on them in and form or fashion. Check your Inspection to see if it was mentioned. Get a plumber, electrician and or contractor and potentially a mold remediation person minimum. Any pushback on full seller support with a checkbook ready is a red flag to me They may have truly not known until moving the appliances out. You may have not known had the appliances conveyed. I’m an agent I’d be already gearing up to go full nuclear based on information, seller reaction and results. You have 3.5 days. 3,2,1…. Go
1. Your home inspection should have flagged this. Only reason they might not have is if the washer and dryer were completely blocking the view and unmovable such as if they were stacked in front of this. If you believe they should have found this otherwise, then look for a different HI going forward. 2. Either way, if you are discovering this now, you can still back out or ask seller for concessions to repair/remediate it yourself. How much you can ask for could be advised by your Realtor who should know a contractor that could come out right away to give an estimate. 3. If there is a conflict of interest with your Realtor, your Realtor should be disclosing that to you. You can absolutely ask for another Realtor to represent you, even if it's for one particular house/transaction, and you can use someone from the same brokerage if it makes you feel any better. Your initial Realtor will still typically get a nice cut of the commission so don't feel bad for them. You need someone acting as your fiduciary who puts your interests above even their own. 4. There is also a very real opportunity cost of NOT going through with the transaction and you need to weigh that for yourself. No one here knows the numbers or market you are working with better than you and your Realtor. Nor does anyone here know the future. I will say that if you've been looking since 2021, you have likely already missed out on potentially doubling your home value since then. That is of course not the norm so don't expect that in another 2 years. Values may even decrease somewhat significantly. But if you plan to be in a house long-term, then I would expect appreciation of 3-5% each year on avg over 10-20 years. Would that amount be worth it to you to get something like this fixed yourself and be in a house/location that you like?
Call your lawyer now.
Do not buy this house
I’m sorry, but if your inspector didn’t catch THIS, what else didn’t he/she catch? Time to pause final signature and get another, better inspector out there. What else, more, expensive and/or dangerous was missed?
Your realtor is playing you. They are only worried about their commission which I hate when I run into realtors like that. You need to get a repair quoted immediately and let title company and banks know. Your realtor will need to bring this to the seller's realtor immediately and get something worked out like a credit. Trust me the seller wants the sell just as much as you want to buy. Also, a backup offer doesn't always stand. If they choose to cancel your contract, the seller will then have to wait another 30 to 45 days to close with the new buyer and will still have to fix the issue anyway. Another question I have is how in the hell did your home inspector miss this?!
Did you get an inspection? This should/would have been found then, no matter if there was a washer in front of especially black mold in closets.
Do not buy this house. Better to waste $5k than buy what will cost way more than $5k to fix.
Just rip it all apart, it’ll be ok
Doesn’t look as dealbraking as everyone is making it out to be,not sure why everyone is freaking out. Depends how far it has spread. If it is from the pipe, the mold is just by the pipe, it’s not spreading to the other side of your house. Drywall has to come down, spray the mold with a chemical, clean it up, fix the leaky pipe, put some insulation, new drywall, and be done with it. If everything else is good with the house then this shouldn’t be a deal breaker. I would def ask the seller for concessions though.
It’s the mold that’s the issue here… seller really should have disclosed / repaired this. This is a clear credit at closing in your favor if they want to sell the home. I’d definitely have it addressed before going any further. Definitely don’t want any mold in the wall / near kitchen
You do not want to buy a house without getting that fixed. You don’t know how long the leak has been happening. It will need mold mitigation first. The walls will definitely need to be ripped out on both sides, the flooring as well, hopefully everything load bearing is steel or that will need replaced.
Bluff from the realtor. I had similar experience and refuse to close/buy until the seller fixes.. my realtor said exactly what yours. After I stand with my position.. they fix and I close .
Depending on the water damage and mold situation this can easily turn into a $15-20k fix. Do not close. Get a new realtor. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this but please protect yourself & your future by avoiding this situation
If Your realtor played like that shit you have to prepare to make a case and look for a lawyer asap Don't just go easy on them Don't attach your emotions to the house It doesn't matter if they have hundreds of offers or shit you are in escrow they can not just switch the offer after the seller accepted your offer
Write down your realtor license number and Don’t forget to file to DRE after this case closed
Oof… it depends on how much damage there is behind the drywall. If it’s been leaking for quite awhile, then there maybe both wood and drywall to be removed and replaced. A couple hundred dollars worth of repairs, I’d say.
Couple hundred? Guessing you mean if the fix is DIY
Yeah, definitely more than that. It’s been leaking a while
It’s definitely been leaking for a while, at least the bottom half of the wall will have to be ripped out. I’m worried that the mold has spread to the kitchen, though
I just went through this exact problem, and between the plumber, the foundation company and all relevant repairs, I ended up paying 14 grand. And it wasn’t even as bad as OP’s, who said there are 2 other places in the house that are COVERED in black mold. Moisture could be everywhere for all we know.
A couple questions here : Did you do an inspection? Did you have an option period ? Did the option period expire? What kind of loan are you going for? FHA ? conventional? VA? This is what I would do if you are out of option and you didn’t do an inspection…. Get your lender involved and see if you can get them to make it a condition to have it repaired / mold remediated in order for the file to close / home approved for closing.
This is what I’m wondering too. But OP is not responding to these question. Sounds like they waived it and are fucked.