Purchasing PPOR- First Home

Hello Fellow SS,

I'm a first home buyer. Would really like to get any word of advice on this.
I have put an offer for a house recently and it was accepted. The whole buying process has been a big learning curve for me.
The seller is from overseas and all communication is through his lawyer. Finance is approved and The pest inspection was just carried out yesterday. Contract goes unconditional this Friday.

When we did the pest/building inspection yesterday, the tenants have vacated and left the house in an appalling state. Dog faeces were all over the yard, the carpets were entrenched in dog odour. And there were evidence of rats and cockroaches habitat making themselves at home in the kitchen and bedroom! Yuck!

When we did the inspection 2 weeks ago, It is a far cry to what it is today. The house was still tenanted and though it wasn't in it's best presentation, there was no dog odour.

Base on the building inspection report, there were a few issues raised and their recommendations.:-

Retaining timber wall and post have spilt- have a few life years
no vents/ exhaust fan in both bathroom/toilet - add exhaust fans
Long Cracks on driveway and garage floor,- monitor
Side Water pipes cracked- replace pipe
Height of indoor steps don't meet BCA standard,( either install place railing or redo the steps)
Carpets and blinds have been chewed by dogs- Replace carpet or change to wooden flooring.

The structure is sound with No active termites. Normal Wear and tear of a 6 year old split level house.

My lawyer asked me how much do I want to reduce for the necessary repair. As the seller advertised for $349k, i told my lawyer I will be happy to settle at the original price ( $10k less to what I offer)
My questions are
1) Should I be communicating with the real estate agent on the negotiation or leave it to our lawyers to do the job? What exactly is the right etiquette with agents when negotiating before it becomes unconditional?

2) From the works required, is my discount price to much? I did not make any inquiries to how much it would cost for the major repair/work, so it's a wild guess.

3) Settlement date on 29 Nov. Can I request to have early entry to move in earlier by 2 weeks? We are currently renting on a periodic lease. Our Landlord intend to increase their rent from 15 Nov.

It's all very exciting but nerve wrecking purchasing our first home! Especially, since I have notice house sales are picking up and I am keen to get in earlier than later.
Look forward to hearing from any advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance! Regards CG
 
All I would say is that if a purchaser knocked me down by $10K (justified or not) there is no way I would allow early entry.

I'd give that idea up for now and pay the extra rent for one fortnight where you are. Don't give yourself a headache over a small amount of extra rent for one fortnight.

I'm sure others will chime in about how much discount you could ask for regarding that list. Is the whole house carpeted? Have you had a quote to replace the pipe? If not, perhaps get in a plumber and call a carpet shop for an idea of cost?

Internal stairs (probably no legal need to do anything unless you do a renovation), lack of exhaust fan, split retaining wall (pretty much everything on your list) are all the same as when you inspected (did they make the carpet disgusting in a matter of weeks?) and if I was the vendor, unless I was desperate to sell, I would not reduce the price. But a vendor who doesn't want to go back onto the market may accept the reduction. Just don't expect them to allow you in early.

Don't forget that a good clean will make this all look much better. I've never moved into a clean house ;).
 
All I would say is that if a purchaser knocked me down by $10K (justified or not) there is no way I would allow early entry.

I'd give that idea up for now and pay the extra rent for one fortnight where you are. Don't give yourself a headache over a small amount of extra rent for one fortnight.

That makes sense...Initially I was thinking of doing an earlier settlement date so we can move in earlier. But you are right, no point of rushing in, good to use that extra time to fix up the place.

I'm sure others will chime in about how much discount you could ask for regarding that list. Is the whole house carpeted? Have you had a quote to replace the pipe? If not, perhaps get in a plumber and call a carpet shop for an idea of cost?

Carpets are in all bedrooms and one living room ( average size) the living room carpet needs to be replaced. It was professionally cleaned yesterday, what a difference!
However, stubborn Stains on carpet wouldn't budge, which is acceptable to wear and tear. But the dog stench still lingers in the living room.
The corner carpet that was chewed on and its side was deceivingly covered by a plant, so we didn't notice it at the house inspection. And YES, the tenants have let the dogs roam and let loose in the house as it truly was an appalling state the second time.
No quotes for pipes as yet. Building inspector says it can sustain for a year or so.
As for the internal steps, I would not notice the diff of height between the 2 steps until the inspector misjudged the steps height and almost twisted his ankle that day! He was very unimpressed with that!

Should I be communicating this with the agent though? I know that she is also communicating via the sellers lawyer ( seller overseas) but out of etiquette should she be involve with the negotiation?
I don't think she'll be happy that she is getting a lower cut when there are other buyers out there that would pay for more.
 
The property needs to be brought back to the state you saw it when you put in the offer.

Your lawyers and vendors lawyers need to come to an agreement on the allowance at settlement for cleaning/repairs - although replacing the carpet and blind would be unlikely as it was damaged when you first saw it (now you know to move things next time) - the best is probably money for a good steam clean/sanitising.

I believe that part has not got to do with the agent, as they will still get the full commission - the money gets "taken" from the settlement amount (along with council rates owing etc.

The other stuff from the building inspectors probably don't count for much except the stairs.

Retaining timber - probably normal.

Exhaust fans - not the vendor's responsibility. If the place didn't have fans when you signed, too bad.

Driveway crack - not the vendor's responsibility. If the place had it when you signed, too bad.

Water pipe - again, if it wasn't damaged AFTER you offered, no go.

The stair issue might have legs - especially if there was dodgy work done - this one can go through the agent as a reduction in your offer (sound like illegal work?) - but be prepared for them to say "OK, no sweat we'll go to another buyer" (they could be bluffing - your call).

The Y-man
 
Hello Fellow SS,


My lawyer asked me how much do I want to reduce for the necessary repair. As the seller advertised for $349k, i told my lawyer I will be happy to settle at the original price ( $10k less to what I offer)
My questions are
1) Should I be communicating with the real estate agent on the negotiation or leave it to our lawyers to do the job? What exactly is the right etiquette with agents when negotiating before it becomes unconditional?

2) From the works required, is my discount price to much? I did not make any inquiries to how much it would cost for the major repair/work, so it's a wild guess.

Thanks in advance! Regards CG

I'm confused. How much have you offered? The advertised is $349K and you're happy to pay that? So did you offer $359K and now want to pay $349K????

You need to either ask for a discount OR for early entry. It's not really feasable to ask for both.
2 weeks rent isn't much. They may let you in early to rip out carpet etc but I don't like your chances if you want a further discount.
I hope it all works out for you.
 
I'm confused. How much have you offered? The advertised is $349K and you're happy to pay that? So did you offer $359K and now want to pay $349K????

You need to either ask for a discount OR for early entry. It's not really feasable to ask for both.
2 weeks rent isn't much. They may let you in early to rip out carpet etc but I don't like your chances if you want a further discount.
I hope it all works out for you.

Yes, he advertised it at $349k but my last offer was $359k which he accepted.

I don't want to take the risk as well as I do know there were other offers as well.
I won't ask for early entry but will see if he will reduce from $359k
Thanks for all your feedback guys... Just waiting for sellers response. Will let u know how it goes...
 
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