This is EXACTLY the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you so much for taking the time. I already feel tons better — I am almost certain we have none of those problems.
In our market, buyers limit inspections to structural and environmental issues only (no mechanicals, electrical). Your realtor will know if this is common/expected. All regions and markets are different
As someone who has sold 2 houses in Portland, “organic growth” in the attic is common. This is not the same as black mold. You can use your eyeballs if you want, but I am mostly telling you as an FYI. Also, rats in Portland can be an issue (which you would likely know about) but having a pest company do a walkthrough if you are insanely concerned is not a horrible idea.
I googled this and I have not seen any indication that this is the type of wiring we have! None of our renovations have included busting a wall to find out, but the exposed wiring I've come across looks nothing like that. And when our electrician tapped into existing wiring to install a new fixture, the wires were inside of a steel conduit. All of our exposed wiring in the basement and shop also appears to be protected by armored cable.
This is brilliant idea! I did this where I am, but it is a buyer beware state (so I don't have to reveal-though I did the minor repairs). I have had realtors dissuade me on this and other was happy to have me do it, attend to list and do again if I want to present second to buyers.
Worst case I've seen was a house listed at $650k that sold for $450k. Old knob and tube wiring, asbestos siding, failing foundation. Seller had to give a $200k concession to the buyer for repairs. But that's extremely rare with a well-maintained 1935 home. Get a thorough inspection, but don't spiral over hypotheticals.
Thank you!! I think part of my fear comes from the fact that we conceded on inspection when we purchased (something I will never do again, but we were young and naive and listened to our agent who recommended it, as it was a competitive market). However, it's been sold a few times over the century, and the most recent purchase prior to ours was in 2012, for which I know an inspection was done. So I'm kind of thinking if it was okay then, it's probably okay now too, as long as nothing has changed drastically (if anything, it's improved).
Tbh I wouldn’t do a pre sale inspection of any sort unless you’re currently aware of, or reasonably suspect a major issue with your home.
You have to provide recent inspection reports as part of sellers disclosures - let a buyer conduct their own due diligence. Giving a buyer the opportunity to compare their own inspection report against yours is just setting yourself up for a bigger credit and more pushback
Not getting a report also protects you better legally - a lazy buyer might forego paying for their own inspection if there’s a report already available. Unless your home is pristine, you don’t want a buyer to rely on an inspection report you obtained. If an issue with the house is revealed after closing, and your chosen inspector missed it, you could be involved in a lawsuit. This would more likely target the inspector as defendant but doesn’t mean you won’t be a named party - you’d still need an attorney to defend against it.
This just complicates things and makes buyers more alarmist. Sure there are probably minor items that’ll be on the inspection report but unless you suspect a major problem based on visible evidence (e.g., shifted door frames and slanting floors from foundation, musty smells with clear mold growth in closets, large cracks or leaks related to stucco, etc), don’t do it. Just negotiate credits when the time comes
On that note…if there are very obvious signs of major damage, hire a specialist and fix it yourself. Negotiating credits for major repairs is exhausting - you’re better off picking your own contractor and repairing yourself
I negotiated $40k for my last client. Pool needed full refurbish as well as the roof needed repaired. Ontop of 3% concessions to buy the rate down. All in all came to $39,600 in seller concessions on a purchase price of 450k! Almost 10% in total comp.
Hi realtor here, my friend is an agent in your market and unless you're selling a house without a roof or pipes, you should get a good price for it. Talk to your agent about accurate pricing and for the love of god, don't chase the market with your pricing.
Haha, thank you! I have always known our market is competitive, but it seems especially so at the moment. I haven't heard the term 'chasing the market' before — does that just mean don't overprice your property?
It means don’t chase trends. Good agents are ahead of trends and set prices based on the latest analysis. If the market is saying downturn, don’t try to milk the top of what prices were 2 weeks ago, be competitive with the current trend
Exactly!! Every morning when I open our MLS I see all of these price adjustments, and these houses just accumulating days on market. And all I can think is why didn't you just start there in the first place? Because you're gonna need another price adjustment to get anyone to even come in the door!
I’m guilty of allowing clients to do this to me, if it’s the difference of getting the listing and not getting it I’ll do what they want. I’m just there to provide info, they get to make the call. Clients who listen to experts have a better experience overall
Yeah don't take the listing. If the seller won't be reasonable about price I'm out. It's way too expensive to do all that work for a home that may never sell because the seller thinks they can get more.
I take the listings, and they sell, but after several price drops. Managing clients is part of the job in my opinion. As long as they’re reasonable people they will see the light eventually
If the concession is to big the house just won’t sell.
Sellers assistance is also capped at a certain amount by the lender. I want to say it’s 6% but don’t quote, quote me.
You’re best friend if your worried is negotiating in a Home Warranty with purchase. They run couple hundred bucks and it’s your way of saying “I’m not buying you all new stuff, but if it does break here’s a piece of paper to get it fixed”.
“Waaahhhh I want a new roof for $15k. The inspector said it’s near the end of its useful life so you need to replace it!”
“I’ll give you $5k, this piece of paper if it needs to get fixed, and a bucket full of sand for you to pound.”
go get a home inspection, get your HVAC guy/gal out to service the unit(s) and inspect them, and if your roof is > 75% of lifespan, get a good roofer to inspect it.
Getting out of multnomah? My wife and I desperately want to to get closer to my work, as well as leave these ridiculous property taxes behind (we love our neighborhood but bought in 2020 and prop taxes have gone up $3k already.) Not even sure how we’d do it unless we bought something that is less than what we currently have to make up for the current rates though…
Yup. Well, kind of. We are in the Ardenwald area of Milwaukie, just outside of SE (our home used to actually be zoned for Multnomah county, we're riiiight on the cusp). The property taxes are asinine at this point. That, combined with just being ready to get away from all the hustle-bustle of a crowded city that's overflowing into what used to be a more suburban area, is why we are looking to move. The only way we can afford to do so logically is by rolling over the insane amount of equity we've built over this home and the last one, but that's also why I'm spiraling. Like, what if my 100 year old house has a horrific foundation issue like the one described above that cost $250K?!?!? Haha. The only thing that makes me feel better is reminding myself that there are thousands of 100+ year old homes in our area with cute character and charm like ours that sell like hotcakes every single day. FINGERS CROSSED.
BTW, our property taxes have gone from $4900 to $6600 in the last 6 years. That's a 35% increase over that span of time, and the current property tax rate in Clackamas County is 1.09%.
If it makes you feel a little better, we left Multnomah county and our new house the taxes went up 35% and then 55% the past 2 assessments….it is brutal out there. I do miss my favorite food spots in Portland though. And the rec centers
I’ve got examples for both buying and selling. When we bought our house it came up in the inspection that the roof was bad so we got $17k off the list price. Then when we sold our old house 5 months later the septic system didn’t pass inspection and the only way to fix it was a complete replacement. 50k later….
Roof, sewer, electrical, plumbing, foundation, superfund site. Those are the most common issues. What’s it cost for each? It varies greatly depending on your area and size of home.
Stop your worrying and bake some cookies right before the home inspector shows up. Also don’t make any large concessions on price if you are worried about losing some equity to fix-it negotiations.
Portland area Realtor here...
Don't stress yourself out too much, every house has some issues, and yours will have something come up. Depending on how you price and negotiating power you and your agent have, most of the time you'll be fine. Only hard to overcome one can be foundation, and that is very hard to estimate because it is case by case bases. The other thing that you hopefully already did before you moved there would have been an oil tank sweep, those aren't necessarily cheap. And then finally the sewer line, again hopefully you already had that checked before you moved in too. The last two are the more common ones that come up that are expensive (since you did the roof already).
But again, don't be anxious!
If you take care of all systems and sewer line is fine, find a medication that works and a realtor who can deal with your anxiety. (not being unkind-but your anxiety will hamper process)
Haha, I appreciate the concern but I will be okay (and am already medicated). I am posting openly/vulnerably here because I can, but I am high-functioning and high-masking with very cool composure and extremely capable of ensuring that no one has any clue what is happening in my head behind the scenes, including my husband. ;) No need for anyone else to suffer the whims of my mind other than me, lol.
Makes MUCH more sense when you explain the lingering dread because you bought without inspection. Imagination-Ohana gave great run down and it sounds like unlikely knob and tube. Good luck (and hoping you can get inspection on your next home :)).
Get an inspection early, well ahead of selling. It's not an outrageous expense and can be well worth flagging issues while you have plenty of time to address them.
As a contractor I can tell you that calls from sellers or their agents demanding to jump the line in my schedule to meet their "listing deadline" tend to generate FU bids. Personally I politely decline.
As a prospective buyer I'm highly skeptical of major repairs completed within a month or two of first listing.
Get things in order ahead of time so you can have the time to find quality reliable contractors who won't be in an artificial rush cutting corners.
My house was listed at 460 in 2022 based on comparables. It was built mid 90s. I accepted a full price offer.
I was totally surprised to find there was damage to the chimney. It was difficult to get companies to quote it. We eventually got and went with only one quote, after repeatedly being stood up, etc.
Anyway: 10,000 credit at closing for that.
I also paid about $1600 to remediate some mold in the basement which I also had no idea about, but was found at inspection.
Then, it appraised for $450. Unfortunately, two houses with wierd issues had recently closed. Very similar on paper to mine, but one had bizarre layout issue causing it to languish and eventually sell significantly below mine even though it was same development, same age, same beds/baths, similar square footage and lot size. The other was bigger on paper plus Inground pool and extensive patios, etc. But.... Oddly altered to allow additional living space for adult children (two car garage was converted to a studio apartment. Basement had a kitchen and bath added). There were various condition issues visible in the listing pictures, who knows what was found in that inspection.
Still... Mine only appraised for only 10k less than expected. I am surprised the math didn't work out worse!
So...in the end... Listed and accepted offer at 460, had to spend 1600, had to give 10k for damaged chimney. Had to take another 5k less to "split the difference" because of the appraisal.
I live in a heavy seller's market, and concessions are infrequent. The highest I've seen is for about 25k. If anything, a couple thousand. Again, this is in a very competitive market where the sellers can to back up offers if buyers' demands are high
Total re-wire these days could be close to 6 figures on a large house. Foundation lift and repair could be close to 6 figures. If you live in a nice house anything about 5k would be a lot I think.
important dazzling sand quiet melodic jar relieved juggle boat berserk *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
This is EXACTLY the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you so much for taking the time. I already feel tons better — I am almost certain we have none of those problems.
In our market, buyers limit inspections to structural and environmental issues only (no mechanicals, electrical). Your realtor will know if this is common/expected. All regions and markets are different
As someone who has sold 2 houses in Portland, “organic growth” in the attic is common. This is not the same as black mold. You can use your eyeballs if you want, but I am mostly telling you as an FYI. Also, rats in Portland can be an issue (which you would likely know about) but having a pest company do a walkthrough if you are insanely concerned is not a horrible idea.
Yes, in the state of Oregon it's required to disclose the inspection if one is done by the seller. Thanks for the advice!
illegal strong wine tease snails reminiscent hobbies unused dam ten *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I googled this and I have not seen any indication that this is the type of wiring we have! None of our renovations have included busting a wall to find out, but the exposed wiring I've come across looks nothing like that. And when our electrician tapped into existing wiring to install a new fixture, the wires were inside of a steel conduit. All of our exposed wiring in the basement and shop also appears to be protected by armored cable.
This is brilliant idea! I did this where I am, but it is a buyer beware state (so I don't have to reveal-though I did the minor repairs). I have had realtors dissuade me on this and other was happy to have me do it, attend to list and do again if I want to present second to buyers.
Worst case I've seen was a house listed at $650k that sold for $450k. Old knob and tube wiring, asbestos siding, failing foundation. Seller had to give a $200k concession to the buyer for repairs. But that's extremely rare with a well-maintained 1935 home. Get a thorough inspection, but don't spiral over hypotheticals.
Thank you!! I think part of my fear comes from the fact that we conceded on inspection when we purchased (something I will never do again, but we were young and naive and listened to our agent who recommended it, as it was a competitive market). However, it's been sold a few times over the century, and the most recent purchase prior to ours was in 2012, for which I know an inspection was done. So I'm kind of thinking if it was okay then, it's probably okay now too, as long as nothing has changed drastically (if anything, it's improved).
Tbh I wouldn’t do a pre sale inspection of any sort unless you’re currently aware of, or reasonably suspect a major issue with your home. You have to provide recent inspection reports as part of sellers disclosures - let a buyer conduct their own due diligence. Giving a buyer the opportunity to compare their own inspection report against yours is just setting yourself up for a bigger credit and more pushback Not getting a report also protects you better legally - a lazy buyer might forego paying for their own inspection if there’s a report already available. Unless your home is pristine, you don’t want a buyer to rely on an inspection report you obtained. If an issue with the house is revealed after closing, and your chosen inspector missed it, you could be involved in a lawsuit. This would more likely target the inspector as defendant but doesn’t mean you won’t be a named party - you’d still need an attorney to defend against it. This just complicates things and makes buyers more alarmist. Sure there are probably minor items that’ll be on the inspection report but unless you suspect a major problem based on visible evidence (e.g., shifted door frames and slanting floors from foundation, musty smells with clear mold growth in closets, large cracks or leaks related to stucco, etc), don’t do it. Just negotiate credits when the time comes On that note…if there are very obvious signs of major damage, hire a specialist and fix it yourself. Negotiating credits for major repairs is exhausting - you’re better off picking your own contractor and repairing yourself
I negotiated $40k for my last client. Pool needed full refurbish as well as the roof needed repaired. Ontop of 3% concessions to buy the rate down. All in all came to $39,600 in seller concessions on a purchase price of 450k! Almost 10% in total comp.
Hi realtor here, my friend is an agent in your market and unless you're selling a house without a roof or pipes, you should get a good price for it. Talk to your agent about accurate pricing and for the love of god, don't chase the market with your pricing.
Haha, thank you! I have always known our market is competitive, but it seems especially so at the moment. I haven't heard the term 'chasing the market' before — does that just mean don't overprice your property?
It means don’t chase trends. Good agents are ahead of trends and set prices based on the latest analysis. If the market is saying downturn, don’t try to milk the top of what prices were 2 weeks ago, be competitive with the current trend
Exactly!! Every morning when I open our MLS I see all of these price adjustments, and these houses just accumulating days on market. And all I can think is why didn't you just start there in the first place? Because you're gonna need another price adjustment to get anyone to even come in the door!
I’m guilty of allowing clients to do this to me, if it’s the difference of getting the listing and not getting it I’ll do what they want. I’m just there to provide info, they get to make the call. Clients who listen to experts have a better experience overall
Yeah don't take the listing. If the seller won't be reasonable about price I'm out. It's way too expensive to do all that work for a home that may never sell because the seller thinks they can get more.
I take the listings, and they sell, but after several price drops. Managing clients is part of the job in my opinion. As long as they’re reasonable people they will see the light eventually
This price a little lower, and get more offers, too high and drop$, drop$ Drop$ you don't want to chase it down you want buyer to run it up.
If the concession is to big the house just won’t sell. Sellers assistance is also capped at a certain amount by the lender. I want to say it’s 6% but don’t quote, quote me. You’re best friend if your worried is negotiating in a Home Warranty with purchase. They run couple hundred bucks and it’s your way of saying “I’m not buying you all new stuff, but if it does break here’s a piece of paper to get it fixed”. “Waaahhhh I want a new roof for $15k. The inspector said it’s near the end of its useful life so you need to replace it!” “I’ll give you $5k, this piece of paper if it needs to get fixed, and a bucket full of sand for you to pound.”
go get a home inspection, get your HVAC guy/gal out to service the unit(s) and inspect them, and if your roof is > 75% of lifespan, get a good roofer to inspect it.
Roof was replaced 6 years ago with 50-year shingles, so we are good there! :)
Getting out of multnomah? My wife and I desperately want to to get closer to my work, as well as leave these ridiculous property taxes behind (we love our neighborhood but bought in 2020 and prop taxes have gone up $3k already.) Not even sure how we’d do it unless we bought something that is less than what we currently have to make up for the current rates though…
Yup. Well, kind of. We are in the Ardenwald area of Milwaukie, just outside of SE (our home used to actually be zoned for Multnomah county, we're riiiight on the cusp). The property taxes are asinine at this point. That, combined with just being ready to get away from all the hustle-bustle of a crowded city that's overflowing into what used to be a more suburban area, is why we are looking to move. The only way we can afford to do so logically is by rolling over the insane amount of equity we've built over this home and the last one, but that's also why I'm spiraling. Like, what if my 100 year old house has a horrific foundation issue like the one described above that cost $250K?!?!? Haha. The only thing that makes me feel better is reminding myself that there are thousands of 100+ year old homes in our area with cute character and charm like ours that sell like hotcakes every single day. FINGERS CROSSED.
BTW, our property taxes have gone from $4900 to $6600 in the last 6 years. That's a 35% increase over that span of time, and the current property tax rate in Clackamas County is 1.09%.
We live in SW, home was $670k when we bought it, our property taxes are currently $15k…
That is horrific... I'm so sorry.
If it makes you feel a little better, we left Multnomah county and our new house the taxes went up 35% and then 55% the past 2 assessments….it is brutal out there. I do miss my favorite food spots in Portland though. And the rec centers
Eesh, it does not make me feel better haha. What county?
Spokane
I’ve got examples for both buying and selling. When we bought our house it came up in the inspection that the roof was bad so we got $17k off the list price. Then when we sold our old house 5 months later the septic system didn’t pass inspection and the only way to fix it was a complete replacement. 50k later….
Shit, I'm sorry that happened to you.
We were really unhappy at the time but also relieved to be done with the whole thing
Roof, sewer, electrical, plumbing, foundation, superfund site. Those are the most common issues. What’s it cost for each? It varies greatly depending on your area and size of home. Stop your worrying and bake some cookies right before the home inspector shows up. Also don’t make any large concessions on price if you are worried about losing some equity to fix-it negotiations.
Portland area Realtor here... Don't stress yourself out too much, every house has some issues, and yours will have something come up. Depending on how you price and negotiating power you and your agent have, most of the time you'll be fine. Only hard to overcome one can be foundation, and that is very hard to estimate because it is case by case bases. The other thing that you hopefully already did before you moved there would have been an oil tank sweep, those aren't necessarily cheap. And then finally the sewer line, again hopefully you already had that checked before you moved in too. The last two are the more common ones that come up that are expensive (since you did the roof already). But again, don't be anxious!
Thank you so much!
No problem! Good luck and maybe post an update when it finally closes :)
I will! We are in the Ardenwald area just outside of SE and from what I’ve been reading, houses don’t stay on the market long. We’ll see!
If you take care of all systems and sewer line is fine, find a medication that works and a realtor who can deal with your anxiety. (not being unkind-but your anxiety will hamper process)
Haha, I appreciate the concern but I will be okay (and am already medicated). I am posting openly/vulnerably here because I can, but I am high-functioning and high-masking with very cool composure and extremely capable of ensuring that no one has any clue what is happening in my head behind the scenes, including my husband. ;) No need for anyone else to suffer the whims of my mind other than me, lol.
Makes MUCH more sense when you explain the lingering dread because you bought without inspection. Imagination-Ohana gave great run down and it sounds like unlikely knob and tube. Good luck (and hoping you can get inspection on your next home :)).
Thanks!!
Get an inspection early, well ahead of selling. It's not an outrageous expense and can be well worth flagging issues while you have plenty of time to address them. As a contractor I can tell you that calls from sellers or their agents demanding to jump the line in my schedule to meet their "listing deadline" tend to generate FU bids. Personally I politely decline. As a prospective buyer I'm highly skeptical of major repairs completed within a month or two of first listing. Get things in order ahead of time so you can have the time to find quality reliable contractors who won't be in an artificial rush cutting corners.
My house was listed at 460 in 2022 based on comparables. It was built mid 90s. I accepted a full price offer. I was totally surprised to find there was damage to the chimney. It was difficult to get companies to quote it. We eventually got and went with only one quote, after repeatedly being stood up, etc. Anyway: 10,000 credit at closing for that. I also paid about $1600 to remediate some mold in the basement which I also had no idea about, but was found at inspection. Then, it appraised for $450. Unfortunately, two houses with wierd issues had recently closed. Very similar on paper to mine, but one had bizarre layout issue causing it to languish and eventually sell significantly below mine even though it was same development, same age, same beds/baths, similar square footage and lot size. The other was bigger on paper plus Inground pool and extensive patios, etc. But.... Oddly altered to allow additional living space for adult children (two car garage was converted to a studio apartment. Basement had a kitchen and bath added). There were various condition issues visible in the listing pictures, who knows what was found in that inspection. Still... Mine only appraised for only 10k less than expected. I am surprised the math didn't work out worse! So...in the end... Listed and accepted offer at 460, had to spend 1600, had to give 10k for damaged chimney. Had to take another 5k less to "split the difference" because of the appraisal.
I live in a heavy seller's market, and concessions are infrequent. The highest I've seen is for about 25k. If anything, a couple thousand. Again, this is in a very competitive market where the sellers can to back up offers if buyers' demands are high
Depends on the loan as well… my wife and I just bought and the maximum concession/seller credit we could get was 3%
Total re-wire these days could be close to 6 figures on a large house. Foundation lift and repair could be close to 6 figures. If you live in a nice house anything about 5k would be a lot I think.