It's been quite an adventure for us! I'm glad your nephew spotted that issue. I'll do a lot more vetting the next time we need a home inspector. The particular one we hired just came recommended by our real estate agent. We were in a hurry to get it done, so the seller didn't move on to the next buyer, so we agreed. There was a long list of things the inspector missed—expensive things that we could have used to negotiate a lower price.
It's good to have contractors you know and trust because it's a total crapshoot dealing with any individual or company for the first time. Online reviews are basically useless now as so many companies hire services that will write them hundreds of positive online reviews for a fee.
Most days I take this all in stride. Occasionally it feels as if it's too much, depending on my general mood and patience level. Thankfully, we've had both the time and money to deal with it. I tell my wife all the time that I'd have no idea what we'd have done if we had to work outside of the home. I don't think there's an FMLA clause for a troublesome home. : )
We just about have the house renovated as we wanted it, aesthetically. We only have the master bath to renovate and we plan on waiting another couple of years to do that.
That, I learned in retrospect, in not a good idea.
The real estate agent and home inspector can be quite cozy. It is in the interest of the agent for the inspector to give a house a clean bill of health. We hired our inspector independently. When we showed up and it appeared he was friends with the agent I was a little skeptical. I'm only one paycheck for him, one job. That agent is key to many jobs for him, so he is not going to be motivated to find issues with a house she/he is selling. Anyway, that's what I think.
When we sold our house (the one we moved from in order to buy our current house), it needed work, but there were no hidden issues. No pipes, heating system, electrical, roof or foundation. The man who bought it wasn't interested in the cosmetics. He said he was going to get a contractor in as soon as we left. Turns out, that was his business.
Here's the house in '23 before we sold it.
And here's the house with workmen crawling all over it after we sold it
We were lucky he wanted to live in that neighborhood and that he could do the work himself (his company, anyway). If not for that we probably wouldn't have gotten the asking price and probably wouldn't have been able to afford the house we have now.
One of the hardest things I've done in my life, selling that house :))
That's all good advice. We're definitely going to be more choosy the next time. I think the next time I'd like to buy some land and build a brand new place. I'd even consider some of the newer pre-fab buildings that are delivered onsite.
What was the real estate market like when you sold the house? It was a sellers market when we bought this place. We had to compete with so many other potential buyers for every home we made an offer for in 2024. It's such a nerve-wracking process—especially when you're trying to time the selling of the old home and buying of the new home. We were extremely lucky both times we've sold (2015 and 2024). The second time our condo sold in less than 24hrs.
I would say the market was tight, both selling and buying. Real estate agents were having a tough time. But all real estate is local. We had to know our market when we sold, had to figure what our advantage might be...since the house was not a gem. Our greatest asset was our school district, which at one point actually came out #1 in the country. We also had a nice corner location--curb appeal. The man who bought it had a two-year-old boy. He said he was buying the house for his son. We were lucky. Sold on the first weekend, and I believe it was overpriced.
Irony of the situation: US News just came out with rankings. Our old school district came out #41 in New York state. No idea what the national ranking is, but it can't be good. Crazy luck. Wheel of fortune.