<p>DH’s comment as we’re standing in the back yard: “It’s smaller than I remember.”</p>
<p>Ain’t it always the case??</p>
<p>VH, how old is the furnace? Any chance you might want to replace it anyway? Although having it serviced in the meantime would certainly be a reasonable request. </p>
<p>The dishwasher thing is unusual, although it is not unheard of for non-toilet waste water–I think they call it “gray water”-- to flow into something other than a septic system. The backyard is a stretch, though. 
They probably added the DW later and didn’t want to go the full plumbing route. Of course, since you are planning to totally reconfigure the kitchen anyway, it doesn’t make much difference, does it?</p>
<p>Here’s a stranger one: I once talked to someone who had worked on a house belonging to to a famous (notorious?) author living in Weston. Apparently she had put an addition onto her house. After a while, the house started to stink horribly. Eventually they discovered that the contractor had not hooked up the waste line for the new bathroom in the addition to the main waste line, and the waste was simply pouring out into the crawl space under the addition! Apparently dealing with this required not only more plumbing, but MANY gallons of bleach poured into the crawl space. It wasn’t clear whether this was an oversight or malice.</p>
<p>I’ve never wanted a garbage disposal–not only do I compost, but I’ve always been on a septic system–but that sounds pretty minor. (Am I delusional? )</p>
<p>Well, we are going to redo the kitchen, but not until at least after the New Year. So I do want things to work from the get-go.</p>
<p>As for the furnace, I don’t know its age and I don’t know if it should be replaced. But I sure am not moving into a house without a working furnace! That’s the seller’s responsibility.</p>
<p>There were some other things as well; I’ve made a list and, after conferring with DH, I’ll be sending it to our realtor for her to send to their realtor. It’s all the things we’d like fixed. </p>
<p>Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine not attaching the waste system properly!!</p>
<p>This is exactly where the negotiations break down and a seller’s inspection report will make a LOT of sense. I ALWAYS advise my client and I did it to my own house as well, prior to put the house on the market, I would request an impartial inspection report, roof, home, sewer and termite, so you can fix it before the buyers come and show them the receipts on the fixes. Or the seller can sell it as is, let the buyer to fix it.</p>
<p>Maybe the owners were concerned about adding that dishwasher grey water to their septic? That is worth checking to make sure the septic fields and tank are sufficient to accommodate the dishwasher. We have had septic always and I would not live without a garbage disposal. </p>
<p>When did someone last live in the house? We don’t get our furnace “serviced” every year. But then again ours is working and not smoking!</p>
<p>The good news is that NO ONE else is going to buy a houses with a smoking furnace that doesn’t work, and a dishwasher with a hose out to the yard. Those really will need to be fixed.</p>
<p>“NO ONE else is going to buy a houses with a smoking furnace”</p>
<p>I am selling one with sub floor damages in the bath rooms, missing one of double windows, unfinished wood floor, cracked chimney etc. The estimated cost of repair on the inspection report is over 10K. There are plenty of bids(about 8) in a week, with only one open house. Compared to VH’s new house, that is not comparable.</p>
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<p>Excellent point! </p>
<p>We have encountered several situations where sellers were less than honest in their disclosures regarding septic systems: both location and size. It may be worth actually checking the town records of the current system. Where you live, the plans likely will be on file going fairly far back.</p>
<p>Well, if these sellers are being less than honest regarding the septic, then we’ve really got a problem! There is no septic; it’s city sewer!!</p>
<p>artloversplus, we had this same company inspect our house before we put it on the market. They found a few things that a smart buyer might have been p!$$y about, so we fixed them beforehand. Frankly, I was underwhelmed by the buyer’s inspector; I didn’t think he found much of anything worth mentioning. But we fixed everything they wanted.</p>
<p>This company also did the inspection on the Hoarder’s House, and the money we spent on that saved us from making a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad mistake.</p>
<p>Great news that it’s city sewers! Sounds like the owners were lazy and cheap when that dishwasher was installed! That is very odd! If its city water it is a matter of getting the plumbing fixed. How does the hose get outside…through a hole to the basement and then out? Sheesh!</p>
<p>I don’t know; I wasn’t there for that part of the inspection. DH was. I’ll inquire.</p>
<p>That dishwasher is the craziest thing ever. Dishwasher drains are so simple. Usually just a rubber hose that goes up under the counter and connects to the sink drain. Garbage disposals all have a little connector for a dishwasher connection. One rubber hose, one metal clamp – assuming the dishwasher is next to the sink.</p>
<p>If it’s not next to the sink, that’s probably the reason for the kludge.</p>
<p>I have a septic system and don’t have a garbage disposal. I know people who grind up bones and eggshells and everything else, and I don’t think that kind of stuff is healthy for it. Title V here in MA is a PITA, and anything you can do to extend its life is smart. For example I don’t wash paint brushes or rollers in the sink, I buy cheap ones and throw them out. I don’t use bleach in the laundry. Etc.</p>
<p>
This would be my guess as well.</p>
<p>
If you ever have to clean up a mess like this, lime (like what you put on your lawn) will work much better than bleach.</p>
<p>The DW IS next to the sink. I don’t get it either, but thankfully the seller will need to fix it.</p>
<p>Around here, a house that needs major repairs could easily get 10 bids all well above asking within less than a week, and it’s an intimidating environment for buyers to really push the issue at inspection because there are ten other willing buyers where you came from and very few houses on the market for you to compete over-- we MAY have gone on half a dozen showings this whole summer, and our house sold at 8k+ over asking within two days of being on the market. Our realtor told us to think hard before we ask the sellers to do anything but show up to closing, thankfully we didn’t have a reason to after all. If we had a funny dishwasher and a smoking furnace I am not sure what we would have done… but our choices probably would have been to take it and fix it ourselves (which I think MANY here would do given market conditions) or to let the deal fall through. I am glad things are not so bleak for buyers elsewhere! Fingers crossed your sellers get everything fixed and fixed RIGHT, VH! I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to have those things fixed before you purchase.</p>
<p>Actually, it’s my understanding that, according to state law, all appliances are required to be in working order – and I’ve got to believe that includes the furnace, although technically not “an appliance.” NO ONE would buy a house in Connecticut without a working furnace!!!</p>
<p>^^ Incidentally, I am countering to a CASH buyer who had signed the ASIS addendum 8K above the asking price. I will consider that over a buyer who put down 30% with loan contingency, closing in 30 days with the same price. Its a dog eat dog situation out there.</p>
<p>It’s an odd feeling, because on the one hand I am very relieved that the market here is turning and that things aren’t QUITE so bad for sellers anymore especially given how hard hit my area was by the economic downturn… but at the same time, it has NOT been fun to be a buyer this year. We really struck gold finding a home in good condition that was appropriately priced-- and they took our offer before any cash offers came in so thankfully we didn’t have to compete with that. I just hope the appraisal goes well, because if it doesn’t they know they can always just go back to the drawing board and it’s only a matter of time before a cash offer comes in. I am hoping the reason they accepted our offer so fast is because they are motivated to move quickly and they won’t want to have to start over… I drove by the other day and did notice their garage is full to the brim with boxes, and they were apparently there getting a moving quote when BF was there for the inspection. I’ll be holding my breath until we close.</p>
<p>Oy.</p>
<p>The house we are trying to buy tested very high for radon. Obviously the seller will have to fix this.</p>
<p>I googled, and the EPA recommends a number less than 4 pCi/L. This house tested at 5.8. </p>
<p>I’m assuming this isn’t a dealbreaker, since the seller will have to fix this whether we buy the house or someone else buys the house. But how long and complicated is the fix??</p>
<p>It really depends on the situation. Could be a very simple fix (improved ventilation) or a MAJOR issue. One of my friends had to do major work (if I recall, they had to dig under the house to create some flowing air under the house) to get her home to an acceptable level. At least it is the responsibility of the seller. Good luck.</p>
<p>While 5.8 is above the EPA limit, it is not really very high, or that dangerous, unless you smoke. There is nothing magic about the 4.0 level either. There is a lot of fuzzy math around the cancer rates you see published.</p>
<p>And the level typically drops by half with every floor you go up. Where will you be spending most of your time?</p>
<p>I have a system in my house, it is a sub-slab depressurization system. You seal all the cracks in the basement, drill a couple of holes through the basement floor, hook up 4" pipe to a fan which sucks the air out from under the slab, and exhaust it above the top of the house. </p>
<p>The sellers put in when a reading around 6 turned up. The noise from the fan drove me crazy at night. When it broke we never bothered getting it fixed.</p>
<p>I think the cost was around $1200, 20 years ago.</p>
<p>First thing I would do if I was the seller would be to do my own test.</p>