Cb, that is very stressful. I would not give them any credit for “repairs” - I would put $$ in escrow to be paid to the repair co directly. They will pocket the dough and laugh.
"That crack was there when I bought the place, it’s decades old, I didn’t cause it. I’m not paying to do anything about it.
You can’t expect an 80 year old house to be perfect. If you are no longer interested, I’ve got two backup offers. What’s it going to be?"
If only. 
cb, I am very sorry for all the stress and frustration during this process.
Sending you a virtual glass of Cakebread wine!
Hah! Those buyers would faint if they saw MY house, or the prior one!
Sounds as if they are flatlanders who are freaked out my the earthquake issues. Perhaps they shouldn’t buy in CA at all.
Honestly, if the alarmist guy they had in the first place had to admit that he didn’t know what he was talking about, maybe they should reconsider getting hysterical based on his views.
I am very close to Notrichenough on this issue.
I am always dealing with very old homes with 1930ish foundations. These are very rare in San Diego area. The funny thing is that people swarm all over these houses because of the charm. They are very hot commodities. Yet, they continue to freak out because the foundations were not built to current earthquake code. For heaven’s sake… I replaced all the piers and posts to new standard. We inspected the stem wall carefully and found one crack. This crack is located under the fireplace area, NOT on the slope downside of the house. It is natural that there might be some cracking in this area because of the way fireplaces/chimneys were built in those days - not strapped to everything around it.
I would be very worried if there was a lot of cracking happening on the street side of the house which is the slope area. Solid as a rock on that side - that is the side that would show if there was soil or slipping issues.
As the City Inspector said… this house has been standing solid for 80 years, it’s not going anywhere (when he saw all the craziness the Structural Engineer made us do). Every wall and every angle of this place has been strapped, anchor bolted, bracketed, shear walled… you name it. And inspected by an independent special inspector for all that work.
I just cannot take any more of this… I cannot imagine how a regular homeowner deals with this.
Cb, stand your ground (if you can financially). If they really want the house, they will have to take it or leave it.
So, I am expecting a request for credit. I have instructed my listing agent to contact both of the agents who have buyers in the wings. “We are getting close to our contingency release date and we are wondering if your buyers are still interested in the property? Would they like to come back and do a more detailed review of the property?”
Yes, I believe it might be an issue of out-of-state buyers worried about earthquakes. It’s funny that everyone from out of state worries about earthquakes, but those of us who have lived here a long time don’t really even think about it. I’m more worried about extreme rainfall and mud slides - those happen more often.
And, since I’m ranting 
The Buyers are choosing to ignore a couple of key pieces of data.
When the original inspector came up from under the house and gave his report he noted to them “This house has anchor bolts for the base plates into the foundation. I have never seen this before in a 1930s house. Noone installed anchor bolts until about 1938” (and then he proceeded to question what year the house was actually built).
The Chimney inspector noted that there was a full clay oval tube flue inserted inside the brick and mortar fireplace chimney. He commented “This is very rare for a 1930s house. Only military or very wealthy installed clay inserts to protect the fireplace”.
And, the buyers have been informed that this house was built with true 2 x 4 solid Redwood studs and headers and very thick plaster. Somewhat common in those days, but very expensive.
A smart buyer would take those clues and know that the original house was not shoddy - built really well at extra expense for it’s day.
Try finding a 1930s charming house built to those same standards somewhere else in the neighborhood!
I like notrichenough’s approach…and definately contact those potential back up offers. Sounds like buyers remorse or earthquake fright or both…
Right after I left CC I looked at the local news and ran into this:
I wonder where in Chicagoland the buyers are from! Lake in the Hills is about 45-50 miles NW of the Loop.
@coralbrook, I think you should write your agent this information, along with notrichenough’s comments about getting the other two prospective buyers back in to look more thoroughly at the place. Then, tell your agent orally to feel free to share your written communication with the Chicago couple. This should encourage them to either fish or cut bait.
I agree with you, CB- time to get the backup buyers in line. Did the current buyers have contingencies in the contract? Werent you considering selling as is? Their inspector has screwed things up for you. Maybe its time to tell this family you are moving on if they arent moving forward. My DS (who is closing tomorrow, I think) had to put a no contingency offer in in Nor Cal. That market is so ridiculously hot.
Reading cb’s update, it’s another instance where the “Don’t Like” button would be helpful. Count me on the agree list of those suggesting it’s time for a new strategy that involves inviting new offers. Good luck
Also, cb, think how much you want to stress over this. IMO, it is probably the case that the buyers just want to dot their i’s and cross their t’s. I don’t think they will walk away from the purchase (although the credit will be annoying). In other words, don’t knock yourself out to please them. Let their inspectors figure out what’s what and earn their keep.
And breeeeeeeeeathe!!
Today I am meeting the Structural Engineer at the property for the inspection (whatever he is inspecting). I want to be able to walk him through the detailed building plans and all of the structural engineering retrofit that has been completed on the property. Of course this won’t be necessary if he is only looking at the one crack - to the tune of $750 he is charging for his inspection and report.
They have until Monday to ‘release’ the inspection contingency so I think they are just taking their time to review everything. However, the issue for the Seller (me), is that this is a 21 day escrow. It is unreasonable to submit a list of repairs on Monday night (they still have not submitted a Request for Repairs, they are holding off until the last day) and then expect the Seller to be able to repair everything by Thursday or Friday (when they will send in Another inspector to look at the repairs).
My carpenter left town because I had promised him he could go visit his elderly Mother as soon as the project was done. We had to get everything possible repaired before he left. I really don’t have someone just sitting here waiting for that repair list.
I hope you, CB, are not paying these “inspections”! If so, time to get another buyer, this time they have to release all the contingencies before they sign the contract, after all these disclosures.
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer but do you trust your real estate agent to go and really try hard and get the back up offers or is she going to just try and get you to pay for the credit they may ask for? Has she ever represented both you and a buyer before and if so has it gone the way you want it too? I am starting to think it may be becoming a conflict of interest for her to get the best deal for YOU.
When we sold our last house, there was some plumbing issue the inspector found…a $1000 one. We talked to our agent, and said we would Not give a credit…period. But we would pay 1/3 of the cost of the repair directly to a mutually agreed upon plumber. 1/3 also needed to be paid by the buyers, and 1/3 by the selling agent who was not ours. Otherwise, we were declining. We also had two back up offers.
In the end, we paid 1/3, buyers paid 1/3, and the two agents split the other 1/3.
Punchline. The plumber thought the repair was completely unnecessary. There were NO leaks. But he did the work anyway…and collected his $900 or so.
Besides, you are doing this backwards. Before get listed, you will have home and termite done on your penny and hand it to the buyer asking them to accept the reports and waive all contingencies.