ETA: TK ate my paragraghs... Grrr...
So there has been some drama with the house we are buying and we are about 5 minutes from walking away from the deal (fortunately penalty free due to the contract we signed).
The drama started on Monday when we heard from the sellers about the closing date they wanted (we didn't specify a time frame on the contract which actually made the sellers quite happy). They wanted to close on Tuesday, May 20th but thy wouldn't let us take possession until Monday, May 26th (Memorial Day for those who don't have a calendar in front of them). They need FIVE days to move out of a house?!? FUCK NO.
It turns out we are the first domino that needs to fall to make several other transactions happen. The sellers of "our" house need the equity in the house to fund the purchase of their new house. The sellers of THAT house need the equity to fund THEIR next house. Somehow that leaves us getting shafted when we are the driving force that keeps everyone's deals alive.
We talked with our realtor and we offered three different options that we would find acceptable to show that we are willing to be flexible and not be the assholes that screwed it up for everyone. We offered to close on the same day as the other transaction (back to back closings) at the title company of the sellers choice and we would take possession no longer than 48 hours later. Option 2 was to close on the 20th like they originally requested, but again we take possession no longer than 48 hours later. The third option is the most inconvenient to us, it would be closing on the 20th and possession on the 26th but they would pay us $150/day to cover the mortgage and inconvenience along with a few other clauses to protect us.
We finally heard back from them today, while we were in the middle of the home inspection. When I saw the email from our realtor I just about turned into Hulk I was so angry. Our realtors had been going back and forth and the "compromise" is almost worse than their original plan. They propose we close on the 20th and now possession is push back to the EVENING of the 27th (meaning there is little/no chance of moving in until Wednesday, over a week after signing the papers), but they would pay us a pro-rated amount to cover the daily rate for the mortgage, but only for four days. HELL.FUCKING.NO.
Turns out the sellers signed their contract on the new house allowing the sellers of their new home to take 4 days to move out (dumb move on their part). Their problem is now OUR problem because it will supposedly take the sellers and additional two days to move out of "our" house. Can someone PLEASE explain to me how you can put your house on the market, find a buyer, have a minimum of 30 days between the contract and closing and then still need 4 days to actually move out?!?!?!?!?!
H was ready to walk at that point. I was pretty angry, but not ready to give up quite yet. The inspection wasn't horrible, but there are some potential big problems that need to be addressed (or they need to give us a credit at closing) or we are done. The gutters need cleaned and repaired, there are some minor grading issues that could lead to foundation issues down the road, several windows have issues (spring doesn't work, missing screens, won't open), some outside trim issues and several other minor issues we aren't even bothering to ask that they fix. There are some structural concerns in the basement where some walls are bowing and needs an additional beam (in addition to what is there already) and some bowing of walls that are finished so we can see if they have beams in place already.
The kicker is while there is nothing technically wrong with the HVAC both systems are original to the house (31 years old) so they will need to be replaced sooner than later. Assuming the deal goes through we will have a home warranty that will cover HVAC so we hope it kicks the bucket within the next 12 months. The roof is approximately 11 years old so in the next 5 years or so we will have to replace the roof. There are multiple layers up there so it will be more expensive because we can't put another layer of shingles on top of the existing ones. Conservatively we are looking at $15,000+ of necessary expenses (not counting some of the fun stuff we want to do, like adding a deck on the back next to the Florida room.
At this point I think we have a less than 33% chance of closing on this house. Our agent sent over our final offer on the closing/possession debate and said they had until noon tomorrow to respond. Even assuming they agree I doubt they are willing to fix all the issues the inspection turned up.
A very, very small part of me feels bad for them. I think a lot of these problems are being caused by the sellers of the other house, but they aren't helping matters. No matter what they are going to take a hit. When we present the inspection report to them they are going to be out a bunch of money or out buyers (which in turn puts their new house out of reach).
I'm probably too frustrated at this point to be really sad. I love(d) that house, but with every communication from the sellers/their agent I get a little more pissed off and that is leaving a lot of negative energy towards the property in general.