I think your REA conned you into your "best offer." I don't believe there was another contract coming in on this house. There, had to get that out of my head.

Don't trust your REA. Watch her every move. Come here for advice at every step. I'd check to see if the Title company is really scheduling an inspection. It's not normal and your REA is probably wrong AGAIN.

I don't think your worries are over yet. That whole house may need to be re-wired. Stay glued to your inspector and ask lots of questions. Pin him down with specific questions and his answers.

I don't have a good feeling about this at all. Your REA wouldn't get away with her attitude with me.

Dannysue, I totally agree. I feel we were conned into the first offer also and I dont trust her. If the house falls through we are definately done.
The whole title inspection thing bugged me, but i didnt know it was really off the wall either that she wanted the inspection to be added to escrow and them to contact the HI, but, the inspector we are using is a "business acquaintance" of my Dads, we choose him and not from their list, he is licensed here, been in business for a lot of yrs and I will be so far up his rear its not even funny
. My Dad is also going, he worked new construction all his life as a carpet installer, not electrical or trades, but has an electrical background from Air Force for close to 20 yrs, so he knows also what to spot/look for in case HI misses something...If the whole house needs rewired,and the sellers refuse to update on their own, we will cancel the contract and I will get an atty if need be...I will be back tomorrow evening with an update from the HI, ty all, you have no idea just how much it helps even to type it out...

Lucinda I know exactly how you felt at the thought of spending money on the HI when you thought the deal was going to fall through anyway. I am like you, hate to waste money like that if I can avoid it. In your position I would also think that not having a RE attorney was a good way to save money. After all, I am literate, I can read and comprehend. But I am lucky that my first experiences were in a state (NJ) that makes using an attorney mandatory. What I found out was that it was the best money I ever spent, and my agent was pretty good buthe tried to push me into situations that were in the best interests of making the deal but not necessarily in my best interest. In your situation where your agent seems either incompetant or untrustworthy or both I think you would find engaging an attorney to alleviate your concerns and suspicians and correct her mistakes invaluable and not as expensive as you might imagine.

After those experiences in NJ, when I bought in PA I felt comfortable using only an attorney as I did all the legwork myself and found a FSBO house so ended up saving money on the commision :).

Relieved to hear you are using your own HI and not one recommended by the realtors. A conflict of interest and only good for everyone but the buyers!

I'm glad that things seem to working out. I have a similar situation with the electrical upgrade here in NYC. My deal actually fell apart because the seller would not treat for the termites that were found in an inspection or upgrade the 60 amp glass fused electrical system to at least the minimum standard circuit breaker panel. Now, I'm told that the seller is planning to come back to me, since they received no other viable offers. Financing has been hard to come by for folks in this area where sellers are still asking more than what properties will appraise and most buyers don't have much cash to put down. Can anyone please help me find the local requirements for electrical service in NYC where there is a resale? I've been searching but can't find a citation. I want to be prepared when the seller comes back. I will also be asking them to lower the price. Thanks!

Good luck with your purchase. Be wary of the agent. I believe she may have tried to push up your offer price in order to pad her commission

Have you received a copy of the signed contract yet? You should have received that ASAP after the sellers signed. If you haven't you really should contact your agent's broker to let them know that you are not happy with their performance.

The Indiana HI licensing law dfines "client" as follows:

"IC 25-20.2-2-5 "Client"
Sec. 5. "Client" means an individual who hires or seeks to hire a licensed
home inspector to obtain a home inspection or home inspection report.
As added by P.L.145-2003, SEC.7."

That said, it you had gone with the REA's set up, the client of the HI would have been the title company...and NOT you...and you would have had no recourse against the HI if he "missed" something such as the wiring issue.

This seems to explain why the REA wanted you to wait until after the inspection to address the wiring with the seller...as you would have had no leg to stand on if the HI had (oh so conveniently) not cited it as a defect and/or safety hazard.

IMO...report the REA to the state board...as it seems that her desperation for a deal is SERIOUSLY clouding her ethics. You might want to report the title company AND the HI as wellas he had a responsibility to verify WHO the buyer was of the homeÂprior to agreeing to perform the inspection, in order that the contract agreement actually be WITH the buyerÂaka client...and the title compnay has no right to hire an HI for someone else. It sounds as if all 3 were in cahoots.

Glad to hear all worked out in the end....but the REA should not go without repercussion.

Sorry this may have been stated already, but as always I'm in a rush and can't read through all the posts...will come back later & do so though...

In the mean time wanted to post the first thing that popped into my head:

Are you buying this home cash? (you mentioned FHA I believe)

Is the contract contingent on financing?

If you can't get insurance, you should'nt be able to get a mortgage...who's going to loan money on an uninsured house?

No insurance, no mortgage, no financing, no deal - money back & you move on.

Do not use that agent in the future, make sure your friend knows of your experience, and informs the agent you were originally referred to of her experience. He/She should be mortified as it reflects on him/her. This will hopefully prevent anyone else from being referred to that agent.

Best of luck,

Nat

There is a registry for sex offenders.

Too bad there isn't one for unethical buyer's agents who will do ANYTHING to push a sale at their client's expense.

PLEASE report this agent to the state board so you can help prevent someone else from going through this kind of aggravation.

As to electric codes, it is the same all over the US It is the only code that is the same, but some cities/counties have added to the basic code. You can contect your local building official for this information. Hope things work out, but again get everything in writing. And be aware, Remax has already closed all their offices in the Phoenix AZ and who know where else. These people are independent contractors from Remax Contact your state board of RE for additonal help. By the way 100 amps for a house is too small, we just had a 250 amp put in GD house due to appliances and wiring which by the way had to be changed.

I agree with "get a real estate attorney". A good real estate attorney is not expensive and always justified when you are talking almost $100K.

If this deal does fall through due to lack of financing, codes issues or non-insurability, find a different Realtor. This person is playing the old tricks that generally give Realtors a bad-name. "Another offer coming in" indeed. *rolls eyes*

"As to electric codes, it is the same all over the US It is the only code that is the same, but some cities/counties have added to the basic code."

This is NOT correct.
MANY places have local codes, some are just modifications to the National Electric Code (NEC) but some large cities still have incompletely separate codes, and some places have NO codes at all.
The NEC is a RECOMMENDED code that MAY be adopted by whatever jurisdiction wants to use it.
NO ONE is REQUIRED to adopt it.

Whomever wrote the local code about upgrading and replacing fuses was in the pocket of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Fuses, in and of themselves, work fine.
They are still used in many applications, though not as Edison based screw in fuses to any great extent (some motor controllers still use these though).

Upgrading a house to the modern code will produce a pretty large bill for fishing new wires and installing all the required receptacles.
After the wiring comes the plaster repair.

Well the inspection is done. It was nice to sit around the house that long, felt like home....
Good news is the inspector says the structure is extremely well kept and sound. He is in love with the garage and was just nothing but praise for it. House roof is newer, full tear off with new decking, no evidence of any leaks at any time in the attic, and he advised that everything looked well.It was kinda creepy up there, but I am glad about one thing. What the inspector would do is go inspect whatever area of the house, and then come back and get us and then walk the whole area he had just done pointing out things whether it be bad/good or whatever and explaining its maintenace if any, its use etc. I want to say now before I forget,the man is as professional as my Dad said he was and he was extremely thorough.All appliances working order, no issues with anything in the structure.

But

The mechanicals.

THe electric service will have to be updated throughout the whole home to bring it up to code, GFI outlets installed in the baths and kitchen areas, more outlets added in all living areas. The reason the whole house will have to be brought up to code was explained to me this way, according to our cities rules, once a permit is "Pulled" is the word he used, and updates are done at the electrical box the whole homes wiring must be brought up to city "code" and the citys inspector comes out and checks the work that was done and gives the ok or makes them refix things...

Water heater is older than dirt and inoperable at this time. They turned it off and he could not get it to light.
Furnace is having issues. They obviously have someone working on it still, the panel was off it still. the thing is not working correctly, only working for a minute or two and then it turns off again, and restarts in 2 minutes or so..set for 75 and it was 66 in there. Its a 20 something yr old lennox pulse.

The shower downstairs doesnt work, gas to the stovetop down there are turned off (basement area-canning prep kitchen is what it was described as -in the bar area) and we couldnt find the main shutoff for the water anywhere. There is also wiring that was spliced into in the walls down there that is just sitting there, not in boxes or anything.

Found out two quirks with this home,one bedroom out of the four has NO heat source, no vent or anything which is just weird but common in older homes he said, weird, second, the main ceiling in the living rook, omg you guys, it has WALLPAPER on it, can you believe it???? Also had hoped for hardwoods under the 30 yr old carpeting but no such luck, its newer subfloor material

So we have to wait for the final report on paper tomorrow afternoon, REA already called the title company and they will order to get est for the wiring repairs from three contractors and we will present it to the sellers along with the furnace/ water heater. Or REA says, they will now have disclosure with these issues(their disclosure now says they no nothing at all about the property/estate) and will have to fix them for any buyer, so they might as well fix it for us so we shall see, its definately turned into a buyers market on homes like this and I honestly believe we are the only nibble they ever have had....

As far as the title company handling things, I called around and found out it is common, evidently they handle everything once we go under contract only thing they did as in the inspection was give the HI their address for the bill and we were/are listed as the customer and signed all the necessary papers.

We are going to ask for total repair and if the sellers balk we are fine walking away, we have already informed our agent to let them know its a take it or leave it situation, we arent bringing any more money to the table at all, we are at our top price esp with being within $2000 of appraised value and we also want all items repaired and re-inspected before closing and we arent backing off that at all.

Our REA and I had a nice long chat in the house today, evidently, now this can be an excuse or not, she is really confused as to what she has done with us already and what she hasnt. She said she could have sworn the day she went into the hospital she had given us a whole packet of papers which included the signed contract copy, info on the insurance the seller is providing and numerous other paperwork. She was honestly mystified at some of the things I said and it was obvious, DH said no one can be that good of an actress. She called me tonight when we got home and has since found the packet, it was sitting in her home in her closet, evidently when she got her bag out on her way to go to the hospital she sat it there...I do know the lady was extremely sick, and she is still pretty ill, so its a possibility that it happenned the way she said. She also called the LO today, there was an extreme amount of confusion between them also, some of the paperwork he was sent by her during the time she was so sick and drugged up is incorrect also...
So, here is where we are, I still feel if we do NOT close on this home, I will thank her for her time and we will move on. After seeing and talking to her, I would feel bad to sign anything against her,but, her broker boss, I dont have an issue with as she was the one ultimately in charge and is also the one whose signature is on every piece of our paperwork....
I have an appt for Tuesday with a local RE atty, he is only charging us his minimum one hour of billable time to look over our paperwork and give us a recommendation, so for less than $200 if we are chosing to proceed it will be worth it to us.
So we will here what the sellers want to do from this point either tomorrow or Friday and will keep you all updated. Thank you all so much for your help and ideas!!

"She called me tonight when we got home and has since found the packet, it was sitting in her home in her closet, evidently when she got her bag out on her way to go to the hospital she sat it there...I do know the lady was extremely sick, and she is still pretty ill, so its a possibility that it happenned the way she said. She also called the LO today, there was an extreme amount of confusion between them also, some of the paperwork he was sent by her during the time she was so sick and drugged up is incorrect also..."

BS.
Call the broker and DEMAND another agent.
Any decent agent has people who will cover when things happen.

Unless you can do the work yourself (both time and knowledge) you probably need to walk away from this one.

There will be another house.

well the broker has taken over us from here on out, we filled out the paperwork asking them to repair all the needed items. Broker very apologetic and said she will cover any costs we have if we end up walking away from contract...this just gets more bizarre by the momment and to be honest, would be happy to just go rent or something..

"Broker very apologetic and said she will cover any costs we have if we end up walking away from contract..."

Yeah, right. I'm sure they are 'really sorry' for all the grief they put you through.

Covering any extra costs you incurred through their incompetence is a lot cheaper than a lawsuit.

I hope things go well with your purchase but I thought I'd point out that wallpaper on the ceiling is not that uncommon in older houses. My mid-19th c house has several rooms with the original paper on the ceilings, and it is considered an old house "treasure". I had other rooms where there was wallpaper from the late 19th c (c.1895 or so) and it was hanging in festoons. I pulled that down (saved samples) and discovered it hid a web of fine cracks in the plaster - nothing serious, just time consuming to deal with as I wanted a smooth-looking ceiling. In the end I had new ceiling paper hung.

Molly~

It would have been better for you to choose the person(s) who will fix your problems rather than the seller.

Since your broker said that she will cover your expenses should you walk away from this house..... get it in writing, or you will never collect.

Well it seems we will be walking away from this home. OUr inspection came back with a water heater that is non functioning, a furnace that is malfunctioning and of course the outdated wiring. They lit the pilot on the water heater and are saying its good, they said the furnace was just the thermostat which they claimed to have fixed and the electrical they are offerring $1500 only to update it which in no way will cover the cost. We advised the realtor this is not acceptable and its all or nothing. So it looks like we are probably out the inspection money and fha appaisal money, we are not happy at this point at all, the fha appraisal was obviously not "right either" they should have caught electrical too small for the home and out of code, a water heater that was totally non functioning and a furnace that was cycling on and off every two minutes in 20 degree weather...but should be able to get our earnest money at least. I feel like we were screwed all the way around and sick to death as we have to be out of here by May...

gweekie- nothing is in writing with regards to our costs, so I going to go under the assumption we are totally out themoney at this point and consider it a very expensive learning experience for a first time home buyer

we are totally out themoney at this point and consider it a very expensive learning experience for a first time home buyer

No, that is not the way to think of it. Think of it as the best money you ever spent.

true graywings, better than a 97k mistake...

Now you know the pitfalls of playing the bartering game that your REA encouraged and that so upsets housesellers. You said in your original post that you were aware the furnace was 20+ years old. You also noted (and kudos to you for wanting to make this as a part of your original offer) that the electriacal would need to be updated. Both of these things were descernable without a home inspection and as seller I would expect that the offer made was with these faults taken into account.

But no. The game is to get an offer accepted to whet the sellers appetite and then try to negotiate a better deal through the inspection process, even for things that were obvious before the initial offer.

Next time go with your gut. Don't get sucked into playing the game that other buyers like to play and that pisses sellers off. Make your initial offers based on what you as an intelligent consumer can see about the condition of the house and its mechanicals. Then you will not be throwing your money away on an inspection when you get to that step.

Dianemargaret- I do have to say one thing to you, you make it sound like all buyers are bad and are trying to get something out of the sellers and take advantage of them. I also see it the other way around. Sellers who are trying to take advantage of buyers. Yes I saw a 20 yr old furnace that I was told was in proper working order, but it wasnt, they were trying to pass off a malfunctioning furnace as functioning and as far as the wiring, they had a realtor who I am sure since it is city law that told them they had to upgrade the electric, that it is all ON THEM, it has to be done prior to sale unless sold as is-where is. When someone advertises their home as FHA eligible I assume I can get a mortgage from the FHA, you cannot get a mortgage without a furnace, water heater and electrical all in proper working order unless you are buying a home that you are trying to fix up using a 203b loan. SO please, dont make it all on the buyers because sellers can be some of the most sneaky, devious people also and it "pisses" off buyers as well, you know your home better than a stranger, I feel you as a seller should have your home up to snuff and if it isnt, disclose it, dont make buyers go hunting for it, we shouldn't have to.

Well put, Lucinda. Why don't people just be honest?!
Good luck with the house hunting. Sounds like you got a good education with this first one and be glad it wasn't a 97K expense.

Well- I know you are still smarting from the emotional upheaval, the wasted time, the lost money, and the sheer anger...
But really- this house is not the house you are meant to buy. There is something bigger, more reasonably priced, and in perfect condition out there waiting for you. Try and shove aside all the negative aspects of this experience and feel the JOY of not having made a terrible, terrible mistake.
Instead of a few months of residual aggravation it could have been years in a money pit of a home where more things went wrong or fell apart every day. It would have sucked you dry emotionally and financially and eaten up years of your life.

Now you can avoid all that !! :)

One more point for the next time you find a home that you wish to purchase...common or not...do not allow the title company to find and hire your HI...or, arrange for your estimates. If you want these things done with your best interests in mind...take care of these issues on your own....talk to them, determine their experience, check references, etc.

There is no good reason to not take the control of all things involved for such a large investment as a home. After all...will the title company take responsbility if those they find/hire etc screw up?

Lucinda, I've been following this post since you made it and do feel for you. You were a 1st time home buyer that had a dog of an agent from the way it sounds.

We're selling a house built in 1972. The electric has been updated, we also just replaced the breaker panel for a little over $3,000 - not including wiring. We have baseboard heaters, the ones with hot water going through them and when we put central air in chose not to do heat.. to the tune of $5,000 IIRC. The furnace went in October, that cost us $6,000, plus we've also done the hot water heater.. so you're talking a nice chunk of change to fix what's broken. The extra outlets are no big deal, but if you have someone wiring, they may as well put it all in, it's cheaper in the long run.

It's a shame they wouldn't deal with you, especially since they will probably have to upgrade it anyway unless someone does pay cash. Depending on where you are, good luck to them to even sell it.

Sounds like it would have been a good house for you had they worked with you. While you knew going in what it needed, you ended up offering more to begin with due to the agent.. which I'm sure that whole thing left a bad taste in your mouth.

Good luck on your quest to find the house. I looked for over 6 months.. what you saw was pretty much what I saw. We almost took our house off of the market because what we are selling is much better then any I've walked.

Wow, OK didn't expect that response. I must have overestimated you. I don't know what the shelf life on a furnace is but I would expect a 24 year old furnace to need some attention and replacement sooner rather than later. I did pat you on the back for having good instincts about wanting to include the wiring in the original offer before you were talked out of it.

Perhaps I was a bit blunt but I thought I was doing you a favour by explaining the seller's mindset in order to help you in future avoid spending more money unnecessarily on deals that will fall through. But if you want to continue on down the path you are on go for it and you can at least have the comfort of knowing yourself a victim as you dole out that cash.
Good luck

dianemargaret wrote: "The game is to get an offer accepted to whet the sellers appetite and then try to negotiate a better deal through the inspection process, even for things that were obvious before the initial offer."

It's not a "game" to hire an inspector. Even if sellers were honest, they're not always aware of what's going on in their house and what's wrong with it. We've certainly been surprised on a few occasions, and we consider ourselves both handy and maintenance-oriented.

Some of the "obvious" things are very cheap and easy to fix, and some of the things that aren't "obvious" until the inspector discovers it are dealbreakers.

I think Lucinda totally did the right thing and operated from a very straighforward and smartminded POV.

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful advice and hand holding in this matter, it was much appreciated. We are signing the request to rescind contract today and will go back to beating the mls again to find the best home for us. We are getting a new mortgage broker and will be interviewing realtors this week. So overall it will be a fresh start. I have learned alot of things in this experience so I feel we will be walking in a little more prepared.
Dianemargaret, I just wanted to address your last post please. I don't know what you are getting at, I stated that sellers can be as sneaky as buyers and that I feel that the sellers should represent their home honestly and upfront. I see a 24 year old furnace and you tell me it works fine, well maintained, yes I expect it to work a year or at least be operational when I move in, not discover that it doesn't work. Just as I know that according to my city the wiring must be brought up to code before the property changes hands, which again, is on the seller. I at least hope to be purchasing what the seller is reperesenting they have,I make my offer on these representations, not the repairs that should be included,I shouldn't have to read between the lines, and I am not a HI, I hire one to find the things the seller doesn't know about or has "forgotten". I am not looking at as is-where is homes....I feel if thats what a seller has they should represent that and not try to possibly pull a fast one and get a buyer that takes the seller at their word like my Father said used to be done.

I also take great offense to your personal comments that were directed towards me and ask that you please refrain from doing so. The whole " you can at least have the comfort of knowing yourself a victim as you dole out that cash" was very uncalled for. I don't look at this as a game, this is far from it for us, I have to be able to live in the home I purchase and make sure it safe for my 2 small children, so I am hoping against hopes that the sellers being honest and my HI catches everything else and I damn well will request repairs be done, thats not a game, thats a reality.
Again, I am sorry that you feel all buyers and their agents are out to get you, if I felt that sellers were like that we would be renting at this point....

Lucinda,
I know this was a horrible experience for you, but try to look at it as a wonderful lesson. It could have ended much worse and you might have bought a money pit. I've bought 4 houses since 1979, and learned a lot each time. Hang in there, this house just wasn't meant for you. You'll find the perfect house and will forget all about this one.

Good luck with your new search, Lucinda.

Just wanted to say RE an old furnace: The first house I bought had a furnace that was at least 20 years old. It used the kind of filters that you cut off of a roll. It was a high-quality brand, it worked fine, and was still working fine when I sold the house 13 years later. So you never know.

Also, replacing a water heater is a pretty minor expense. The wiring business is what can get very expensive.

disneyrsh, here is the quote from the original post that I was referring to:

"She advised we should lowball the offer, bring it in at 87.9 like the one across the street and then once under contract to then negotiate for the wiring, so DH agreed against my wishes saying she is the pro you aren't."

You don't think this is game playing? Then I told the OP that she would have been better to trust her instincts than to be talked into the kind of game playing this approach represented

Lucinda you have said twice now that you were told the furnace was in good working order. Since we are talking about your knowledge before you made the offer I wonder who told you that. Did you meet the sellers before you made the offer? Did they give you the tour? Did you question them about the viability of a 24 year old furnace or did they just blurt out that it worked fine?

And if you now feel it is reasonable that a 24 year old furnace is perfectly capable of being fully functional why do you now disbelieve them when they tell you it was fixable?

Where are all the posters on here who are always talking about how buyers of used homes are unrealistically expecting them to be presented like new homes?

Oh my, here we go. Let me address this that you pulled from my op.
"She advised we should lowball the offer, bring it in at 87.9 like the one across the street and then once under contract to then negotiate for the wiring, so DH agreed against my wishes saying she is the pro you aren't."

But, you read further, we did not do that, we gave them our BEST offer,97k. Appriasal came in at 98,700, I consider that a full price offer.

As far as the furnace, I asked about the furnace as they gave no disclosure whatsoever. We were informed on Dec 15th, the day we offerred on the home that they had the heating people out to repair the furnace as it was not working and that it was repaired after fixing a "part" and was in good working condition- this was relayed from the listing agent to our agent. We were then told on the 19th that they were calling the furnace people back out that the furnace was again not working again properly. We were told the day before inspection that again, it had been given a clean bill of health and was working again. Inspection comes Jan 2, its short cycling and wont get it to temp in the home. We ask for our repairs, they get the list on saturday and they tell our agent on Sunday all things have been fixed besudes the electric.So yes, I am very apprehensive about the furnace, who wouldnt be?? I am not buying an as is where is home.

And this:
Where are all the posters on here who are always talking about how buyers of used homes are unrealistically expecting them to be presented like new homes?

I am not expecting this home to be presented as a new home. I know exactly what I expected, a well maintained home. Non functioning furnace, wiring that is against code and an inoperable water heater is not considered well maintained.I am not asking for a new furnace, I want one that is operational and that our home warranty will cover.

This is what the description of the home is:
MOTIVATED SELLERS WILL ENTERTAIN ALL OFFERS! VERY WELL MAINTAINED 4 BDRM, 2 FULL BATH ALL BRICK FAMILY HOME. KITCHEN COMPLETE WITH ALL APPLIANCES, UTILITY ROOM WITH WASHER & DRYER. PLENTY OF LIVING SPACE WITH THE LARGE LIVING ROOM AND DEN. MOST OF 1ST LEVEL IS 9 FT CEILINGS. UPPER LEVEL, 4 BDRMS ALL WITH 9 FT CEILINGS, ATTIC FAN, WALK OUT REAR PORCH FROM 2 OF THE BDRMS. LOWER LEVEL FINISHED FOR ENTERTAINING WITH WET BAR, KITCHENETTE COMPLETE WITH
sorry its chopped, its all I have of the mls page.

Across the street is the exact home except it is not brick and does not have a 1970s finished basement, its a gut rehab with all new mechanicals, wiring etc, the listing price is 88900 right now. I feel we are paying top end what the home is worth imho.
BUt you are just going to love this, we recieved a call from our agent tonight, LA called them and the sellers ask we hold our rescind until tomorrow, they have contractors coming in to give them bids to repair the items needed. They NOW think our requests are reasonable. I really want to get off this roller coaster....

But, you read further, we did not do that, we gave them our BEST offer,97k. Appriasal came in at 98,700, I consider that a full price offer.

I read your whole post. Your 97K offer also did not contain the expectation that they replace the whole electrical system. That is why the portion about negotiating for the wiring after the offer was accepted was highlighted, because that was the point.

As for the description of the house I guess that is why people go to look at houses instead of relying on the rosy descriptions composed by realtors.

I really want to get off this roller coaster....

I'm sure you do. I wouldn't be surprised if the seller, who for all we know never owned a house before inheriting this one, feels the same way.

How in the world did your Real Estate Agent convince you to up your offer from 87.9K to 97k after she just told you that the furnace was in need of repair?

Diane, honey, have a glass of wine and stop picking on Lucinda, she's doing her best...

The OP upped the offer because her agent told her there was another offer coming in. She wrote that she wanted to include the wiring update in both the first offer they discussed (87.9K) and the one they eventually made (97K)but was overruled by her agent and her husband. So it seems to me that she doesn't want to play games, just wants to make a reasonable offer with her expectations clearly stipulated. Since she is a first time buyer, I am not surprised that she initially went along with the advice of her agent. I'm sure she expected that her agent would be competent and give good advice. It is fortunate that she is more trusting in her own judgment now, and has received some support and good advice from the more experienced buyers here.

So I agree, stop picking on Lucinda!

Well if she is mad enough at me to start asserting herself with her husband (which may not be easy) and any RE agent they work with and becoming part of the solution to the lament that no one is straightforward anymore like they were in the old days instead of letting herself be pulled along by others I am satisfied. Sympathy is all well and good but at some point it becomes debilitating.

Why not buy the remodeled place across the street for $10k less?

I think Lucinda's own instincts have been good. But I know how hard it is when you have to negotiate w/ your HUSBAND, and then the agent, and THEN the sellers.

The hardest negotiations I've ever had were w/ DH when we were trying to sell. And I still think he didn't listen to me when he should have.

I agree with what Talley Sue said. The toughest part of buying and selling for me was dealing with dh.

I just noticed something else. The OP mentioned getting a home warrenty. From all that I have read on here they are not worth the paper they are printed on! Do a search for home warrenty and you will see what I mean.

Ty to the almost everyone on here for your support, I really appreciate it so much and have learned so much from this whole experience.
Last update, we have rescinded the contract, the seller has decided not to fix the wiring, and after meeting with her LA and my REA she will not budge. She has an emotional attachment with the home we were now told, we dont think she really wants to sell it. Her own LA told her she was being silly, she wouldnt even let the contractors in to get a bid on the electric..so we have moved on and to be honest I am extremely happy at this point. It has gotten to be too much for me.
To try to answer some questions, the gut rehab across the street is still in the running with us, only problem is we think the rear yard is too small for the kids the way it is fenced and the placement of the garage.That was the only reason we didnt offer on it, the garage is smack in the middle of the back yard!!
As far as my DH, Yes I did defer to him when it came time to write the offer, he is the sole breadwinner here and I knew how much he wanted the house,we both wanted the same result, I just let him take the lead on this at the time.
We are new to the whole homebuying thing,so it was a bit stressful at the time.

Diane- sigh, Im sorry you feel the way you do about me, my thread is now done so I guess you can go find someone else to "pick on". I never asked for sympathy nor did I feel I was a victim, I was looking for advice which is what this forum is here for. Please think about how you post to people, I am not new here, just new to posting. If I were a first time poster you would have already run me off.
Thank you all, we will be looking at new listings in the next few weeks and hopefully will have good news to share soon!! Don't give up first timers, there is home out there for us somewhere!!

Lucinda, you sound like you have a good handle on things, I think by using your gut and your head the way you did on this you'll be fine.

I just noticed something else. The OP mentioned getting a home warrenty. From all that I have read on here they are not worth the paper they are printed on! Do a search for home warrenty and you will see what I mean.

Do you have any direct experience to back up your statements? I know several people who have used home warranties with good results. My mother has had very good experiences dealing with a home warranty company

Nope, just exactly what I wrote, from all I have read on here over the years

Terriks, do a search, there was a home warranty post back in the summer IIRC. From what I remember reading it depended on what company was used.

To try to answer some questions, the gut rehab across the street is still in the running with us, only problem is we think the rear yard is too small for the kids the way it is fenced and the placement of the garage.That was the only reason we didnt offer on it, the garage is smack in the middle of the back yard!!

She may eventually get what she wants for it, especially if hers is that much more desirable then what is out there. It may take a while but someone may come along that will plan to stay in the house and not care about spending more.

Good luck on your house hunt!

Sorry it didn't work out Lucinda, but at least you learned a few new things along the way which can only assist you in buying another house. On forums, there are always going to be negative posters, just the way it is. I guess they feel they should share their grumpiness with others. Best of luck in the home search