Anxiety!!! (Not LIW related)

[bobbin]

My SO and I had a look at our finances a few weeks ago and decided that we would be able to afford to buy a new house but for a few reasons decided to delay until November. Then last week we found some houses on the net that we would be able to afford despite those reasons and we decided that we would go look at them and if we found one that we liked we would make an offer.

We found one we liked and we made the offer subject to finance and subject to a building inspection.

The offer was accepted and we exchanged contracts yesterday. The inspection was this afternoon. The inspection found that the house had an asbestos roof (very common in older houses in Australia) so the asbestos would need to be removed at some point and that whilst there was no evidence of termites or termite damage, there was a risk of termites as there was some dampness in the bathroom, so the bathroom would have to be renovated. I only received this information from the inspector orally, we will be receiving a written report tomorrow morning.

So I am very anxious as:
1. although the inspection was a condition of the contract, the wording of the contract appears to be that we have to make up our minds during the cooling off period which ends tomorrow night, giving us half a day from when we receive the report to decide what to do.
2. The cost of the roof will add at minimum $5000
3. I now face the task of trying to renegotiate the price
4. I have an exam worth 70% of my grade next Wednesday and I have not been able to study for it for the last two days, I had time this afternoon but I have been so anxious that I haven't been able to concentrate. Not to mention that we only moved into the place we are renting at the start of March which meant that I wasn't able to study at the start of the semester either which has really affected my grades. AND I need to get an assignment remarked but probably won't have time to go into uni to see the course coordinator about it because of this.
5. I haven't been able to sleep properly since we decided to make an offer on it on Sunday.

Our current plan is to continue with the contract, but ask for a $5000 reduction in price to help cover the cost of the necessary work to the roof. We had planned to renovate the bathroom anyway so that is not a big deal. the purchase price wasn't that much for the area and it really is a lovely old place (although a bit daggy inside). We really fell in love with it and we have been looking forward to it being ours since we saw it first.

Aargh!!!

Do any of you have any experience with renogiating a price on property after an inspection? Any advice would be helpful at this point!

 

[bobbin]

And my dad just called to tell me that my grandmother had a heart attack last night.

Only a minor one, but she is quite old and very frail and from what he was saying they are not sure if they will be able to stabilise her.

 

[bobbin]

Just got some more information and they have no idea what is happening at the moment but she seems ok, is awake, has no pain at the moment.

Doesn''t appear to be any immediate danger (from the way my dad was talking, it seemed as though there may have been a chance she may not survive the next few days)

Feeling a little bit better but still really emotional and anxious.

 

[gwendolyn]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother (although it's good that the most recent news is better than what you initially heard). I hate being stressed about major life changes while having to do school work too! Believe me, I know exactly what you're going through! If it really is stressing you out hugely and you aren't totally convinced this is the best option house-wise, wait to buy a house. You were originally going to wait anyway, so if buying now is turning out to be full of more negatives than positives (I don't know if it is--I know you're only focusing on the negatives now because you are stressed, so it's an honest question), then I'd say pass on this house. There will always be other opportunities later. If you are convinced that this is the house for you guys, then see if you can work out some sort of a schedule where you allocate your time between school work and house stuff.

*hugs* I hope your grandma feels better very soon!

 

[Deelight]

Bobbin sorry to hear about your Nan I hope she gets better really soon.

As for the house as someone that has had termites you want to make sure you have enough money to fix that bathroom really really quick, did they inspect the yard as well for nests? We had termites in our for a year (the fast eating variety) before we found out luckily they did not do any structural damage so we were all good but it was a massive hit in the pocket, termidore is expensive.

For the roof if the asbestos is in good condition chances are they won''t negotiate but if it is in need of removal as it is starting to go they might be more open to it. I would use that and the bathroom as leverage personally.

I say give it a shot but depending on the market in the area your looking at it could be a hit or miss, the housing market is fairly unsettled at the moment (I don''t know what state your in) but you might have to be prepared to walk away.

Have you got quotes for the bathroom? It maybe more then you expect as well