Ask for Disclosure of any repairs over $250 made in the last 90 Days!

With all the bank forclosures and house flipping going on these days, buyers really need to be aware of the recent history of the home.  In many cases, extensive work had to be done to a home prior to putting it back on the market.

The romance of buying a remodelled home that appears to be in move in condition conjurs up the vision of a drunk guy taking home a beautiful woman from the bar only to realize in the morning that she didn't look the same without a corset, Miracle Bra and make up!  

I just showed one yesterday that was very intriguing.  It was bought at a trustees sale for $110K.  They did a "fair" job applying their lipstick to that pig but the walls looked like an 80 year old woman had applied her makeup without any foundation and thought she had silky skin again.  

Their solution to the leaking roof on the covered patio was to just saw it off down to the wooden deck.  You would have thought they could have at least cut the wood straight so it didn't show as obvious.

When they repainted the home, they didn't match the texture on the walls where the holes were.  They painted over the settlement cracks and hoped they wouldn't show with new paint.  When they put the old outlet switch covers back on, they didn't even bother to try to make them look straight.  (probably done by the same guy that cut the roof off the patio after a few beers).

I called my favorite senior title officer (my wife) and found out that the home still had over $20,000 in IRS liens on the home.

I think it is time the industry required disclosure of all substantial repairs (over $250) in the past 90 days.  Maybe that way, the new buyers would know about the pet urine soaked sub floor before they steam cleaned the new carpet and pulled that old stuff out of the subfloor back into carpet and pad!

Here in Idaho, we have Mechanics liens that can be filed within 90 days of completion but that only covers you if someone that worked on the home didn't get paid.  If you are planning on buying a home that obviously had extensive repairs, wouldn't you like to know a little about the painter, plumber, contractor, etc., in case their reputation with the Better Business Bureau is less than beautiful?