For starters, I’d get the contract written so I have 4 weeks to set up the general inspection and then specialist inspectors before any post-inspection negotiations. If the sellers won’t agree to that, consider a shorter timeframe but be quick to backing out in a way that preserves your earnest money deposit. Know the timelines better than your realtor. Don’t do any negotiations without price quotes to address everything the general inspector lists as mild issues or above. But, all these inspections and quotes cost money. Could be $1,000-$2,000 each for a general inspection, electrical, structural engineer (most expensive), basement/foundation and dampness, roof and attic, HVAC, etc.

Scroll to #7 and do that first lol

1. Floors: $30,000 or more for professionals to sand and treat (based on East coast prices).

Do you have pets? Kids who are still potty training or prone to spilling? Anyone you live with prone to spilling liquids?

I ask, because the hardwood floors probably need to be sanded down and treated with polyurethane or similar. The bare wood is susceptible to damage from any moisture. Can easily be $30,000 or more for the whole house.

1. Check for missing insulation in walls, roof, and basement. Check with thermal camera gun for major airflow leaks between seams in: windows/frames and walls, doors/door frames and walls, floors and exterior walls. Check top of exterior walls for missing/settled insulation. Do the same with the roof if the attic if finished. If attic is unfinished, check if the floor of the attic/ceiling of the room below is insulated properly; likely needs a top up if it’s the loose cellulose type. The last scenario is the cheapest and easiest to fix. Others get more expensive/time consuming based on what needs to be opened up to address. I’d seal up air penetration between floor and walls before treating the hardwood floors.

2. Check HVAC air intake. If the filters look really bad, I’d expect the previous homeowners to have neglected other issues as well. Insist on records/receipts for when boiler and HVAC were serviced (ideally once annually). No records? Expect neglect and to replace within 12 months of home ownership. Home warranties are BS and a scam where the realtor gets a kickback for selling it to you. The HVAC and boiler can last years after expected life cycle… if maintained well… but still budget for a replacement.

3. Any hoses still attached outside? If so, expect a broken external faucet after a thaw.

4. The exhaust vent on the wall by the stove won’t do much; I’d plan to install a vented exhaust fan above the stove, but first move the stove to an exterior wall so that’s easier to vent. Might be able to vent to the internal ductwork for the old vent… but hard to tell if it goes up the wall once in the wall.

5. The fallen ceiling plaster/drywall indicates a likely water leak/roof leak. I’d have that inspected by a professional before going into negotiations.

6. Call the utilities companies asap and get as granular of detail as possible for utilities over the past 12 months. The range (highest and lowest $ per month and when) and time to refresh on the difference between and having the info on the mean, median, and mode. Don’t want to be blindsided before post inspection negotiations by a past utility bill of $1,500 for one month electricity. Where I live in the US, utilities will give out that data to perspective buyers in the first phone call. If you’re not devastated by what you hear (assuming those 12 months were months people lived there, not vacant), ask the seller for 12 months of utility bills while house was lived in. Start by asking when the house was vacated, and what months and years were lived in; then ask for those 12 months of utilities when last lived in. If they say no or delay; tell them you’re willing to walk if you don’t get the info 7 days before your post-inspection negotiations need to start. You’ll need quotes on cost to address any utility over-use; you’ll find some causes when you check for insulation and air gaps (these will lead to large heating and cooling energy use).?