Repainting over lead paint does not stop it from being a problem. All lawyers of paint that may contain the lead must be removed to assure there is no problem.
I don't know what the law says must be done but I would bet the FHA does have a recommended procedure. Have you asked them what needs to be done? They are the ones you need to make happy. You may need to go over the inspector's head.
Did he state why he rejected the house?
If so, have you corrected the problems? If not, have you asked him why?
Very unlikely that the property "has no lead paint." It may have no *exposed* lead paint, but if it was built before 1978, it's very unlikely that it has none at all.
Sounds to me as though the buyer may have changed his mind about buying the house, and is using the inspection as an excuse to back out of the transaction. Check the purchase agreement, preferably with the help of an attorney experienced in real estate law. Such contracts typically (in my state, at least) allow the buyer to unilaterally cancel the agreement if the inspection discloses a "major defect". In my opinion, lead paint that is not peeling, checking, or flaking is not a "major defect" -- but I am not a lawyer, which is why I suggested you should consult one. If you've hired a real estate agent to sell the home, the agency almost certainly has a lawyer on retainer, if not on staff, who would I'm sure be happy to explain to the buyer (or the buyer's lawyer) the difference between "major" and "minor" defects.
Afaict there is no contract w/ the seller at this point...he apparently has an offer but that's no contract...
In general, one is incredibly shortsighted to undertake a major transaction w/o the services of appropriate counsel...
Here in NJ you are considered a fool to buy/sell real estate without an attorney. I don't know where you are at but here's how it works in NJ. 1.Seller places home for sale at a price. 2. Buyer likes house , makes offer. 3. If offer is reasonable, contracts are drawn up with estimated closing date, guarantee of C.O. if necessary , buyer agrees to secure funding, buyer can inspect home and reject for defects and so forth. 4.Attorneys review contract make changes if necessary. 5. Buyer pays for inspections . 6. List of deficiencies is presented to seller. 7. Seller agrees to fix some or allof them. 8. Buyer agrees or walks away. 9. On closing day money changes hands and papers are signed.. Of course the lender can reject a home with major defects and therefore buyer cant buy and deal is dead. Just because you got played doesnt mean everyone is like you. I've sold and bought several houses. I've rejected buyers for wanting too much and walked away as a buyer when seller wouldn't fix things. . My current home is 1935 vintage. Sure there may be some lead paint under layers of latex. When I sell it I of course will repaint as necessary for appearance but any buyer who thinks I will pay for total stripping etc can go elsewhere.. I dont care who his mortgage lender is.
You missed the OP original statement. "We are selling a house to a buyer using an FHA mortgage." FHA just doesn't go around inspecting houses, because someone is thinking about buying this one or that one. There must be an offer & acceptance. Thing is, FHA goes in after the acceptance, at least they did in my case. The way the OP sounds, they're doing it the same way to them.
I'll tell ya, it was a while ago when I sold FHA, and a lesson well learned. Unfortunately, they are unscruptulous realtors (like you didn't already know this), which will talk people into selling FHA/VA, without telling the drawbacks.
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Jim,
You're talking a conventional loan, it has nothing to do with a FHA/VA loan. You have no knowledge of a FHA loan, the more you try to explain away, the more you show, you know nothing about FHA.
Actually, all he has to do is... NOTHING.
The house has failed the buyer's inspection. The seller has NO obligation to make it pass. If the contract stipulated that the house must pass the inspection fopr the deal to be completed, then guess what? Game, set, match.
Lead [aint in houses is mitigated by painting over it. I have never heard of anybody removing it, except when remodeling interior spaces.
FHA is nothing like a selling conventional or even _as is_. When you _agree_ to sell FHA, you must meet their regulations, not yours. In fact, you can't sell FHA _as is_. That is part of the selling procedure.
Can't address the FHA part, but here in MI, I asked a lawyer buddy about hiring a real estate lawyer when I bought this place. He said not to bother- in MI they use boilerplate contracts when you buy through a realtor and title company, and They Will Not Change Them. Legal term is 'take it or leave it'. Private-party sales, of course, would be different.
My deal was as vanilla as it gets, so I didn't bother to explore other alternatives, and it all sailed through in days.
-- aem sends...
Obviously there's an offer; apparently OP is satisfied w/ the pricing as he made some attempts to satisfy the conditions of an (pretty obviously contingent) inspection but that still doesn't lead to there actually being any contract yet in place. There's an existing document that could conceivably turn _INTO_ a contract, but it ain't one at this point.
For example, seller (OP) could instead of continuing the aforementioned charade simply make a counter offer of something like $X for buyer to accept w/ the existing report. Ball is then in buyer's court and negotiations can continue from there or one party says "no mas" and retires from the battle. In OP's shoes unless I were _truly_desperate_ for the sale I'd probably simply say "as is w/ report noted" but with attached statement regarding whatever is own interpretation of the particular situation (in this case the Pb paint issue) if didn't think the inspection report accurate or as in this case overblowing the seriousness of a finding ending in, in essence, "take it or leave it" and let them decide how badly they want the house. Most folks by the time they actually make an offer are emotionally committed and they'll concede the small stuff.
As the previous quote from the FHA says, they don't do inspections at all; it's your job (or the lender's to see you do yours). Thus it's really whatever _the_lender_ requires rather than FHA--FHA doesn't really care, specifically. That was what was when last dealt w/ one; the verbiage at
In short, afaict from a quick perusal of the FHA site, whatever is this hangup has more to do w/ the lender's procedures w/ FHA mortgages than it does w/ FHA per se. That may seem like a minor difference but it's significant.
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Well Jim, Here is an addendum, the seller _must sign_ when selling FHA (all states have the addendum). I do notice they have areas now, where the seller can put a cap on the $$ amounts to bring it up to FHA minimum standards.
Just so you know, when you sign a contract, you have contractual obligations. You appear to be the type, which would want to shrug them off. That's when the buyer takes you to court.
Now, how's the crow taste? BTW, there's no charge for teaching you a lesson.
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Wow, you just don't get it. Read my link, better yet, have someone read it to you, and explain it. Maybe, just maybe you will be able to comprehend.
I really don't think you are competent enough to handle your own affairs.
That sounds suspicious. I'd contact a supervisor or whatever agency he works for. Maybe he is looking for that envelope hidden someplace, the one with the pictures of Ben Franklin inside.
Every state has this addendum. The seller _must_ sign it b/4 selling FHA. I do notice, they have where the seller can put a $$ amount in, in order to cap off meeting FHA minimum standards.
But what dog is saying is the owner can simply refund the deposit and tell the buyer this house will not ever pass FHA inspection it seems and be gone.
BTW to Doug (way up there) there were plenty of paints on the market in the early 70s even late 60s, with no lead in them. This "lead" scare is not new. They started bragging about non-lead paints about the time Dupont Lucite came out.in 1961 and we got away from oil based house paint.
Snipped this, and really didn't want to.
You're absolutely right, if I said somewhere FHA does inspections, it's not a regular home inspection. Their inspection is from the appraiser, to make sure it meets FHA minimum standards.
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