To make our anxiety worse, when we inquired about the work that is all supposed to be getting done on the house, we were told the roof would be done this week but the sellers were waiting to anything about the balcony until after the appraisal report came out. We understood that to mean that, if the appraisal came out too low, they wouldn't be coming down in price so the deal would be off (so why work on the balcony until it was absolutely needed?). As the days wore on, I just kept thinking that no news is supposed to be good news, but I could only think negative thoughts.
So - what's the deal? Well, yippee! It appraised higher than the selling price! Woo-hoooo! No reason to stress - the sellers don't need to drop the price and we don't need to worry that they will back out!
The appraisal did come up with a few things that need to be fixed and the appraisal amount is contingent on the repairs. In fact, we must get the repairs done and the appraiser will go back out to confirm; all of that must be done 3-5 days before closing. Today is 11 days until closing... In other words, we need the repairs done, like, yesterday! Anyway, below are the repairs the appraiser noted (the pictures are form the appraiser report):
The stairs from the first floor to the second floor do not have a railing. A railing and spindles need to be added for safety reasons.
At the top of the stairs (on the 2nd floor), there needs to be a railing. Again, this is a safety issue as nothing keeps you from failing off the ledge and down the stairs.
The stairs to the attic need a handrail. Again, we have a safety issue.
The sellers removed part of the balcony railing at the end of the balcony. The railing had become partly detached there, but they removed the railing to access the roof more easily. The appraiser noted that the railing needed to be replaced.
And my favorite? Regarding the floor boards of the balcony... Remember, these boards are rotted out at the end and we know (from the inspection) that we need to replace the whole thing.... The appraiser noted "Defective Exterior Paint Requires Correction - Balcony". Amazing... I'm not sure how he missed the extent of damage. But I won't argue! The full fix will take too long and our time is quite limited, so I'll take it!
So, what does all this mean? Well, the various railings and spindles need to be put in and we need a new coat of paint on the balcony. Our realtor contacted the sellers. At first, she mentioned that we could get the supplies for the railings and spindles and the seller could do the work. Aaron and I talked and I pointed out that we had no idea what supplies were needed and didn't even know the dimensions; I wanted to know if the sellers could buy the supplies and we'd reimburse them. The realtor talked to the sellers and it turns out that the sellers had to put up railings before for inspections; the sellers put up "dummy" railings, they still have them, and they will just put them back up. Additionally, the sellers agreed to take care of painting the balcony. This is all great news - we won't have to pay anything for any of the repairs and the railings are just "dummies" so we can take them down and, in the future, take care of it how we'd really like. (For example, I wouldn't mind some sort of railing and spindles at the top of the steps on the 2nd floor, but I want something ornamental like wrought iron or something that is rustic and matches the charm of the house.)
Well, I guess that's all for now! Closing is still set for October 22nd. Before closing, the roof needs done, the railings/spindles need added, and the balcony needs a fresh coat of paint. At that point, the inspector and the appraiser need to get back to the house and then we need a few days for paperwork to process. We are officially on the home stretch to home ownership! Guess what this means? It's time to get packing! :o)
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