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Some is, some isn't. We chose to back out of a house offer due to invasive bamboo when the owner was unwilling to reduce the price to cover professional remova

Some is, some isn't. We chose to back out of a house offer due to invasive bamboo when the owner was unwilling to reduce the price to cover professional removal.

echelon 5y ago
That's a really specific ask. I feel like a different species sometimes when dealing with humans that negotiate this hard. I tend to overpay and be done with it so I can think about other things, but I suppose that's leaving money on the table. The last place I bought had a giant crack in the concrete floor. Inspector said it was fine, so I just let it slide.
- erikerikson 5y ago
  I have certainly accepted some large inefficiencies in a purchase including the house I live in now. This was a case where the seller had mowed back the bamboo and placed weed barrier and fresh soil to hide it. There hadn't been any visible bamboo during the viewing that precipitated our offer. About 3 days later we inspected and found pervasive multi-inch long shoots of bamboo throughout the yard including big shoots going into a supporting shared wall with the neighbor and into the neighbor's yard as well as into the house foundation and siding. To completely remove the bamboo we would have had a large excavation that included tearing out and rebuilding the entry walkway disrupting our use of the home. To pay someone to do the labor, guarantee removal (there are specialist companies), and perform the geo-engineering work was estimated to cost 25-30K here in Seattle. To be clear, we did ask the seller to reduce their price to accommodate that work because we felt we had offered a generous (and competitive above many competing offers) price for the house. That price did not include removing the hidden-at-the-time-of-offer bamboo. The seller didn't like that which was their right. They rejected our counter and months later sold the house for less than our offer minus the cost of the bamboo removal. [edit: planting invasive bamboo in your yard literally reduces the value of your home]

Some is, some isn't. We chose to back out of a house offer due to invasive bamboo when the owner was unwilling to reduce the price to cover professional removal.

echelon 5y ago

That's a really specific ask. I feel like a different species sometimes when dealing with humans that negotiate this hard. I tend to overpay and be done with it so I can think about other things, but I suppose that's leaving money on the table. The last place I bought had a giant crack in the concrete floor. Inspector said it was fine, so I just let it slide.

erikerikson 5y ago
I have certainly accepted some large inefficiencies in a purchase including the house I live in now. This was a case where the seller had mowed back the bamboo and placed weed barrier and fresh soil to hide it. There hadn't been any visible bamboo during the viewing that precipitated our offer. About 3 days later we inspected and found pervasive multi-inch long shoots of bamboo throughout the yard including big shoots going into a supporting shared wall with the neighbor and into the neighbor's yard as well as into the house foundation and siding. To completely remove the bamboo we would have had a large excavation that included tearing out and rebuilding the entry walkway disrupting our use of the home. To pay someone to do the labor, guarantee removal (there are specialist companies), and perform the geo-engineering work was estimated to cost 25-30K here in Seattle. To be clear, we did ask the seller to reduce their price to accommodate that work because we felt we had offered a generous (and competitive above many competing offers) price for the house. That price did not include removing the hidden-at-the-time-of-offer bamboo. The seller didn't like that which was their right. They rejected our counter and months later sold the house for less than our offer minus the cost of the bamboo removal. [edit: planting invasive bamboo in your yard literally reduces the value of your home]