Despite passing inspections, a Phoenix couple’s house woes are going viral after finding major issues with a remodeled home a day after closing.
Hailey and Alex Aguire were happy to move back to the Valley from the East Coast, and even more elated once they found their new home within just weeks of searching.
“It was exciting because this was home for both of us, so we were really excited to come back,” Hailey said.
But a day before closing, the couple said they received a concerning call.
“We got a call from our realtor who was like, ‘Hey, they were moving the staging furniture out and found termites,’” Hailey said. “We just decided, you know, they’re getting it handled that day, so we’ll go ahead and trust that it’s handled. We closed, got the keys and the next day, they were back on the wall.”
That was not the end of their trouble; just two days later, pipes in the laundry room burst after they ran the washing machine for the first time.
They also discovered a gaping hole in the wall hidden behind a battery-powered doorbell.
The Aguires said they hired three companies for inspections prior to closing on the house.
“The plumbers that came in, they were able to find something that would have cost us thousands of dollars to fix and we were able to get the sellers to do it,” Alex said. “I think the termite company and the general housing missed a couple of really big things that fell on us to advocate for ourselves a little bit.”
The couple’s termite troubles went viral on social media, gaining more than two million views.
They shared their lessons learned in the hopes that others don’t end up in the same situation, like getting second opinions on inspection reports and testing every appliance, all before closing.
The two said thankfully, the issues were caught within days and seller credits are helping with some repair costs.
“[Finding] a good real estate agent to see maybe potential problems and give you that allowance to basically have extra money at the end when buying a house so you’re not depleting your whole bank account,” Hailey said.
The National Association of Realtors has extensive resources and information on the inspection process for buyers online.
The association says people may want to be there with the inspectors as they walk through and hire trustworthy companies that are a part of the American Society of Home Inspectors or the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors.
