Housebuying Woes

The unfortunate victims of the present mortgage mess are first time, super credited, lots of cash down ready to buy homebuyers. At least in my brother's case. He was supposed to settle on a house today, but his bank is asking him (not yet the homeowner) to fix the roof (of the house he does not own) and get a letter from his home inspector (whom he has already paid to tell him the roof needs to be repaired before he can move in - and he is ready to do as soon as he actually owns the house) that the roof (which just needs new flashing around the chimney) will last another three years (actually, without the fix to that roof, the bank may not have a house to sell in three years!).

Of course, the appraiser (not the home inspector... just the person who is supposed to give you a value for the house) only suggested they paint the interior (they don't own the house yet), refinish all the 300 year old floors (??uh, they don't own the house yet) and power wash the wood roofing shingles (again, lady, they don't own the house yet). So... the bank changed those suggestions to needing a letter about the roof. Hmmm.... and now, they are not settling today. Something smells rotten in Denmark (or Connecticut!).

Here's the email my poor brother just sent me:

Your House As Seen By:

Yourself...




Your Buyer...




Your Lender...




Your Appraiser...



Your County's Tax Assessor...