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Buying a home with LP siding

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  • Buying a home with LP siding

    Some of you may remember the LP siding products of the early 90's and the lawsuit that followed. Long story short, I'm in the market for our next home and an older home (1992) came up which was a bit outside of our preferred age range for a home, but, it checks many boxes so was worth a look. It also, unfortunately, checks a box for having original LP siding. I can tell someone has looked after it, all very well caulked, painted, and no signs of typical deterioration for most of the house. There are a couple of boards which have extreme exposure and are a bit soft. I assume they can be replaced, but I've also received a couple of different opinions ranging all the way from "it's a 28 year old home, a couple of boards needing replaced is a very minor issue", all the way to "run, don't walk away, early 90's LP is a tainted product and you will have significant problems ever selling the house unless you completely re-side it".

    I hired an inspector who pointed out the boards and agreed the siding had been very well cared for overall and further deterioration would be minimal if I kept up with maintenance. After all, the product has lasted almost 30 years. Also, no, it's not Cedar.

    Anyone with experience here? Sold a home with LP? Bought a home with LP? If we asked for a price concession, what are the factors to determine how much we ask for?
    History will judge the complicit.

  • #2
    Is LP siding a code violation?

    not sure why you think you are entitled for a discount because of that. Like you said it’s a 30 year old home.

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    • #3

      I don't have any experience buying or selling a LP siding home, so I googled the topic--here are a few links:
      General Background:


      Article from the Seattle Times ("Faulty siding affects offer" dated Dec 24, 2005)
      :


      "It’s Too Late to be Part of the Class-Action Suit"
      It's Too Late to be Part of the Class-Action Suit - Between 1985 and 1995, 800,000 homes were sided with a Louisiana-Pacific (LP) product called Inner Seal…


      Bob Villa on LP siding in general
      Is this eco-friendly alternative to wood siding that does not sacrifice looks for affordability the right choice for your home's exgterior?


      Understanding LP Siding


      My take away is that the siding had a 25 year warranty and I believe they stopped selling the ("Inner Seal") product in 1995. So, 2020 would be the end of the warranty period even if the product was purchased as late as 1995.
      The wikipedia article stated the basis of the class action suit was that the product "began to rot prematurely—discoloring, disintegrating, and even growing fungi."

      If the problem was premature failure of the product, it seems like your house has stood the test of time. So, I guess it would come down to the expected service life of the material. I mean--I wouldn't expect the material to last forever. When we purchased our house, we knew that we would need to replace our roof within a couple of years and we took that into consideration. (Though, for us- it was a hot seller's market at the time so there was no discount.)





      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Like2Plan View Post
        I don't have any experience buying or selling a LP siding home, so I googled the topic--here are a few links:
        General Background:


        Article from the Seattle Times ("Faulty siding affects offer" dated Dec 24, 2005)
        :


        "It’s Too Late to be Part of the Class-Action Suit"
        It's Too Late to be Part of the Class-Action Suit - Between 1985 and 1995, 800,000 homes were sided with a Louisiana-Pacific (LP) product called Inner Seal…


        Bob Villa on LP siding in general
        Is this eco-friendly alternative to wood siding that does not sacrifice looks for affordability the right choice for your home's exgterior?


        Understanding LP Siding


        My take away is that the siding had a 25 year warranty and I believe they stopped selling the ("Inner Seal") product in 1995. So, 2020 would be the end of the warranty period even if the product was purchased as late as 1995.
        The wikipedia article stated the basis of the class action suit was that the product "began to rot prematurely—discoloring, disintegrating, and even growing fungi."

        If the problem was premature failure of the product, it seems like your house has stood the test of time. So, I guess it would come down to the expected service life of the material. I mean--I wouldn't expect the material to last forever. When we purchased our house, we knew that we would need to replace our roof within a couple of years and we took that into consideration. (Though, for us- it was a hot seller's market at the time so there was no discount.)
        I appreciate the links. I have done some reading-up on the stuff. I don't see immediate replacement of the siding on the house in question, but my three main concerns are that it's a generally inferior product:

        -I will need to paint and re-caulk probably every 4-5 years versus 7-10 years for something like cedar.
        -An uneducated buyer will definitely take issue and request replacement or discount if we ever resell, exposing us to potentially having to eat the cost...just as we are preparing to ask our seller for consideration. But I know enough to know that the disintegration is generally slow with good maintenance and I can "live with" knowing the house has LP siding.
        -29 years has exceeded the original 25 year warranty, and some boards are beyond serviceable already. Compared to Cedar or a better composite product, the service life may only be 35 years before needing replacement compared to up to 50 for a better product so we will likely have to prematurely replace the siding sooner than expected.

        I'm not at the "run, don't walk, away" point, but I feel the above is worth consideration. Just...how much?
        History will judge the complicit.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Jluke View Post
          Is LP siding a code violation?

          not sure why you think you are entitled for a discount because of that. Like you said it’s a 30 year old home.
          No, not a code violation. Buyers do take into the condition of the house and major items nearing the end of their service life. 30 year marks a lot of big milestones...typically composite rooves are due for replacement, composite siding products may need to be replaced, window seals are likely to have failed, etc etc. These are big ticket items that should absolutely weigh into the negotiations.
          History will judge the complicit.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Jluke View Post
            Is LP siding a code violation?

            not sure why you think you are entitled for a discount because of that.
            Beat the seller up for anything you can. Especially if you suspect you're going to have to spend $20k in 5 years to replace it.

            Comment


            • #7
              You can try to negotiate a discount. It's no different than asking for a price reduction on a home that needs a new roof.
              You may or may not be successful.
              It's a seller's market, and there are plenty of people standing in line who are willing to buy a home that have never heard of LP siding

              Brian

              Comment


              • #8
                ^^ That is the answer for sure, but coming up with how much price reduction is the difficult part. Estimating repair cost was easy for the affected sections, so then we had to estimate what kind of financial liability could the siding present over the next 10 years and/or if we have to resell the home in the nearer future with the defective product still on there. Overall, the house is in good shape so that was the focus of the concerns.

                We asked for more than the repair of the affected sections and also much less than the cost to re-side the house with a standard product, and the seller was amenable. We didn't get everything we asked for, but we didn't expect to, either.

                History will judge the complicit.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by ua_guy View Post
                  ^^ That is the answer for sure, but coming up with how much price reduction is the difficult part. Estimating repair cost was easy for the affected sections, so then we had to estimate what kind of financial liability could the siding present over the next 10 years and/or if we have to resell the home in the nearer future with the defective product still on there. Overall, the house is in good shape so that was the focus of the concerns.

                  We asked for more than the repair of the affected sections and also much less than the cost to re-side the house with a standard product, and the seller was amenable. We didn't get everything we asked for, but we didn't expect to, either.
                  Residing an entire house with vinyl is probably a $20K to $30K job. Depending on how many squares you need.
                  Repairing existing is obviously much cheaper, and something that I would be open to negotiate on if I was the seller

                  Brian

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