- There's a hole in the brand-new roof, caused by torn-off flashing. We've had a lot of rain the past few weeks.
- All the plumbing is do-it-yourself. 'Nuff said.
- Neither of the "Two Wood-Burning Fireplaces!" are safe to operate, although the owners have been doing so. One has a big hole in the flue and must be lined, the other has a big open space between the liner and the masonry which has allowed creosote to seep through the brick and onto the livingroom walls.
- Both bathrooms and the fancy range hood are vented into the (unventilated) attic.
- Furnace: 22 years old, would not fire up.
- Gas line: very old, failure is imminent.
- Brand-new patio door frame: rotten.
- Basement stairs: rotten.
- The front bedroom, which has three exterior walls, has seen extensive water damage. The water has poured down the inside of the walls on all three sides. The ceiling tiles, affixed to failing plaster, are going to come crashing down in days, if not hours.
- The brand-new electrical panel is just for show: 100 amp service.
- Crawlspaces are filled with discarded construction materials, including concretized sacks of concrete and old lumber (i.e., termite food). There are no vapor barriers anywhere, just mud.
- MOLD. Mold. Mold, mold, mold mold mold. Mold in the attic, mold in the trashed front bedroom. Mold under the shiny new paint? Did I mention the mold? MOLD. On the walls, on the rafters. Mold.
And after they fix it, we still want a mold inspection.
8 comments:
When we sold our house a few months ago, the buyers waived the inspection. Now WE knew the house was fine, but I couldn't get over the buyer just assuming everything was great.
Your story shows exactly why that's a bad idea.
What's with this do-it-yourself not at all easy things to do??? During the inspection on our new house we found out that a lot of the electrical work was DIY. Which just seems like a bad idea, like DIY plumbing. DIY painting okay, but for heaven's sake leave the hard stuff to the professionals! There's a reason those people have to do a lot of years of school and apprentice-ships...
I hope the owners decide to fix stuff on the house. And yes-- don't move in if there's a mold problem!!!
And Lisa, I cannot imagine choosing to forgo an inspection. BAD idea.
It is not all bad. I certainly envy the fact that you live somewhere there that a fixer-upper can be had for under half a million. I love my job, my university and my city but jeepers does the market hurt.
Oh man, mold is bad. Depending on the kind, you can't just wash it off -- if it's showing on the walls, it likely means that it's growing INSIDE the wall itself. Nasty, nasty stuff.
Sorry to hear about all the problems. I hope it works out for you -- it sounds like you really love the house.
Oh man, that's so disappointing. I'll be interested to know whether or not the owners try to fix it.
Wow. So glad you got an inspection.
I had one, too, on the home I just bought. Since the sale was contingent upon a satisfactory inspection, the sellers agreed to do $500 of repairs.
I lived out of state and couldn't check their work (and I wouldn't have known what to look for anyhow). Turns out that Mr. FixItHimself really sucks at repairs. I've had to redo a lot of them. It's mostly OK because I don't regret buying the home.
So my advice (not that you asked for it!) would be that if the sellers do the repairs, spend the money to get a second inspection. Make darned sure that they did, in fact, actually do the repairs correctly.
Oh my word. I am so sorry to hear about this development, AP. My fingers are crossed for you. I wonder whether the owners knew about this, or were just ignorant about the awful shape their house was truly in.
My ex-boyfriend, a part-time building inspector, once said that most of the time homeowners really aren't aware of the screw-ups they've committed, or of the fact that their houses are about to fall in. Glad you had an honest inspector who took almost four hours to really check the place out for you. Caveat emptor! Thanks for posting this story.
Over 300K? What about 100K? I'd buy it as is and have my own people do the repairs--but buy it for a lot less than they're asking.
My house has mostly original wiring. The a/c unit is too small for the house, but to fit in the ducts a larger unit would need, the attic would need to be rebuilt. One half of the roof will eventually need to be refelted, which will cost $1500-2000. Everything else that is wrong with it, is cosmetic, and you can see it with the naked eye.
Knowing what is wrong with the place, and knowing what could be done cosmetically, is probably why I should have a real estate agent show it, not me. I'll talk too much, and I won't get the best price.
Anyway--either they fix it and they fix it well, or they come way, way down on the price. Mold is very serious.
My parents lost a lot of money buying a house they didn't get inspected. They then indoctrinated us kids not to buy.
In fact, though, the kind of house I buy is relatively uncomplicated. Even when my houses have problems, they're not horribly expensive--I mean, $1500 as opposed to $15,000.
So, caveat emptor, but also, fear not.
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