shouldirun

Recently put an offer on a house built in 1982, I may be way too optimistic and need your opinion. I have limited funds, and it's just me.

These are just few things in the inspection report that concern me:

1. Broken/damaged rafters and purlins.
2. Mud wasp nest in the electrical panel.
3. Fire stoppin in the garage not complete.
4. Tub leaks in access panel front bedroom area.
5. Wood flooring under water heater is sagging.
6. Insufficient supply of combustion for the water heater.
7. Heater vent is improperly installed where it passes through the roof deck, the vent pipe does not have the required 1"clearance from combustible material.
8. Evidence of water penetration in bedroom ceiling as well as dormered area.

I like the layout of the home and I'm somewhat emotionally attached to it, BUT I don't need or want a money pit.

Opinions? Should I run?

I will be applying for a FHA loan and my thinking is they won't approve it if the house has too many repairs....and that's ok by me.

mudmixer

Looks like a severe case of "deferred maintenance" - a politically correct term used in evaluating homes trying to qualifying for low interest government loans after a disaster.

I think you are just seeing the obvious and there are usually more hidden problems. With limited funds, it could be a very long uphill chore for a few years.

Dick

nealtw

I notice that you offer no evaluation of your own, Do you know what all that stuff is and did you look at these defects? How much experience do you have? How good of a deal is it compared to something livable?

shouldirun

All excellent questions. Frankly, I don't have any experience on fixer uppers, and I have limited knowledge on all of it.

The positive side is that the other houses in the neighborhood are appraised much higher, and it's in a wonderful neighborhood. I'm thinking perhaps I should take a contractor with me to get some sort of idea of the estimated costs to repair some of the more obvious items. Since I'm new to the forum, I welcome all opinions.

The house has a wonderful porch and an awesome sunroom that leads to a beautiful backyard, the kitchen has been updated and the square footage is a good size for me, plus the price range is good when you consider the other houses in the neighborhood.

JoeD

1. Could be serious. Need photos or further evaluation and estimate by proper professional.
2. No concern. Take a wood paint stick and knock it out.
3. Sounds like drywall needs to be installed. Get professional to give estimate.
4. Could be serious. Might mean whole bathroom gut. See#1
5. See #1. Could be rotted do to water leaks.
6. Might be nothing. Might just need an air vent installed in the door to allow air.
7. See #1
8. See#1. Call roofing company for inspection.

nealtw

So don't be in love with it yet. Take it back to the numbers. When you get estimates add to that some for other things that show up because, it will. The big deal will be mold in the water leak areas and a bathroom that may need to be redone.

BridgeMan

While it may be too late to request this, but if there were some way that you could post a few pix of the specific problem areas you listed, they could go a long way towards knowledgeable people here giving you realistic options of what you face. Excellent idea to take a reputable contractor with you on the next site visit (while reminding him/her you will be shopping around for quotes for all of the required repairs as your funding allows, so he/she doesn't think you are locked in with them).

Your situation reminds me of a place I bought many years ago in Albuquerque. Place had been listed forever, nobody wanted it because of all of the work it needed (quite a few things identical to what your list shows), was in a great location and it was by far the cheapest house on the block. Anyway, my then-wife and I bought it, I made the necessary repairs, put in a huge addition and other improvements, and we sold the place at a $100,000 net profit 10 years later. No regrets whatsoever (except for the marriage falling apart, which is why we sold it).

Michaelolding1

Frankly if someone wanted me to come out to give them free advise so they could shop my ideas to others, I'd tell them to take a hike. Goodd advise is rarely free.

nealtw

So pay the guy looking at the house.

isola96

Forum security on our part if he gets the house lol