First time homebuyer...would you buy this house?

[mazzybear]

Everything in the house was fine except for the basement. Its 110 years old, so yeah....this is what the inspector found:

Moisture in the basement
No cold air return duct system
Furnace is 23 years old
Hot water heater is in need of replacement
Cast iron sewage pipe has a bit of leakage around a fitting, not major leakage though.

We are in love with the house, the roof, siding on the home and garage are new. No issues in the upper floors of the house, or in the attic. No mold. No issues with anything else, just some minor things.

He estimated around 10K to have the above issues fixed.....and there is a home warranty offered that covers all of the above items, but we don't have the terms of that coverage yet, whether they will repair or replace , and so on.

Any thoughts?

 

[oldognewtrick]

Everything in the house was fine except for the basement. Its 110 years old, so yeah....this is what the inspector found:

Moisture in the basement
No cold air return duct system
Furnace is 23 years old
Hot water heater is in need of replacement
Cast iron sewage pipe has a bit of leakage around a fitting, not major leakage though.

We are in love with the house, the roof, siding on the home and garage are new. No issues in the upper floors of the house, or in the attic. No mold. No issues with anything else, just some minor things.

He estimated around 10K to have the above issues fixed.....and there is a home warranty offered that covers all of the above items, but we don't have the terms of that coverage yet, whether they will repair or replace , and so on.

Any thoughts?

Any thoughts, sure I have lots of thoughts. About your possible purchase? Well, my main concern would be where is the moisture coming from that the inspection found? What will the warranty cover when you find the mold and other issues that the moisture has procreated. If an inspector estimates a number for replacement, double it. And who hired the inspector, you or the Realtor. I would suggest hiring your own inspector, get an unbiased 3rd party evaluation of the structure and proceed with caution.

When cast iron gets to the point of a little leakage its no little problem, I speak from experience.

And welcome to House Repair Talk.

 

[inspectorD]

Numbers?? You need to ask yourself...what in the world would a guy who inspects homes know about $$ amounts to fix something when every home is different. I have been an inspector and a builder for 25 years, and even I do not give out best wild A$$ guesses.
An Inspector is there to give you information on what updates you may need for saftey reasons, and what is wrong "In their professional OPINION" with the home. All Inspectors have different opinions concerning what they find due to their experience levels.

Ok, soapbox is broken, on to what you should do.
Get some folks out there who actually fix these issues and get the real $$$.

A basement company to fix the leaks from the outside,
A plumber for the pipes, and water heater.
An HVAC company for the Furnace and ductwork.

Compile those ##$$ and get a real world quote on what you are getting yourself into. Only you can protect your biggest investment by doing your homework, and an Inspection is the first part of that.

Good luck, I love old homes, just remember they are a constant maintinence issue and cost more to maintain overall.
But they have great Character!!

 

[user 4883]

As I have told others, the current market has so many homes on the market for dirt cheap I personally would not settle for anything less than flawless.
Keep shopping and you might just find something you like better that doesn't require an additional penny to move in.