House Hunt Thread #3

[Will]

So we went to the next town over this AM to take a look at this home:



https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...02371290_zpid/

It was as nice as advertised inside. Plenty of storage space as well that they didn't photograph.

Attic spaces were clean and well insulated. Regular insulation plus then spray foam all over the underside of the roofs.

But I'll get to the good later, if it's worthwhile.

Let's focus on the bad.

Home built in the 60s, has partial basement with interior access, and the crawl space accessible from the basement.

Water heater & some A/C equipment down there, as well as . . . . .


. . . . . . A sump pump, and some water intrusion:













My sensitive allergies weren't bothering me, and I was down there for at least 5 solid minutes, which was a good sign, but still. I don't know anything about old homes with basements or sump pumps, so i don't know how extreme or not this is.

Thoughts? As long as it's negotiated into the purchase price, we're in a position to spend up to $10,000 in cash addressing anything that needs to be addressed.

How mild or bad does this issue look. Is it worth proceeding to offer with home inspection contingency? Is this something to be expected with a home/basement this age, or should we run like hell and beg our landlord to rent to us again if nothing else pops up on the market in the next month or so???

[Will]

I took some additional interior photos to what is on Zillow, and also have attic space photos.

Figured I'd ask about the bad first though.

[Jeff '79]

first in !

[Jeff '79]

I'm outta here... What a shit mess !
That basement had 2 cynder blocks deep of water in it numerous times.
It looks like sewage, not just sump water.
Run Will, run.

[Will]

More basement photos. First one looks like perhaps an old sump pump was replaced, perhaps recently?

[mrvette]

That basement black leak/wet area certainly COULD be sewage, but the smell would have to be gross, I"d imagine....the missing information is, what is the grade of the land behind the house, and if that leaking wall/pump area is on that side, and can the window wells be raised a tad, and more dirt/backfill added to get the water away from the house.....and of course it should be most obvious to get all the gutter/downspouts drained away from the house foundation no matter what side of the house and the ground slope....this could be anything from a 5000 bux fix to 50 grand....one thing for certain, no matter what they do to the outside of the foundation, the land has to slope away from the house, and so do the gutters....all else is bullshit....

[Will]

The basement is centered. That sump pump location is practically in the middle of the home. Not near an outside wall. Crawl space around it.

[Jeff '79]

I can't believe that they didn't a least try to eliminate or hide the mold prior to putting it on the market.

[Bill]

So where is the water coming from? Is the water table that high, or is that the result of water leaks in the home's piping and hot water tank? Are sump pumps a usual and customary feature of houses in that area?

[Will]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Are sump pumps a usual and customary feature of houses in that area?

No. Just about everything is just crawl space. I was surprised to find a basement area.

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

So where is the water coming from? Is the water table that high, or is that the result of water leaks in the home's piping and hot water tank? Are sump pumps a usual and customary feature of houses in that area?

I'd like to see the sewage check valve, which is in the floor somewhere.
If that's failing, there is a clogged drain pipe in the front yard somewhere. During a heavy rain, the sewage will just go to the highest point.
That would be in that basement, 2 cinder blocks high.

[Will]

I don't know what we're going to do. There is nothing else available that is big enough for us that will appraise.

This shit is ridiculous. All I want is a 4 bed 3 bath house with a small 5th bed or office or bonus room.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Jeff '79

I'd like to see the sewage check valve, which is in the floor somewhere.
If that's failing, there is a clogged drain pipe in the front yard somewhere. During a heavy rain, the sewage will just go to the highest point.
That would be in that basement, 2 cinder blocks high.

If it's sewage wouldn't you just know it by smell?

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by Will

I don't know what we're going to do. There is nothing else available that is big enough for us that will appraise.

This shit is ridiculous. All I want is a 4 bed 3 bath house with a small 5th bed or office or bonus room.

Don't settle. Keep renting.
Something will come up.

[NCC-1701]

I don't know how old you are but that house looks like a monstrosity for up keep. I would not buy that house too old and I see a nightmare in the future for repairs. That house if built in 60 is 57 years old. I would stick with newer construction. I would not trust the electrical, sewage, the settling cracks etc. This is my 02.

[Will]

Another look down the wall to the right of the pump to the back wall.



Back wall on other side of A/C equip:

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

If it's sewage wouldn't you just know it by smell?

No.
I had a rental property where this exact same thing happened.
Once it dries, you'd never know it was sewage, but you definitely could smell the mustiness.
Thank God I dumped that place. It did serve me well, however.
I'd have to inspect the entire basement and outside in order to really tell what is going on there.
Like Gene said, witnessing a good downpour to see where the water is running goes a long way in diagnosing that situation.

[Will]

Originally Posted by Jeff '79

Don't settle. Keep renting.
Something will come up.

The problem is something coming up while we're still on the hook for rent.

We didn't buy earlier when there were some good choices because we were still on the hook for 7-8 months rent. There's a reason there are no decent rentals here - there are no renters here with $$$ for a decent rental.

We need to decide quick whether to ask landlord for another lease. Maybe we could ask for just 6 months through Dec., but then we'd have to hope something good doesn't pop up too soon where we lose out like we did a few months ago.

This sold for $237K and it would have been perfect for us, but we had too much lease left:

https://www.zillow.com/savedhomes/fo..._zm/1_rs/1_fr/

It actually only closed just before we went looking, but was under contract for a few months.

This is also the reason why realtor's house didn't appraise. Even though it's not in golf course 'hood, siding and not brick, and wasn't as fancy inside, it was only recent "comp"

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by Will

The problem is something coming up while we're still on the hook for rent.

We didn't buy earlier when there were some good choices because we were still on the hook for 7-8 months rent. There's a reason there are no decent rentals here - there are no renters here with $$$ for a decent rental.

We need to decide quick whether to ask landlord for another lease. Maybe we could ask for just 6 months through Dec., but then we'd have to hope something good doesn't pop up too soon where we lose out like we did a few months ago.

This sold for $237K and it would have been perfect for us, but we had too much lease left:

https://www.zillow.com/savedhomes/fo..._zm/1_rs/1_fr/

This is also the reason why realtor's house didn't appraise. Even though it's not in golf course 'hood, siding and not brick, and wasn't as fancy inside, it was only recent "comp"

Go on a month to month lease.
You pay your rent on time, the landlord knows it, sure money in his pocket is nice for him, so he WILL do that.
As a landlord, I sure would do it, just to delay the finding a new tenant thing.

[VatorMan]

10K is on the low end for foundation or plumbing repair. Anything is fixable,but I'd lowball the shit out of them or have them repair the foundation to your satisfaction.