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Buying a house in terrible shape: what’s your advice?
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My wife and I are 90% decided to purchase a house in truly uninhabitable shape. Below are the basic facts... but even facts aside. What is your advice on what questions we need to ask ourselves and the experts before we decide?
-Large arts crafts (early ‘ultimate bungalow’ type) home, 115 years old.
-Southern California (not a fire or flood zone, no seismic damage)
-Octopus furnace heat, asbestos gravity tunnels, no functional HVAC
-Plumbing and electric are “ok”
-Fairly new roof (2010s) but extensive water damage on 2nd floor was never repaired
-Previous occupant’s childhood home until his death
-Hoarding situation. Occupant died, 40+ dumpsters and AT LEAST 60 cats were removed. (Smell is intense after +2 yrs.)
-Eccentric (and sentimental) owner willing to seller-finance.
EDITED TO ADD: this is such a great level of response about my main concern: the impact on our lives. I know it’s a money disaster and a huge mess but money comes and goes. (Marriages are way more precious.)
Top Comment: Do you have the time and money for essentially a tear down and rebuild? Is this location important enough to you for a tear down/rebuild? What is the land worth because the house is uninhabitable? Honestly, in most cases the answer is that it's not worth it. Unless you're somehow attached to the specific patch of grass... And you've got enough money to purchase the home outright and secure a construction loan... And live somewhere else for a year to a year and a half while it gets designed and built... It's not worth it. 60+ cats means everything is soaked in feces and urine, untreated water damage for years means likely toxic mold, and asbestos is in the walls and a known factor. Hoarding means that there is a high risk of severe structural damage. 2+ years later it smells because something was not treated properly... Meaning something is still decaying inside. There is still likely plural biohazards roaming around. Pay for an intensive home inspection including mold testing. Do not fuck around. But the number of biohazards and a 2+ year old smell that you've described mean you're going to tear down that house. You're paying for demo and you're starting from scratch or at the very least bare foundation and torn back to the studs by a professional crew if you're lucky and the structure is fine. If you want to live in a house anytime in the next year than buying a habitable home is a faster and cheaper way to go. if you're aspiring flippers, this would not be the 'start flipping houses' place to go unless you've got a huge amount of cash to back it up and a go to architecture, engineering firm &construction company.
What are the biggest no-go, should-not-buy-the-house problems that a house can have?
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I'm a FTHB. What are the worst problems to look out for that are not worth repairing VS just walking away?
For example, termites? A cracking foundation?
Any other ones that are walkaway-worthy?
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Crappy House
Main Post: Crappy House
Top Comment: Looks like some crazed shit I'd create at 3am on a sims 2 binge
Bad House falling down
Main Post: Bad House falling down
Top Comment: Today I walked away from an inspection The house was so bad falling down Filthy inside and out Is this good or am I just being paranoid My opinion would have been burn it down
Finally listed our house and... it's bad.
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The listing, not the house itself.
We hired a friend of a friend, which was probably our first mistake. But she seemed professional and knowledgeable and the contract was pretty standard and straightforward.
We had a downpour the morning she came for pictures and everything outside was half dry, which made every concrete surface look dirty in the photos. Retaining wall, front porch and back patio, sidewalks, stone work on the house itself. All look terrible. Interior, the lighting or saturation or something of the photos is also terrible. We have light blue walls. In some photos they look white, in some they look green. Which does really interesting things to the color of the wood trim, floors and cabinets. You know, the things that aren't so easy for a buyer to update.
The description itself seems odd as well. One of the "highlights" mentioned was an hvac system from 2010. It's fine but that's 15 years. If that's the best thing we have to offer, I would have some concerns.
The realtor asked if we wanted to list asap after photos and we said yes, but she was also going on vacation for the holiday weekend and this feels super rushed. I wished she had been honest about what asap would get us.
I love our house. This was going to be our forever home until we got an amazing opportunity to move closer to family. But if I saw the photos and read that description, I wouldn't be interested. At all.
We aren't confrontational people but would it be completely rude of us to just send her some pictures from our phones and ask her to change them when she gets back?
Update: we did reach out and ask to take the listing back down for now. A few people asked why we approved the listing. It was only shown to us after already going up.
The photos were taken by a photographer who does all their media.
It is co-listed because she was leaving town. The other person is very young and very new. When we asked to make changes she immediately jumped on the defensive before letting the original realtor respond. The other realtor then messaged us separately and asked if we would like her removed as co-lister.
This is the first house we've ever sold. I honestly don't know what is reasonable to request and felt like getting feedback from strangers before bringing it up to someone I need to maintain a professional relationship. Thank you to everyone who helped me see my concerns were valid. We're working together to make sure everyone feels good about the situation
Top Comment: She needs to do a reshoot and change the listing verbiage to match what you are expecting. As a selling agent it is her responsibility to market your home in the best possible way. Good pictures and a good description are bare minimum. Also, if you are not sure you want to work with her after her lack professionalism, you can ask to be let out of the contract. If she refuses or gives you any hassle you can contact her broker and clarify that you don't want to work with an agent that is providing such poor services. Next, spend time researching seller's agents in your area and interview at least 3. Do a search for all the things you should ask a selling agent and pick the best one for the job. This is not something to hand off to someone you don't have faith in.
House that you did NOT buy?
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Why did you pass? Too much work? Main road? Bad layout? Too big? Too small? Red flags? Bad location?
Dodged a bullet? Regret one that got away?
Post a link?
Top Comment: Yard sloped towards the house.
What is the worst house buying experience you've ever had?
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I have a real doozy to share, but I'm interested to hear what others have experienced. The show "Money Pit" comes into mind in many house buying situations. This would probably represent my experience I had in buying a house.
Top Comment: Bought a house once that had a weird smell that we could never get rid of. We first smelled it during the inspection and the gas company was called out because it smelled like gas. No gas leak so we thought it's nothing. It seemed to have went away but we noticed that it came only when we opened windows. The hotter it was the smellier. Windows closed and there wasn't a hint of it. And it was coming from inside the house because outside you couldn't smell a thing. We replaced the carpet and it did nothing. We painted and it went away for a couple months but then returned. We had multiple people try to inspect/figure it out to no avail. We opened up walls. It wasn't mold. Eventually we just lived with it. To this day I don't know what it was. When we sold it we disclosed it but the new buyer couldn't smell it. But he said he had a bad sense of smell. I don't think he took it seriously because there was nothing wrong with the house at all. Just a really weird situation.