I go to auctions like the guys on Texas hold'em poker play their games......you don't ever want to let on that you think an item is "hot". If it is a desirable property, there will be others there who do this for speculation and know their way around. What you say or do won't influence them as they'll have their 'numbers' already and no emotional attachments. They do it for a living. Sometimes they say or do things to intimidate or psyche out the folks who do it for a 'home'. Don't be influenced by what other buyers say or hint. There may also be others there who think it's going to be like a bargain basement. They're the ones who will sometimes drive up the price past the point you know you should quit, because they get caught up in the moment and may have been scoping the house out like you have. They do react to other people's reactions. I'm assuming, if you haven't planned to pay cash for it, that you've already had the conversation with your banker as to how high they feel comfortable backing you based on your credit and the house's appraisal? That's how I knew how far I could take a bid, should it go past the minimums. You'll probably be required to lay down a percentage then and there and have X number of days to pay the rest. I hope your inspection goes well and wish you the best of luck. Be sure you have talked with knowlegeable people about liens against the house, etc. I had one bank who held the forclosed mortagage goof up and then try to come back to me after a sale and get me to pay for a second mortage they'd issued and missed. LOL. No, they didn't get more money. Their bad. Then again, if you decide to bid, there may be no competition. Who knows? Usually there are the same crowd of 'lookers' who go to every real estate auction listed. They eat their lunch and visit with cronies. LOLOL. I have no idea how your state handles such stuff and my circumstances could differ a lot from yours. I'm no legal whiz and don't claim to be. My advice is worth what you paid for it. ;-) There are a lot of folks on this and the real estate forum who have done this, and I just know how scary buying real estate can be, and this especially so. Just wanted you to know that some of them have happy endings. Some don't. If this one doesn't pan out, there will be more. Plenty more in this economy and the next time you'll be a seasoned veteran.

Scott...Thanks..that's reassuring. Yesterday, I could not find any tears in any of the cartridges including the suspect one. Regarding the pressure...you're right....the pressure was not half as originally posted...it was dusk when reading the original pressure and hard to see...it could have been the egg nog and rum also! The actual pressure was 6 psi lower than normal..normal being 20 psi. After filter inspection and re-assembly, I was able to get the pressure to normal again. I had forgotten the skimmer suction was closed and I was only pulling from the main drain. I also forgot the valve at the bottom of the skimmer was only partially open further restricting flow even when the skimmer suction valve at the pad was open. With both valves open all the way, the pressure is now 20 psi. Lesson learned.

Broken element wire(s) ... yes, common. Manual-reset thermostat ... thermostats operate by sensing heat. It wouldn't trip if the temperature in the heater box didn't exceed the limit. Fire ... possible but one or more of the safety thermostats should trip in time to avoid that. That being said, sometimes a broken element touching the heater box shorts to ground and stays energized whenever the dryer is (depending on the electrical design characteristics) either a) turned on, or b) connected to power. The safety devices are intended to kill the power to the element even in that case ... but sometimes unexpected things happen. Periodic cleaning/inspection ... yes, that's a good idea. How often depends on the usage. Every two years is sometimes recommended. I have a DEGX1, didn't open it up for 9 years, and found it cleaner than expected when I did. Had a lint clog in the left-side outlet duct (due to torn filter screen) that was obstructing the airflow, and one element broken. I changed the drum bearing while I had it apart, although it was *not* worn to the point of needing a change. You say "the inlet cover was hot to the touch." It's normal that the heater box, inlet duct at right side of the drum, and the right side interior of the drum where the heated air comes in are all hot during operation. The right exterior side of the machine also gets warm. Rubbing sound from the element seems odd, unless the broken coils were jiggering around from airflow or thermal expansion/contraction. You might investigate if the drum bearing or belt idler pulleys need replacement. DO NOT oil or grease the drum bearing. The idler pulleys also aren't intended to be oiled but a *very* light bit of oil may be OK (wipe away any excess and don't get it on the belt).

Disclosure requirements are statutory issues and vary from state to state. However, in most states, items found on a previous inspection are not required disclosures. It is a very popular myth and many(most) real estate agents will tell you otherwise, but generally the courts have held that home inspectors are not independent third parties and the defects found by them are not required disclosures. However, there are some exceptions. If the inspection is done by a government agency, such as septic inspection, that becomes a known defect with the property. If the seller pays for the inspection then the defect must be disclosed as the inspector is then the seller's hired agent. Nor should the seller recommend an inspector that they have found satisfactory in the past (I would certainly argue that a recommendation qualifies as acceptance of expertise, but I am not sure there is precedent for this). Having said this, it is largely a moot point. It really doesn't matter whether or not the seller has a statutory obligation to disclose it. It matters whether or not they believe they have a statutory obligation to disclose it, and an overwhelming number of people will believe they do. As a real estate investor I have actually used that to my advantage a few times. ETA: This is actually a case I lost. Sellers were children of the homeowners, selling house after parents passed away. A previous buyer had the property inspected and found the house had previously had a massive termite infestation that had been treated by Orkin. On the lower level the termites had chewed the paper backing off a lot of the drywall as pieces were found laying on ground. The children paid someone to remove and replace all drywall on lower level walls. Their attorney argued they had no reason to know the cause of the drywall damage and repaired it because it looked bad. We argued the previous inspection with pictures had been supplied to them (which they acknowledged), so they were actively hiding the damage. The court sided with them. They were not required to disclose a report prepared for a previous buyer and acting to repair the damage didn't constitute an effort to hide it.