First Time Home Owner - Inspector Results (pics)

17 years ago

Hi. We are in the process of purchasing an old home. The inspection turned up several things we're concerned about. Can you all take a look at these picture and tell me whether this looks to be a costly expense? My husband is smart and handy with home type work, but these he's not sure on. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

The floor under the fireplace hearth needs to be repaired. The support board has failed.

The rear enclosed porch is not properly supported. The floor is sagging. A beam needs to be added on the left side. It should be supported with concrete block or 6x6 treated wood columns. Footers need to be added under the supports.

WALL COVERINGS

Repair/Replace or Further Evaluation Needed

The wall is bowing out on the right side at the front corner and left side. No signs of movement on the foundation was visible from the crawl space. This appears to be the brick veneer separating from the house. Contractor to repair.

FRONT PORCH

Repair/Replace or Further Evaluation Needed

The middle support post has been removed causing the roof to sag. Support post needs to be added.

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Comments (11)

sdello
17 years ago
That is why you have a home inspection!!

Why are all of these fundamental framing supports broken???

Each thing may not be a really big issue individually, but collectively it looks like this place has problems and these items need to be addressed pronto.

Framing under a fireplace hearth doesn't just break.
Why would anyone just remove a support post on the porch? Is that a crack in the top member at the roof?

If you aren't getting a price comensurate with making all of these repairs then you should walk. Also, I wouldn't get into it because it's cheap without the cash on hand to remedy these situations immediately. If you think you can live with it while you and your husband DIY, then I'd rethink your game plan.

As a minimum I would get at least one estimate from a reputable contractor before I would close on this house.

that's my 0.02 based on the three photos you posted.

Good luck on whatever you choose.
infoartist
17 years ago
Well these are worse than anything on the inspections for either of the two homes I've bought. On the other hand they look fixable. I'd hire a structural engineer for an additional inspection, if you buy the house he can come up with plans and you can decide if you want to do the work yourself. It's probably routine work for a carpenter/contractor who builds additions from the ground up every day, but more than most people would do on their own.
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GammyT
17 years ago
I agree, if you still want the house hire a structural engineer to do another inspection before buying and give you an estimated price of repair.

These problems are more than "My husband is smart and handy with home type work, but these he's not sure on." These are support issues and not for DIY.

What I really see in the photos is a house I would walk away from and never look back. From those photos alone, just to keep it standing it will be a money pit to repair just these things. Of course then electric, plumbing, the roof and everything else comes in.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Someone has messed with the house very badly.
At structural engineer at least for anyting the inspector may have missed.

The only issue that is truly major is the brick seperating. This could require stripping brick and replacing it.

The others are significant but not really very hard to repair, though if you are not experienced in structural repair work it can get expensive.
If the prce is a real bargain it might be worth it, but you may have problems with even getting a mortgage with the level of reapirs needed.
User
17 years ago
My experience is that for every easily-visible problem that a home inspector will find, there are probably 5 hidden problems that he won't find.

With such significant problems I think you should run not walk away, unless you're specifically looking for a house to spend a lot of time and money fixing up.
DNT1
17 years ago
LOL sbs9 said exactly what I was going to say, RUN away as fast as you can from this deal. I would hardly be interested in this place if it were free, especially for a first time homeowner. Most anything is fixable and this house could be repaired but why put yourselves thru the ordeal. I would suggest that you spend the time and effort that you would have spent working on this money pit searching for a much better house. Do not settle for a house just because you are sick and tired of looking, trust me before you get this house fixed you will be even more sick and tired of working on it lol.
tmgeorgo
17 years ago
Yikes!

I don't think you should go through with this purchase. Seriously.
drywall_diy_guy
17 years ago
These seem like they could be serious issues. I assume you have a contract contingent on satisfactory inspection.

First, find out if the seller is willing to pay for repairs or reduce the cost to pay for repairs. If they are not willing, then walk away. There is no point in pursuing further.

Get repairs made by qualified people. If they do the repairs, you won't have to produce the cash after the sale - just make sure they do them right.

It seems like a new buyers contract should be made up - if you are really serious about this house, it would be to your advantage to consult with a real estate attorney. Don't sign any new contract until you get estimates and/or suitable repairs made and a contract to your liking.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Walk away or get a large price reduction.
DO NOT allow the seller to make repairs.
The WILL get the lowest bidder to perform the work and it is VERY unlikely to be satisfactory.

There is other damage present.
Any plumbing or wiring in the area of these sags may have been damaged by the movement.
Unless the house is a real bargain and you have deep pockets and plan to stay, WALK AWAY.
mrblandings
17 years ago
Based on my own experience, I would say that unless there is something uniquely compelling to you about this house, I would walk away. I think it is a fair bet that the money you spend on the repairs will not translate into commensurate equity. In other words, if you spend X on the house and Y on the repairs, when you are done, you will NOT have a house that you could sell for (X + Y). You'd be better served buying a house worth (X + Y) that needs no repairs. Also, keep in mind that any estimates you get from inspectors, structural engineers, or whomever, are just that -- estimates -- NOT contracts to actually do the work. When we bought our home, we had a long list of defects and remediation estimates from our inspection. The actual cost of fixing these defects turned out to be at least 3-4 times the inspector's estimates. And that doesn't even count all the things that the inspector did not find.

We love our old house, but financially it has been a disaster. In hindsight, I wish we had walked away when we got the inspector's report (which was not even as bad as yours.)
sunrochy
17 years ago
I agree with other posters. My DH and I did purchase a house with some repairs needed but they were the kind that were simple and DIY-able (new sink in BA-the BA was remodled anyway, few new storm windows, graded the land away from the foundation, etc). The only major repair was fixing one slightly bowing wall in the basement which was bowing from the pressure of the land behind the wall over the years. The other walls are not behind ground (the land slopes from front to back) and are in good condition. However that house would scare us as we were by several houses we looked at that required more major repairs and $$$.

First Time Home Owner - Inspector Results (pics)

Comments (11)

sdello

infoartist

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