Not subject to flooding really (technically in the 500 yr flood plain, but the river's path was rerouted - we're in downtown San Antonio, for anyone who knows the history of the area). However the drainage isn't great It will not be sealed completely, there's a door to enter the crawl space and vents every few feet (about 6 per side). Also, the skirting is stucco over mortar everywhere except the wrap-around porch, which will be lattice, so lots of ventilation. Foundation skirting final layer is stucco, which is what as there before (mortar underneath) on top of mesh, with flashing down a couple of feet. The whole set up is pretty standard in this neighborhood except for the tyvek...our foundation guy has done a lot of work in these old neighborhoods and insists it'll help. Just seems weird to me, and not sure how to plant around it. I am thinking now we'll just go for stones/pebbles, but with the tyvek I think everything will wash away. I'm going to talk to him again about the tyvek...

May I suggest paver bricks? And of course, you can lay them better than I did with my path leftovers!

I had it inspected, and we do have new insulation, Sellers showed paper work for both foundation inspection which stated it as in fair condition and a resell inspection. I was told that it could just be the joists, won't know until the engineer comes out Monday. As far as ME volunteering my husband for the work, he was the one who would rather do it on his own than hire someone. Not having an AC doesnt bother me at all, I dont have one now in my apartment. Emotions clouding my judgement? Maybe so, but I really do love this house. I'm not looking for a 5yr home, I'm looking for a home that I can live in for 20-30yrs. As far as a 16k roof...thats a bogus price. I was quoted by 3 quality roofers on both shingles and metal. Cheapest with 5yr warranty was $4200.00 Metal was closer to $8,000 I do believe, but dont quote me on the metal pricing, I dont have my paperwork with me. IF I fix the roof myself, the seller will put the roofing costs towards closing fee's, in other words, he will pay $4,200 in closing costs, and if closing isn't that much, he will refund me the left overs as long as I have the receipt. The owner is also willing to pay 75% of the costs to fix the foundation ONLY if I have proof saying that it needs work, which is obviously does. Now, I am not 100% on this house...I LOVE it yes, and even if I run from it like many of you are suggesting I do, I will likely run into the same issues in another house. It would be nice to be approved for a 100k house, but that's not going to happen for us for at least another 3yrs due to MY filing bankruptcy, and I am in absolutely NO position to keep living in a 2bd duplex for 3 more years. I have 4 children, 2 step children who make visits here. I am also not wanting to throw away $1,000 in rent to go get into another larger place. As far as the leaning floors go, I talked to the inspector and he told me it could very well just be the wood under the tile/carpet. Some type of water damage, which is also very common as we had a HUGE flood in 2006. A 30k stair/kitchen redo....You can redo anything for much cheaper. I'm not looking for a 30k kitchen. If it doesn't appeal to others, they dont have to look at it. Now if I were buying the house to flip or use as some type of profit, then yeah I can see spending 30k in a kitchen. Spending 15k in cabinets is just plain crazy when you can simply paint them or reface them. But again like I said, if I were buying the home purely to make a profit from, the choices in how things are done would be entirely different. It needs to look good to ME and be functional for ME...not the whole state lol. Also, IF I wanted to install AC I could. I already have a Trane unit, and it would cost me $1500 to install. It is AC ready, the sellers just never replaced theirs when the unit went out...it was checked in the inspection. The inspection yielded the floors obviously, and one electrical outlet face plate which was broken. I have seen all the sellers receipts for all the upgrades such as new wiring, furnace, hot water heater, siding, windows, and insulation. It has the spray insulation I do believe they said. We will see what the engineer comes up with, then I will call around for foundation repair or lifting quotes if I need to, just to see how much this repair job would run me as im only paying 25% of the repair costs. It could be a 7k job or it could be a 25k job, won't know until he comes out to look at it. I'm not the type of person to pay full price for anything, and i'm definitely not the person to pay someone exactly what they are wanting for things either. After all, that is how I got my rent here to the $500 mark instead of the original $715 they wanted to begin with. I'm a haggler and probably cheaper than a lot of women out there. Just because I have the money to buy a $30k car doesn't mean i'm going to pay $30k for a car. ;) Keep in mind, I'm not 100% sold on this home yet...

sherwood - thanks for sharing your experience. vith - Had an engineer from local survey company come out. To grade to today's standards, i.e., 6" clearance from siding with proper slope, it would move enough soil to trigger ordinance that requires erosion and sediment plan, etc. I have 30' along garage area that needs sloped, so it adds up quickly. Three inch clearance is sufficient? which means top of footer will be three inches below soil surface. Does that create any problems that top of footer is no longer 6-8" deep, but will now be 3" from soil surface? Thanks.