I'd find out if it is a load bearing wall and what kind of foundation you have before starting to daydream about moving anything.

Mama nails it again.

Yep, the best advice that I received was to live in the house for a while before making major changes. This gives you time to see how the kitchen and adjacent rooms work for you and will highlight issues that you have not considered. Nothing worse than making expensive changes only to have regrets later.

That looks like a wonderful space with nice views out back! I see why you'd want to open it all up. Love mamagoose's plan.

Have you thought about how you'd deal with the flooring in the wide open space?

Here's an idea very similar to Mama's, just with the fridge and range swapped.

It puts the range closer to the dining table and a nice long stretch of counter between sink and range. I made the aisles a bit wider at 5'; recommended minimum is 4'.

The view between rooms might be a little better with the fridge on the short wall and coffee pot or small appliance tucked into the corner. Especially if you have a pretty range hood to look at from the living room.

How high are your ceilings? If they are only 8', you want to be careful about creating too large a room for the ceiling height.

The only thing I'd do to that kitchen right now is get a counter depth refrig! You're going to regret losing that wall. Everything on earth does not need to be "open concept"! It is already open to the other room. Your house is NOT a loft!

OP, you're on the right path now! New appliances - maybe even new countertops. All this will be far less than gutting things. You're going to be glad you kept that appliance wall - it will be very useful.

Renovations may need to be severelycut back. Inspection didnt come back with great results.

You are closing next week and you just now have inspection info? Yikes.

If you haven't already, why not negotiate for cash back at closing to cover the cost of repairs?

What did the inspection tell you?

I think the negotiation period is long over - they're closing in 2 weeks!

We negotiated at the signing table........nothing's done 'til ya sign!

I'd consider swapping the dining room with the kitchen. Big dream, but it might be really nice!

What did the inspection say? Its absolutely normal protocol to go back to the seller & ask for $ off or repairs. This happens everyday.

OP. For the love of God, don't be "that" whiny buyer.

Here in Oregon I think you have five business days to back out of your contract if it is contingent upon an inspection.

Nightowl, you're being kind of harsh on the OP. Have you bought a house recently? Our market is hot right now and people are closing within two weeks of making offers. Inspections and appraisals are on tight timelines ; inspectors are so busy that they inspecting on Sundays, so folks might have to wait on inspectors' schedule availability. Anyway. There are lots of possible reasons why an inspection report comes a week before closing. Also, its not whiney to further negotiate the contract based upon inspection info. Otherwise, why get an inspection? The OPs house might need a new roof or something major. The seller can always say no, but as they say... You don't g-e-t unless you a-s-k.

Nightowl you are being harsh. I read her post in the buying a house forum and from the report it sounds like the whole house has been neglected for a long, long time and needs a lot of expensive work. Nothing that the OP posted from the report on the buying a house forum was whiney stuff.

What did the inspection say? Its absolutely normal protocol to go back to the seller & ask for $ off or repairs.

Yes it is, if you're still within the period where you can back out. If not, not - you walk after the contingency has expired and you lose your deposit.

The inspection was overwhelming -114 pages long! This included lots of pictures. I said on the other forum that I expected there to be things on the list being an old house. The sellers had gone down on their price, in fact lower than what they bought it for, so I wasnt expecting they would give us much in allowances when the report came back. Also we wanted to be fair. So the report came back and it was bad. The deal breaker was the pipes. They are made of some kind of plastic that over time oxidents in the water weakens the material and it becomes brittle and breaks. Then it can mess up the whole structure of the house. I called my insurance agent about it and they won't cover the house with the pipes. He called several other companies who said they don't. Finally I called the agent and asked who covered the home owners. Theirs did cover it. But the more We read the more spooked we got. Then theres a leak in the roof, in both bathrooms but they can't specify what kind of leak until they "open things up", needs new air unit and ducts, can lights (50?) and then theres just so much more. We called and said we were out. Our realtor said they want us to come back and offering 10000. But that might get a third of what needs to be done. There goes definitely half of reno money. So my heart is broken. I thought it was meant to be the way we found it.

Thats to bad so sorry - But better your heart be broken for a little while than you going broke with all that needs to be done. It would always be in the back of my mind what could and may happen and wouldn't like that feeling. Another home will come along that you'll fall in love with!

I'm so sorry it has worked out this way. Trust me, you don't want a money pit of a house that is going to cause you tons of stress. I would take it as a blessing and move on. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. There is a house out there for you that you will be so thankful that you found instead of the inspection nightmare house. If you still want the house you can still counter with another off. Ask them for $30K and see what they say. Even nightmare houses can be fixed, but if you don't have the money you don't want someone else's problems.

I think you should be thankful you could get out! This was not "meant to be" as mark_rachel said.

This is such a tough situation. We chose to buy a major fixer because the lot and view are so rare in our price range; we hadn't been planning to move, but when we viewed the house and I stepped outside and took in the property I just started to cry. Uh oh. Enter emotional decision-making.

The home was habitable when we bought it, but as we started to peel back layers we learned how bad it was and we dove in. Total to-the-studs gut renovation. It's been 2.5 years since we bought this place. It's been stressful and probably not the best financial decision we'll ever make, but I love this property so much--I'd live here in a tent.

We have almost as much invested in renovating the house as we paid for it. Thanks to the crazy real estate situation here in Portland the market value is a bit above what we've put into it. However, we see this as our forever home--in our late 30s we designed the house with aging in place in mind--it's not necessarily an investment.

Is this property special? A large lot? View? A rare opportunity? Would this be your forever home? If yes and you can buy the house for a price that allows room for all the necessary renovations and keep it below market value I wouldn't think you're crazy :-) It won't be easy, but it could be worth it.