vitos Posted November 25, 2011 Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'm thinking to make an offer on a foreclosed house but have some concerns about a foundation crack in a corner of the house. This house is 7 years old and it looks like the crack is pretty dry and has not leaked yet. This house has a walkout basement but the crack is in the corner of the higher grounds so it completely ground covered from the outside and it's impossible to tell if this crack goes all the way through the poured concrete. I would really appreciate any advise or recommendation if I should worry about it. Thanks. Click to Enlarge 36.91?KB Click to Enlarge 31.42?KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted November 25, 2011 Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 The crack is unimportant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted November 25, 2011 Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 Ditto Jim's comment. I only wish the foundation cracks I see were that minimal !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 Have you hired a home inspector yet? If not, do your homework and hire a good one one. Make sure you have the time to be there and learn about what you're buying. Leave the realtor out of the loop when you do hire one. It's your investment, not theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitos Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 All, thank you for your prompt responses. No I have not hired an inspector for this house. This house is one of those cash foreclosures deals. The bank is trying to move this house quick and don't want to deal with conventional mortgage or contingencies upon inspection. They only accept cash offers and sell it as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 All, thank you for your prompt responses. No I have not hired an inspector for this house. This house is one of those cash foreclosures deals. The bank is trying to move this house quick and don't want to deal with conventional mortgage or contingencies upon inspection. They only accept cash offers and sell it as is. I have many, many clients purchasing foreclosures that are being sold as-is. They still get it inspected to discover any major issues. Many have walked away from something that would have been a major financial burden had they moved forward with the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 All, thank you for your prompt responses. No I have not hired an inspector for this house. This house is one of those cash foreclosures deals. The bank is trying to move this house quick and don't want to deal with conventional mortgage or contingencies upon inspection. They only accept cash offers and sell it as is. That's fine, but are you willing to buy a pig in a poke? I do REO sold-as-is homes on almost a daily basis now. You'd be amazed at the amount of stuff non-home inspectors miss when they go through these homes without an inspector and then make an offer. Sometimes they focus on one thing to the exclusion of everything else; your post might be an example of that. I looked at one the other day where the guy who'd walked away from the house had converted a garage into finished space. In the process he'd enclosed his gas furnace and gas water heater into a little space that had less than 1% of the volume needed for proper combustion of those two appliances. The vent connectors on top of these appliances required at least six inches of clearance to flammables; but the rocket scientist had framed right up against them, so it wasn't only a carbon monoxide poisoning event waiting to happen it was also a barbecue waiting to happen - which is exactly what I called it to the chagrin of the realtor who I thought was going to have a stroke she turned so red. Through the new basement bedroom highlighted in the advertising brochure was the only way to get to that space. That bedroom didn't have a legal egress window. Under the right conditions that "mechanical room" could have killed not just the person sleeping in that bedroom but everyone else living in the home. Do you have the expertise needed to spot those kinds of issues? Do yourself a favor; hire a good inspector. It's not just your largest financial investment you're talking about; it could be your life or the life of one of your loved ones. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitos Posted November 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 I understand all the risks involved, and again, I'm not saying that's my plan to buy it without inspection. I'm just trying to cover some basic obvious things before I get into heavy negotiations with the bank, which has been a very difficult process so far. The bank has been very unwilling to even talk to potential buyers, they are very hardheaded about this house, they set a price and want it in cash. They priced it very aggressively but the cash part is a very hard pill to swallow. The bank is open to conventional mortgage with all inspections and etc but for a much higher price. So as you can see, I'm definitely not ready to spend $500-$700 on inspection if we can't even reach a tentative agreement with the bank. The whole idea about this crack post is to get some professional opinions so I can decide if it event worth trying to fight for this house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 The bank is open to conventional mortgage with all inspections and etc but for a much higher price. Then don't tell them you're getting an inspection. Just do it, then if the inspection report clears your intention to walk away, just walk away. In the end, if you do buy a house, the inspections become investments, not expenditures. The return is the improved value of the house that you end up with and that return can exceed the cost of all those inspections many, many times over. Just do your homework on your inspector before you pick him. Like houses, they're not all the same. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI in AR Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 What Marc said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 vitos, Listen to my brethren above. Do not attempt the path through the jungle without a guide. There may be quite a number of pitfalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitos Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Thank you all for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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