Posted by Mark-NC on September 06, 2001 at 15:12:55:
Nancy,
One of the reason the city inspectors will not give you an answer on how it needs to be fixed is because they are not quailified professionally to do so.
I am surprised that they didn’t tell you that you would have to have an engineer look at it to determine what needed to be done.
Even a home inspector could not legally give you that information unless they were an engineer.
Not knowing what you are into it for I really can’t advise you what to do one way or another. But If it originally looked like a good deal, try getting an engineer out there and see what can be done. Then determine if it is worth it or not to close the deal.
Posted by NANCY on September 06, 2001 at 14:49:20:
I am in the process of purchasing my first rehab.
Think I made a mistake…
The foundation of the home is in question and I cannot get any solid answers from the City Inspectors as to what they want done in order to pass inspection. On top of this - they HATE the house…told me it should be torn down. I can just imagine what kind of grief they will give me when I need them to approve the work!!
I have already signed off on the contingency based on an estimate for foundation repair I received ($2500) - I was later told that the cost could inflate to $20K depending on the seriousness of the problem (to be determined after meeting with city inspectors) who won’t meet with me until AFTER I close on the house!!
Should have had the house professionaly inspected.
Am about to back out of the deal and lose my $500 good faith $$.
Lesson learned - how can I better protect myself in the future?