Wanting to move to Lacon, IL but work in Peoria

[Red2goBlue]

So the safe bet if I truly love the house is to have a mold and house inspection on it before doing anything else? How much do getting both of these roughly cost?

[Red2goBlue]

This is an REO. A bank in Texas owns the title to the place. Does this now change the ball game? As Ive been told that usually bank owned REOs wont do anything to help with cost of fixing it up to par nor taking some off for the amount it would cost to fix the minor repairs.

I was also told old basements will always have some moisture to them as its an old basement.

When I was upstairs, there was not smell of musk or mold and there was no visual signs of mold at all, just that one patch down in the basement.

So how will a mold inspector find out if they cant see it or smell it?

[linicx]

REO= Real Estate Owned. Banks want to get rid of them; they don't repair.

The HOME INSPECTION and MOLD INSPTECTION is written into the OFFER. It is in the Contingency. You already know it will NOT PASS a mold inspection. The only question is IF the basement IS the ONLY location they find mold? The mold testing is usually two day. They have all types of tools to locate it. If the bank will NOT allow the inspections WALK AWAY. If the bank will not allow the Home Inspection WALK AWAY. Either they KNOW the bad news, or they don't WANT TO KNOW the bad news.

Personally since you can clearly see mold, and because it is a large amount, I would expect to see more, and I would walk.. The money you spend on inspections is better spent on a property that is not as likely to wind up in an auction.

Been there done that, too. I saw a darling little house I wanted, that had a small 2x2 inch area of black mold in the summer porch. The inspection revealed a house full of it in ceilings, behind the mirror and around the tub in the bathroom, blah, blah, blah. I walked. The realtor saw the report and had to reveal it to the buyer. The $30K house sold for $8K.
This is what happens in central Illinois to an empty closed house with no heat/air on. Texas banker do not understand corn or high humidity as it a state with a much drier humidity and not nearly as much water and heavy foliage as is in Central Illinois.

[linicx]

I never owned a house I had to repair every month forever. The last house I flipped was a 100+ year old 4/2 Craftsman Style Bungalow with porches front and rear. The only repair I ever made in 8 years was replace a seal wax ring under a leaky toilet. Everything else was cosmetic that was purchased on sale or at auction, or came from another house. I painted inside and out, added a little curb appeal, and updated the features women want. I staged it. Thirty days later I closed it and closed on my current house 18 hours later. This turned out to be a money pit that was not updated or upgraded since the late 1940s. It has not been a monthly affair, but the first three years did take care of major issues. But let me be clear about one thing. There were no surprises as all of the major upgrades were planned the first year. If the $600 pressure tank that was replaced today, hadn't gotten in the way, I would be finished this summer. But. Life happens, and taxes come first. .

Plans can go awry and at the worst time Always have a Plan B; you'll never be surprised. .

[MPowering1]

Originally Posted by linicx

REO= Real Estate Owned. Banks want to get rid of them; they don't repair.

Personally since you can clearly see mold, and because it is a large amount, I would expect to see more, and I would walk.. The money you spend on inspections is better spent on a property that is not as likely to wind up in an auction.

I agree. They won't repair and mold remediation is costly. Black mold is toxic. The prep work they do to ensure mold spores aren't going to other parts of the home while they remove it in even isolated areas is time consuming. You don't want this house.

[linicx]

I looked at a house that had hidden mold behind paneling in the basement. The studs were full of it. It would have cost in the neighborhood of $100,000 to remediate it and rebuild it. Not worth the $45K the bank was asking.

Mold is NOT your friend.

[Red2goBlue]

Ok, well Im not getting that house. Its beyond fixing up. I had a friend inspect the house and basement. It would cost more to get it livable than the amount their asking for.

Now, the realtor showed me a wonderful one bedroom house that needs no updates at all. Everything is pretty brand new. Its a 1 bedroom and has been on the market for a little over 200 days. Its an elderly couple that had 2 places but they decided to move out to their farm house. Their asking $59,000. There is no way I can pay that as the mortgage payments would be well over my housing allowance. In order to get it withing my housing allowance, it would have to be around $35,000 to maybe $38,000 at the most. I dont think the owners would want to go that low but it has been on the market for over 200 days and their have been no offers on it. Would I have a chance? What should I offer on the first offer?

[linicx]

Go look at my answer in your Henry, Illinois question.