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Re: inspection, don't we have to sign the contract THEN go into inspection? once the report comes back if there are any issues that cannot be worked out then the contract is voided? {Quote Always_NYC}
You are correct, Make an offer based on what you see, run the comps, use real comps to substantiate your offer, If offer gets accepted, then you generally have about 14 day (or mutually agreed on trime frame (after attorney review) to have your inspections. Are you working with a Realtor?
Seller is generally responsible for structural damage, termite infestation, and termite damage, and radon.
Ok everyone - one more question - I am going back to the house I LOVE to see it one more time. With what i had mentioned, is there anything you could think of or any advice on what I could look for? (signs of water damage, or something that i would raise and eyebrow at) Would the worst case scenario for water damage be gutting the basement?
No the worst case scenario for water damage would be that it was improperly addressed and now there is a serious mold problem that could have possibly spread to other "dry" areas of the house.
In terms of things that you want to be on the lookout for- smell around, it will tell you a lot. Also, at home depot they sell moisture readers- pick one up and during the inspection either have you or the inspector place it on some of the walls, see what it says.
Look around the basement REALLY well. See if it's suspiciously too clean/freshly painted/smells like bleach or other strong chemical cleaner. It may be a sign that they just washed off or painted over the mold. That's what happened with us, and we didn't pick up on it until it was too late.
Good luck!
Look around the basement REALLY well. See if it's suspiciously too clean/freshly painted/smells like bleach or other strong chemical cleaner. It may be a sign that they just washed off or painted over the mold. That's what happened with us, and we didn't pick up on it until it was too late.
Good luck!
The house I bought..the builder painted the walls! Thing is, he used regular interior wall paint! He definatley had an issue before we moved in and did try to cover it up but I was way too savvy and questioned the paint on the walls and floor! Apparently... the basement flooded during the construction process - before he had sumps installed and this was his way of covering it up rather than just saying - "hey, this is what happened but now it's fixed!". I had to remove his paint and redo it but with that said...paint may not be on the walls and floors as a cover up tactic. For me... I have concrete block walls and you really should seal them with a watertight paint. Block walls retain moisture and water. And you'll pretty much always get some kind of moisture if you have a concrete floor so I painted that as well with proper water sealing paint. The things to look for are stains on any exposed wood.. water marks. Also see if the furnace is elevated off of the floor - could mean water. And also see how they have things stored in the basement..on the floor means no worries but up on blocks or shelves could mean they worried about flooding and as should you.
I loved having the french drain and sump in my parents house (20 years ago). It was an unfinished basement and any time we or the dogs came in muddy or we had something dirty that needed cleaning before it could be brought into the house we washed off in the basement. Then hosed everything into the drain and pumped it out. When we had a pipe burst while we were gone for 2 weeks the drain and pump kept the basement from ever getting wet outside the spray area of the burse pipe. Water damage to one of the walls and the stuff within spraying distance but other than that it was dry.
I'm in agreement w/ those saying your friend is nuts. We have both as well, never had water in the basement. A few years back we had one bad storm where EVERYONE got water, everyone on our block BUT us.
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