Looking for some advice on a house (Irondale: how much, buying)

[nolesnomercy]

Hey everyone I am trying to get a little advice from some folks who are a bit more experienced with home buying, particularly in the BHM area. My wife and I our first time buyers and we have a contract on a house in Old Irondale. The house is an early 60s all brick ranch style home and we agreed to purchase it at list price. After the inspection it was revealed that the home has a few issues. The exterior brick has some stair step cracks in it and the inspector noted an "area of roation." He also said there were higher levels of moisture readings in the basement and signs of efforescence seen on the wall. We have contacted a foundation specialist and he is coming to look at it.
There were also some issues with the electrical. Basically the electrical has been somewhat updated but it wasn't done so to code and it appears it was done without a proper permit. The electrician we contacted said that it would all need to be redone to be compliant with code. Just wondering how any of you more experienced buyers, particularly of older homes may handle this.
Not sure how much of this is to be expected in an older house in the area. We previously had a contract on an older home in Roebuck Springs that we walked away from because of many of the same issues. I really don't want to keep walking get away if these issues are relatively common in older homes. We did not buy it "as is" and none of these things were disclosed before hand. We are also not buying this house on the cheap compared to other homes In the area that have been listed or sold. We also don't want to get into a total money pit or buy a lemon of a house.

[cpg35223]

I'm thinking you should wait to see what the electrician and foundation guys say and make your decision then. Even at that point, I'd get the seller to fix those items. Older homes can have issues. Not all, not most, but some. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

[nolesnomercy]

Thanks CPG. This is what I was thinking.

[harry chickpea]

Contract contingent on all repairs being permitted, performed, inspected, and signed off on. Drop dead date 45 days from now.

[nolesnomercy]

Harry, is that what you are saying you would tell the seller if you were in my situation?

[harry chickpea]

Yep. Let the problems fall on the seller.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Yep. Let the problems fall on the seller.

This. They should have gotten the house into shape before putting it on the market.

Of course, if you are in a hurry and absolutely love the house, they could always deduct the estimated cost of the repairs from the selling price. We did that for our buyer when the appraiser found something about the casement windows he didn't like a week before closing. But that's kind of messy.

[nolesnomercy]

Thanks for the advice everyone. After having a foundation specialist and electrician come in and look at the place we made the determination that the repairs needed on the house were just too great and we decided to walk away.