mananyunk homes and sloping (insurance, appliances, loan)

[herenia]

Took a look a home in manayunk with an inspector who mentioned it slopes down towards the back. The roof of the front porch was no longer sitting on the concrete post, the one for the neighboring house had moved about an inch and a half but the house I looked at was completely off the post. The other houses all seemed fine. The basement had some cracks in the wall. The seller had mentioned in the disclosure that some cracks had been repaired in the house but new cracks had appeared in the last 5 years. The inspector can't tell with certainty if this is an old issue or a new/ongoing issue. The house was listed at about 20 -25k less than comps for the area and I offered something 4k less which was still accepted. The inspector recommended it best if an engineer to look at it.

This is an old house with owners who've lived in it for 30+ years so there are other issues with roof, plumbing and the electric is 30Amp. The inspector had mentioned the electric needs to be updated to even get insurance. also has corrosion around pumps. The deck also needs to come down, per the inspector. Also there was a pipe or something in the basement that was corroded with seepage and the inspector mentioned it's a failure waiting to happen but he can't call it a failure because it has not happened yet.

Basically,it needs a lot of updating and repairs and as it appears not updates has been done besides the kitchen which lacks an exhaust fan or any extra appliances besides fridge and range.

We could ask the owners to repair the roof which is what the inspector recommends although i'd like to have it just replaced. we could ask for the electric to be upgraded to a 100Amp but can't ask for the wiring to be done which i would prefer as well since he mentioned whatever the house had was something used during WWII.

Can I ask the sellers to lower the price so I shoulder the responsibility or should i just walk? I don't mind building some sweat equity.
The whole "sloping" thing is a bit concerning. is this something something common in the 19127 zip code since it's hilly?

Thanks for reading.

[Blinx]

Originally Posted by herenia

We could ask the owners to repair the roof which is what the inspector recommends although i'd like to have it just replaced. we could ask for the electric to be upgraded to a 100Amp but can't ask for the wiring to be done which i would prefer as well since he mentioned whatever the house had was something used during WWII.

Can I ask the sellers to lower the price so I shoulder the responsibility or should i just walk? I don't mind building some sweat equity. The whole "sloping" thing is a bit concerning. is this something something common in the 19127 zip code since it's hilly?

What are the terms of your agreement? Generally, you write in that unless inspection turns up work exceeding X amount of dollars, you are held to the agreement, or forfeit your deposit. How old is the roof? Is it flat or shingled? Could just be patched/recoated if flat.

As for the cracks/sloping, I'd hire an engineer who is very familiar with Manayunk houses. You might have found a diamond in the rough, or just a lump of coal!

Also, your insurance company may have some input. I remember mine wanted me to replace the roof -- before settlement! We compromised, and I put money into escrow and had the roof replaced by a certain date, after settlement.

[herenia]

Thanks. I actually got the inspection report today and there are so many things to repair and replace. I'm thinking about reducing my offer price and if they say no, i'll walk. Even if i put 40-45k to make the repairs, there is still the question of opportunity costs.

I don't forfeit my deposit if i say no after the inspection. Saying yes after the inspection results in me making another deposit of 4k. I already had the loan set up and the bank will charge $500 if i cancel it but i'll rather part with that than take on a bone I may not be able to chew. I probably should have waited till I'd everything set up but it's my first time and I'll learn from this.

Thanks.