Really bad inspection report (Fort Mill, Tega Cay: appointed, for sale, apartment)

[nsantamaria]

So yesterday (It's like 5 in the morning because I can't sleep thanks to allergies and post nasal drip).....yesterday morning we had our inspection done on the house. BTW the inspector was FABULOUS and I highly recommend him and his company it was amazing he didn't miss a beat and left no stone unturned and basically saved me 25k or more - depending on if the seller is willing to fix all the HORRORS that are wrong with the house.

First off, I'm kinda disappointed because honestly this wasn't expected - the house appears to be in fabulous condition although older and a re-sale.

Anyway, you always EXPECT to find some minor things wrong - I mean no house is perfect, right? However, this house that I love so much has A LOT of more serious to moderate things wrong with it that in order to fix will cost thousands upon thousands.

The inspector believes the seller knew about a lot of these issues (i.e. aluminum single strand electrical throughout the house which is a fire hazard), and the water heater doesn't work at all - apparently it burnt out because someone didn't winterize it properly.

There's 80% water damage in the baseboards of the add-on room, the boots on the roof are cracked..blah blah blah... The HVAC units which appparently are older than dirt (honestly they don't look it, but the serial numbers are completely faded) are in need of some serious servicing.

That just scratches the surface. We called a local electrician familiar with the area and he said the electrical issue alone would cost anywhere from 7K-10K!

Obviously, I'm not looking to buy a house that right off the bat is a giant money pit. The questionable thing here is that the seller made the house look incredibly pleasing to the eye - giving you the illusion that everything is in good working order...but, very apparently it's not.

Again, there are some really small, minor things that I wouldn't even be concerned about and wouldn't even both asking anyone to fix if there were no other larger issues involved.

We have NO CHOICE but to ask him to fix all of these serious defects and problems. It's going to be interesting to see how this all pans out - because honestly, of all the homes for sale in Tega Cay/Fort Mill this is the only one I really loved. OH WELL.

After the first hour of the inspection we decided it wasn't even worth it to spend the extra money on the radon and termite test until we resolve these other issues first - if they are even able to be resolved.
EVERYONE was surprised - even my agent.

[Singe]

What company did your Inspection?....obviously they are used for good reason but I have used them on both sides of the fence and feel that they often nitpick every itty-bitty issue until you feel like your buying or selling a barn .....just my 2 cents...

[nsantamaria]

Sherlock Homes. I've heard many realtors don't like using them b/c they are very detailed sometimes overly detailed. As a buyer at this point, it's highly appreciated. You know what though? Like I said....for me, I wouldn't be obnoxious and ask for little tiny things...only the big things that are safety concerns and put my family at risk. The electrical to me is HUGE - a very big concern. I can deal loose banister on the deck! NO BIG DEAL. LOL

[Belmarin]

It sounds like the seller watched too much "Flip This House" and decided that anyone can do it. The first indication is that you did not mention a seller's disclosure statement that is required in SC unless the seller did not occupy the property for a period of time prior to putting the home on the market. This is always a "red flag' to me when I am showing a home (the other "red flag" is when they respond "no representation" on the disclosure). The problems that were discovered by the inspector are material facts and must be disclosed by a seller in a seller occupied home. Unfortunately, this is not the case if the seller did not occupy the house.
A lot of novice "flippers" think that paint, flooring, tile counters, and landscaping will turn a less-than-desireable house into a buyer's dream home. This isn't the case!

Remember, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig."

IMHO - If you continue searching, look very carefully at a home with no seller's disclosure before making an offer.

[justgayle]

Belmarin and NSantamaria - Thanks, I really appreciate all this informaiton. My sister and I may very well buy a second hand house (once ours sells in PA) vs a new one like we usually do. Its good to have this insight when we start looking that - looks can be deceiving and try not to fall in love with a house until we get it checked out. I agree w NSantamaria that I wouldn't be nitpicky about small stuff, but you don't want a money pit. I wish you luck. Might I ask how old is the house?

[nsantamaria]

The house is 1972. And you know, you're right - and it was a mistake on my part because this isn't my first home purchase ...but I hadn't seen the seller's disclosure report. The inspector said these things most certainly should have been on it. The person selling the house is an investor - previously the house was rented. All these things are red flags - but I was willing to pay for the inspection to see because really I just love the area and the block and everything, but we honestly don't have a lot of cash lying around to fix all these problems and even if we did we shouldn't have to because I have a sneaking suspicion that the seller was aware of most of this and it wasn't just something that was accidentally overlooked ya know?

I highly doubt he will agree to all these repairs, so - it's back to the house hunt for me! LOL

Some people enjoy house hunting - I find it daunting to say the least.
Now, I'm thinking maybe I'll look in WATERSTONE at some townhomes

[MilesBFree]

Sorry to hear about the situation. However, just to play devil's advocate: if the electrical was up to code when the house was built, the owner is not required to rip it all out and replace with something that is up to code. I can't comment on the code here, so it may or may not have been. I also can't comment as to whether it is considered safe at present even if it is not up to current code (many electricians might consider wiring to be safe even if it is not up to code - no one rips out the electrical every few years and re-does it to meet current code...)

Not trying to give professional advice on your situation; just pointing out that it might not be something the seller is obligated to mention or even thought worthy of mention. Our previous house was about 100 years old and the most modern wiring was probably 70s vintage, with most of it older. Ask the electrician if the situation is something that can be lived with or is cause to not occupy the house. Proper fuses or breakers will protect the wiring even if it is aluminum. Aluminum by itself is not a worry for some - the wires that handle long haul transmission (e.g.- the big power lines running all over the countryside) are mostly aluminum since it is much cheaper than copper. The state of tghe wires is a much bigger concern than the material.

Ditto the AC units - if they work OK then the homeowner might not have felt they were worthy of mention either. They may not be efficient as newer ones, but might be perfectly serviceable for another 20 years.

The roof issues and water leaks are more of a concern. Probably need to fix those immediately.

The inspector was doing his job and is right to make you aware of the issues, but w/o seeing the report or the house it is hard to say if the items noted are really "issues" needing to be fixed immediately before habitation, or are merely "notes" that might not need to be fixed in the near-term.

Good luck whichever way you make the decision, and having the report in hand is a good thing.

[nsantamaria]

You're right and ...you know I know it's an older home. But I didn't mention how many of the breakers and ground faults were either broken or not working.
I just have a bad feeling about it in the pit of my gut is all and believe ME I REALLY REALLY wanted this house I've been talking about it for months. Naturally, I've been going back and forth about it because we have a modest budget and this was in the higher end of our budget bracket. BUT MAN did I dig this house! With the entire report finished trust me when I tell you then whole picture wasn't pretty. There was some electrical wire hanging freely in the attic right by some insulation....all these things combine for a house that has a very high risk of fire. With an 18 month old little girl it's not worth it no matter how much I love the area.

It's not all lost yet though - I mean, we're still trying to sift through this and see if a gameplan can be made. However, I'm not really confident and since I can't stand living in this one bedroom apartment in off South Blvd in Charlotte anymore - I REALLY want to hit the house hunting trail hardcore.

All things happen for a reason. This is the 2nd contract I had on this house, the first one fell through because my home in TN hadn't sold in time. So...we were really excited when our TN house finally sold and wanted to take another stab at this house. I'm not into the whole pleasantville-cookie cutter houses that you find in typical modern subdivisions, but I'm starting to really see that might best for us overall.

Also, I might need to broaden my horizons a little bit. Like I said, I might go small and get a townhome cheap..save up for a few years and then buy a super duper house. Or, maybe I can find something in a newer subdivision that I could see myself in for the long term.

I hate renting it's way too constricting for me and I can't really have a dog and I really need a fence. Seems silly but that's important to me.

We went to Balmoral yesterday and priced a Ryan home - I've heard good things and bad things about them...pretty much a 50/50 split. The houses look awesome. Again, it's just me needing to "get over" the whole subdivision thing. I grew up in a really old neighborhood in Brooklyn and when we moved to TN we bought a house in a SUPER OLD "subdivision" so it wasn't like these you see popping up all over ...these mini-communities with big brick signs at the entrance and all that jazz. Some higher end ones have gates too I assume.

But - there's a lot to be said on a good note about these places. They offer things I wouldn't otherwise be able to have or afford ..many have pools, and playgrounds - I like the idea of lots of kids because I have one of my own..having a neighborly feel is great! I'm not against friendly neighbors in the LEAST....not having to deal with too much of a lawn if ANY at all b/c of HOA is great. We are not super handy people so a newer home might be best for us because when things go wrong we have to call professionals. LOL We stink at fixing things.

My physical therapist told me she just bought a house in Legacy Park and she loves it. Now, I've been avoiding this because (a) I wanted to be where the FM school district is (b) I wanted to be closer to Lake Wylie. But, I did a brief scan on allentate.com of homes available there...some newer resales and such and there's a boat load our price range. Who knows.
As far as schools go I really wanted to send my daughter to a private Christian school when she became old enough anyway. What's in the cards for me......eventually I'll find out!

[PA Family]

I just wanted to say hang in there! Before moving to Tega Cay, we purchased a large VERY expensive home outside Philly a few years ago that was at the top of our price range. We loved the house and the neighborhood and we ignored some of the things that we thought were minor on the home inspection. Well, we ended up spending a lot more on repairs then we ever bargained for. It was obvious after we moved in that the previous owners were not completely truthful on their disclosure. I think all in all we probably spent 25k on home improvements and that was just to keep the house running!

After our experience with the "money pit" we ended up buying in Lakeshore in Tega Cay. We actually downsized and this isn't our dreamhouse, but we wanted something low maintence which in the end fitted our lifestyle (we have 2 kids...) much better then the constant upkeep of the older home. We loved the older section of Tega Cay but wanted something easier. Well, anyway... my long wided way of saying, hang in there you will find the right house!

[nsantamaria]

THANKS! Yeah, we are not ready for a money pit our past two homes were moderate money pits and we just got out of debt we're not looking to go back in! All things happen for a reason so this is great I'm glad it happened now and not later!

We are considering open a small business (actually, my husband is) so we're thinking maybe we'll chalk it up and go really really cheap this way the business loan won't feel so bad financially.

Townhomes are likely our best option right now. Which I'm totally fine with because some of them are REALLY CUTE! If anyone has any ideas about this lemme know.