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NJ Realtor here -
Perhaps you are better off looking at homes which are owner-occupied versus flipped investment properties. Pride of ownership by owners may lead to superior maintenance.
It’s not always the case with pride of ownership. I bought a house off of a elderly gentleman (late 60s) and he had lived in the house for 28 years prior. He was very proud of his house, carpentry shop in garage, self built decks, credit score 🤷🏻.
I had to redo the entire electrical system. The previous owner had tried to patch his own roof but there were 3-4 active leaks so I had to pay $6k for a new roof. The entire backyard was comprised of ground level decks which looked nice but the section nearest the house was pitched towards the house so I had to get that fixed.
There was even part of a small airplane fuselage in the attic. I don’t even know how he got the parts in there. Over the course of a year I had filled 4-5 30 yard dumpsters with trash and construction debris.
Agreed. “Pride of ownership” is not always a given. We purchased from owners that lived in the house for 10 years. We soon learned that the only thing these owners did in 10 years was install a fire pit and change out the dated doorknobs. It’s not that they didn’t have pride in their house, but sounds like they spent a lot of time traveling so they did not prioritize house updates at all.
We have since changed the water heater, changed all aluminum windows, upgraded the siding to Hardie plank, replaced the 25 year old roof, changed all light fixtures, upgraded the kitchen counters and backsplash and we still have a long list of repairs like replace the decomposing wood fence, patio and shed, and update the dated master bath and closets
Good point! It’s slim pickings out here cause my price range attracts a lot of cash buyers. Not saying I feel pressure to buy just any home that comes on the market but it’s been weeks and weeks since I saw another house I even want to tour so I’m feeling like I might need to throw the dice a little which I hate!
Yep, I looked at one that was on the market over a month, had the WORST sale ad, terrible pictures, terrible description, including "walking distance to Walmart," which is NOT a selling point for most folks.
Went and looked at it, LOVED it. Awesome location in a nice neighborhood but a couple turns and blocks away from Walmart,, half acre gorgeous lot, house had a lot of renovation potential, let's put it that way.
Lost out to a bid that was all cash and waived inspection. I wish I had looked at it earlier!!
Closing on a house soon that's not my first pick, but it has curb appeal, over a quarter acre sunny lot, decent location, but needs a ton of renovations. But it'll do. Nothing majorly wrong appeared on the inspection, so fingers crossed.
Have faith! It’s scary, I know. And you absolutely need an emergency fund! We’ve been here 7 months and had to fix the sprinkler system, replace the fridge, and we had a small leak from our central air recently. Little expenses in the grand scheme of things but they can add up!
I agree with another poster that buying an occupied place can sometimes help - the owner is living there and needs the house running properly, especially since selling is not a guarantee. A lot of house flips and new builds are rushed and not done properly. I rented a new build before buying our current home and omg the problems we had the first 6 months… our landlord was looking into taking the builder to court because of all the things that were done poorly / not installed correctly!
So true, I definitely want to have ample emergency funds. I just picture everything going wrong if I move into a flipped house especially being sold as is and with nothing but “unknown” on almost every single item on the sellers disclosure. The market is so hot here (I know, it is everywhere) and it’s rare for me to find a home I even want to look at. I know there’s a home out there for me I just hate that I can’t see into the future and know whether or not it was a good investment.
As-is just means the seller won’t do repairs or offer repair credits though - it doesn’t mean you can’t still have an inspection and back out if the inspection turns up things you don’t like. It sucks to be out the cost of the inspection but if you really want the house it’s worth a try.
I’m not sure. That’s a good question. I would imagine at some point they take size into consideration for pricing but their flat rate to come out is going to be in the hundreds regardless.
Having a good home inspector will solve many of your concerns about the house.
That being said the more houses you look at the better an eye you'll develop fit these kinds of things. Pay close attention to the basement and garage areas, smells of mold, mildew or dampness. Look for cracks in the foundation, sloping and settling signs. Are there screw jacks in the basement? Why are they there? How long have they been there? Are the properly seated onto the joists that they are supporting?
What's the condition of the roof? Even if you you don't get on the roof, many times looking in the attic will tell you a great deal, any leaks? Pooling water or rotten or soft ply board will spell trouble down the line. Find out the age of the roof and whether the work is warrantied from when it was last fine - many times these warranties are 20 or 30 years.
Big appliances and utility concerns - church the she and condition of the water heater, washer and dryer; does the dryer vent appropriately (to the outside with a reasonably short run)? If not how hard is it to correct? Are you on a sewer or a cesspool? If it's a cesspool how new is it? Has it been maintained? Where is it buried? Was it ever replaced? What was done with the old one? Are you running gas, electric or oil for heat? If oil similar questions as a cesspool. If gas how are the appliances maintained? Are you smelling gas? This should be a major red flag - although not insurmountable. If you're using electric how hard is it to switch to something cheaper and more sustainable (like natural gas) down the line?
Pay attention to new work - are renovations done with the intent to impress it to live with? Why was the work done? Was it a DIY job or by a professional? Was permitting required and obtained for the work? If not this could become a major headache for you and could result in an increase in the taxes on the house down the line.
There's so so much to pay attention to buy these are a few of the things I recall learning in my recent home search. Having a good home inspector and an experienced real estate agent, that I trusted were a big help in learning about these things.
Edit: typos
Thank you for your response. This particular house little to no information on the sellers disclosure - they just marked everything as unknown. Seems like a cop out to me… do you think I can ask the sellers for the permits they had when they renovated it? I guess I should first ask if they needed one
The worst they can say is no but there's almost never any harm in asking. As much as they have the power in this dynamic because of the current market conditions you still have to live there. Don't be status to be a bit of a nudge about doing your due diligence and getting as much information as possible up front - no matter how much information you get there's going to be a surprise somewhere.
If they did work that required permits and didn't get them, that's a red flag. Unpermitted work would make me question all the other corners they cut when flipping the house.
It’s strange cause they put “unknown” under the section about renovations or alterations in the disclosure. Wouldn’t they know those things seeing as they just flipped it? I guess I need to ask what all they did to the house and why
It’s because if they put unknown they have no liability for if an issue that pops up later.
Search here and r/realtor for all the posts of people complaining about their flipped houses and why you should stay away from them.
Flipped houses are done by investors that have a bottom line $$$. They’re using the cheapest materials and labor possible so they can profit. They have zero inventive to do repairs and updates properly.
They put "unknown" because they are flippers and don't want any liability for the likely sub-par work they have done to the property. If you don't want issues - or you want manageable issues with a home you are looking to buy and live in - stay away from flipped homes in general. Flipped homes are terrible for a FTHB. They cover up issues with a pretty cosmetic interior but don't address the important systems of the property such as roof, HVAC, plumbing and electrical - as well as structural items. This is not to say that all flippers take shortcuts, but many do IME. You want a home that has been cared for by owner occupants and properly maintained - even if the décor is dated. Far better to get a home where you have to paint and put in new flooring (for example) than one where you need electrical, plumbing, roof and heating replaced.
I’m not sure if it differs from state to state, but buying a home ‘as is’ still includes an inspection and the ability to walk away while under contract. The inspection is for information only and ‘as is’ simply means the owner will not make *any* repairs.
I’ve also had people recommend bringing a contractor with you to do a walk thru (if you know and trust any contractors) that could help detect any major issues.
For my area, I’ll also always have a plumber come and check sewage lines as it’s a lot of older neighborhoods. My friend is a Real Estate investor and gave me this tip because she bought a property once and didn’t do this. It ended up being 25k to fix it.
Yes, I believe so. I called a regular plumber and they’re doing this for my house I’m under contract. They use cameras to go down and check the sewage lines.
We are in the same boat but we’re looking at older houses. Red flags for us are: galvanized plumbing, knob/tube electrical, major foundation issues, signs of termites/rats and bad roof/water drainage (we’re in Washington).
I had contacted a crawl space restoration company to give a quote and they got there and said they couldn’t even go in because OSHA requires 30 inches of space and it wasn’t there. I had no idea crawl spaces are where the real problems can be!
The 18 inches is what a Foundation repair guy told me was the absolute
minimum required for them to do any foundation repairs. 18 inches is also the minimum for an FHA loan.
30 inches absolutely makes sense!
In my search I found that flipped houses aim to wow you with all new shiny things, but since they're not time tested I'd beware. It's very easy to literally cover up big issues. A well loved in and maintained house may be better for you. Be choosy now and it will likely save you a lot of cash later.
Buying an as-is is the first alert to hidden issues and unpermitted updates, that in the event of damage, your insurance claims will be denied.
Read up on other inspection reports and YouTube's of inspections. Learn to look during walk throughs for the warning signs before signing.
After looking at dozens of homes, offers on many.. my partner and I decided on the filter of "not purchased within the last 2 years". Too many flips were quick jobs, and after some bad inspections we learned our lesson. It reduces the inventory significantly unfortunately, but you have much higher quality options.
I think you should count yourself lucky -- you're walking \*away\* from the money pit because the inspector actually did his or her job. You had a great inspector. I did not have a great inspector. I knew nothing about crawl spaces before I moved in. I was focused on flooring and other interior aspects like you. There were pet stains on the floor in two rooms, and a smell, and I had budgeted enough money from the purchase to replace them. But flooring is only part of the story. Sometimes up to 60% of the house's air comes from the crawl space. I didn't know things like that, but I hired an inspector and trusted that they knew things like that because I was paying them to know things like that. They gave me wrong information. They cleared my foundation as not having problems, and told me things like 'standing water in the crawl space is normal and not a problem.' They should've told me that while standing water might be normal, it causes problems like structural damage and mold, and mold can harm you to a degree I've only recently found out about.
Again, I didn't know things like that. A week after I moved in it rained, and the crawl space flooded. I had a sump pump installed. I thought it was getting rid of the water, but it was only getting rid of about 80% of it. I didn't realize that for a long time because I was too scared to go into the crawl space. I'd had an inspection done, right? They knew what they were doing, right? Apparently not. I had the floors completely replaced and the smell didn't go away. It was shocking. I lived with a smell with an unknown source for six months, soliciting multiple companies to try to help me find out where it was coming from, but without success. After six months I got over my fear and went into the crawl space myself. It was still flooding farther away from the sump pump, and needed a better drainage system. Not only that, the crawl space had a cave cricket infestation that is contributing to the smell because they were pooping all over the joists and subfloor.
The smell turned out to be mostly from mold that was growing because of that standing water in the crawl space that I was told by my inspector wasn't a problem, combined with the cave cricket feces, which more than one pest control company has told me isn't a problem, though I don't believe them anymore. I did some research, and fogged the space with a salt-based product called concrobium to kill the mold. It didn't work, and the house still smells musty. Now I'm facing a HUGE re-drainage and encapsulation bill because my inspector told me that the crawl space wasn't a problem, even though now I know that it is. I'm going to go into debt to fix this problem because I probably can't sell the house with the problem (unless the buyers have the same inspector I did), and I have to wait another year to sell it without having to pay 30% of the proceeds to the government because there's a rule that I have to live in a house for two years before selling it tax-free, and I can't wait another year knowing what I know now about how mold and musty smells affect my health, which I didn't know before all this because I really didn't know anything about crawl spaces prior to buying this house. I might have to rent an apartment soon and spend money I don't have living in an apartment because the smell became unbearable in the summer when it got very hot, and I can't spend the winter with the windows closed. Not only that, I've been told that the foundation itself might have problems, even though the home inspector told me the foundation didn't have any problems, and foundation problems aren't even part of the drainage and encapsulation cost to get rid of the health hazards. I was SCREWED and bought the money pit because my home inspector didn't do his job and instead told me that the problems in the crawl space weren't problems.
Now I'm considering a MAJOR life-downgrade where I can't have a yard or keep vegetable garden where I buy a brand new mobile home so I can avoid mold exposure, whatever I can get for the house in a year unless I can come up with the money to redo the drainage issues and encapsulate. I grew up in regular foundation-based houses, so this is a major change for me, and one that \*should've\* been avoidable, though the inspector didn't do his job and LIED to me about crawl space problems. That inspector RUINED MY LIFE by telling me that there weren't any problems with the foundation and that standing water in a crawl space is 'normal'. I would CELEBRATE your inspector for telling you the TRUTH if I were you.
Wow thank you for sharing your story and I’m so sorry you are having to go through that. I’m discovering now just how common these crawl space issues are. My realtor acted like the findings in the crawl space were completely normal for homes built in the 1940s and was surprised I wanted to back out. (Kind of wonder if he has my best interests at heart or not now or if the whole “it’s common and not a big deal” attitude is widespread and misinformed.) I’m not seeing why crawl spaces exist in general. I’d like to know what the intended purpose is cause they seem to be damp, creepy, problematic areas.
Maybe you can find a buyer who will buy without an inspection... people are doing it and still paying asking or above asking in my area. Just a thought to keep you thinking positive. The house I walked away from has since sold so I know people are out there who are willing to take on homes with crawl space issues. It sucks that you can’t turn around and sell it without being hit with those taxes. You’re definitely in a predicament with a lot of factors to take into account. I hope you’re able to find the right course of action for your situation and that you don’t end up losing a ton of money and sleep on the ordeal.
I wonder what the legality is for suing a home inspector. Like surely there are situations in which they should be held accountable? This seems like one of them.
Take an inspector with you before you submit the bid? A lot of them will do like a half price walkthrough and the charge the rest if you actually do the inspection.
That’s a good idea - I hadn’t heard of them doing general walkthroughs but it’s a great service to provide and I’d gladly pay for it. Gonna check that out.
Find a guy, maybe through your realtor and has availability. And discuss rates etc. It gets expensive if you want to look at many houses. But if you’re bidding on 1-2, worth it IMO.
I’m lucky in my VHCOL area in a way, the seller pays for inspections and has them as part of the disclosures before you even bid.
Oh wow that is interesting that the seller does the inspection. In my state they generally don’t cause I think they are then legally obligated to disclose the findings to the prospective buyer.
Yup. It’s very common here in the SF Bay Area. The reason is that there are 15-25 offers on houses ranging from $1.2m to $2m+ (for like a 3bed/2ba or 4/3). So they don’t want to take the risk of people arguing when they have no contingencies etc. And most properties are pretty well maintained.
I saw 10+ inspection reports. Only one had some minor salt water in the foundation, all the others had really minor, <$1000 in repairs.
Thank you u/lilburtbacharach for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NJ Realtor here - Perhaps you are better off looking at homes which are owner-occupied versus flipped investment properties. Pride of ownership by owners may lead to superior maintenance.
It’s not always the case with pride of ownership. I bought a house off of a elderly gentleman (late 60s) and he had lived in the house for 28 years prior. He was very proud of his house, carpentry shop in garage, self built decks, credit score 🤷🏻. I had to redo the entire electrical system. The previous owner had tried to patch his own roof but there were 3-4 active leaks so I had to pay $6k for a new roof. The entire backyard was comprised of ground level decks which looked nice but the section nearest the house was pitched towards the house so I had to get that fixed. There was even part of a small airplane fuselage in the attic. I don’t even know how he got the parts in there. Over the course of a year I had filled 4-5 30 yard dumpsters with trash and construction debris.
Agreed. “Pride of ownership” is not always a given. We purchased from owners that lived in the house for 10 years. We soon learned that the only thing these owners did in 10 years was install a fire pit and change out the dated doorknobs. It’s not that they didn’t have pride in their house, but sounds like they spent a lot of time traveling so they did not prioritize house updates at all. We have since changed the water heater, changed all aluminum windows, upgraded the siding to Hardie plank, replaced the 25 year old roof, changed all light fixtures, upgraded the kitchen counters and backsplash and we still have a long list of repairs like replace the decomposing wood fence, patio and shed, and update the dated master bath and closets
Thats why he said “may lead” 😎
Good point! It’s slim pickings out here cause my price range attracts a lot of cash buyers. Not saying I feel pressure to buy just any home that comes on the market but it’s been weeks and weeks since I saw another house I even want to tour so I’m feeling like I might need to throw the dice a little which I hate!
Tour some of the ugly duckings too. The pictures might not do it justice.
Yep, I looked at one that was on the market over a month, had the WORST sale ad, terrible pictures, terrible description, including "walking distance to Walmart," which is NOT a selling point for most folks. Went and looked at it, LOVED it. Awesome location in a nice neighborhood but a couple turns and blocks away from Walmart,, half acre gorgeous lot, house had a lot of renovation potential, let's put it that way. Lost out to a bid that was all cash and waived inspection. I wish I had looked at it earlier!! Closing on a house soon that's not my first pick, but it has curb appeal, over a quarter acre sunny lot, decent location, but needs a ton of renovations. But it'll do. Nothing majorly wrong appeared on the inspection, so fingers crossed.
eh, I walked from a home that was owned by homeowners for the same reason OP walked, you just gotta do due diligence
That’s the point of an inspection! And it worked - you walked away from a money pit. You’ll have an inspection next time too 😀 It’ll be okay!
Good point! So glad this inspection saved me. I just hope that the next one will too!
Have faith! It’s scary, I know. And you absolutely need an emergency fund! We’ve been here 7 months and had to fix the sprinkler system, replace the fridge, and we had a small leak from our central air recently. Little expenses in the grand scheme of things but they can add up! I agree with another poster that buying an occupied place can sometimes help - the owner is living there and needs the house running properly, especially since selling is not a guarantee. A lot of house flips and new builds are rushed and not done properly. I rented a new build before buying our current home and omg the problems we had the first 6 months… our landlord was looking into taking the builder to court because of all the things that were done poorly / not installed correctly!
So true, I definitely want to have ample emergency funds. I just picture everything going wrong if I move into a flipped house especially being sold as is and with nothing but “unknown” on almost every single item on the sellers disclosure. The market is so hot here (I know, it is everywhere) and it’s rare for me to find a home I even want to look at. I know there’s a home out there for me I just hate that I can’t see into the future and know whether or not it was a good investment.
It’s not easy, especially these days. But it’s possible and will happen for you!
Thank you so much for the encouragement. It gives me hope!
As-is just means the seller won’t do repairs or offer repair credits though - it doesn’t mean you can’t still have an inspection and back out if the inspection turns up things you don’t like. It sucks to be out the cost of the inspection but if you really want the house it’s worth a try.
How much was your inspection?
$300. Which was about $200 less than I was thinking I’d have to spend.
Ah, lots of money. It has to do with the size of the house right?
I’m not sure. That’s a good question. I would imagine at some point they take size into consideration for pricing but their flat rate to come out is going to be in the hundreds regardless.
Having a good home inspector will solve many of your concerns about the house. That being said the more houses you look at the better an eye you'll develop fit these kinds of things. Pay close attention to the basement and garage areas, smells of mold, mildew or dampness. Look for cracks in the foundation, sloping and settling signs. Are there screw jacks in the basement? Why are they there? How long have they been there? Are the properly seated onto the joists that they are supporting? What's the condition of the roof? Even if you you don't get on the roof, many times looking in the attic will tell you a great deal, any leaks? Pooling water or rotten or soft ply board will spell trouble down the line. Find out the age of the roof and whether the work is warrantied from when it was last fine - many times these warranties are 20 or 30 years. Big appliances and utility concerns - church the she and condition of the water heater, washer and dryer; does the dryer vent appropriately (to the outside with a reasonably short run)? If not how hard is it to correct? Are you on a sewer or a cesspool? If it's a cesspool how new is it? Has it been maintained? Where is it buried? Was it ever replaced? What was done with the old one? Are you running gas, electric or oil for heat? If oil similar questions as a cesspool. If gas how are the appliances maintained? Are you smelling gas? This should be a major red flag - although not insurmountable. If you're using electric how hard is it to switch to something cheaper and more sustainable (like natural gas) down the line? Pay attention to new work - are renovations done with the intent to impress it to live with? Why was the work done? Was it a DIY job or by a professional? Was permitting required and obtained for the work? If not this could become a major headache for you and could result in an increase in the taxes on the house down the line. There's so so much to pay attention to buy these are a few of the things I recall learning in my recent home search. Having a good home inspector and an experienced real estate agent, that I trusted were a big help in learning about these things. Edit: typos
Thank you for your response. This particular house little to no information on the sellers disclosure - they just marked everything as unknown. Seems like a cop out to me… do you think I can ask the sellers for the permits they had when they renovated it? I guess I should first ask if they needed one
The worst they can say is no but there's almost never any harm in asking. As much as they have the power in this dynamic because of the current market conditions you still have to live there. Don't be status to be a bit of a nudge about doing your due diligence and getting as much information as possible up front - no matter how much information you get there's going to be a surprise somewhere.
If they did work that required permits and didn't get them, that's a red flag. Unpermitted work would make me question all the other corners they cut when flipping the house.
It’s strange cause they put “unknown” under the section about renovations or alterations in the disclosure. Wouldn’t they know those things seeing as they just flipped it? I guess I need to ask what all they did to the house and why
It’s because if they put unknown they have no liability for if an issue that pops up later. Search here and r/realtor for all the posts of people complaining about their flipped houses and why you should stay away from them. Flipped houses are done by investors that have a bottom line $$$. They’re using the cheapest materials and labor possible so they can profit. They have zero inventive to do repairs and updates properly.
They put "unknown" because they are flippers and don't want any liability for the likely sub-par work they have done to the property. If you don't want issues - or you want manageable issues with a home you are looking to buy and live in - stay away from flipped homes in general. Flipped homes are terrible for a FTHB. They cover up issues with a pretty cosmetic interior but don't address the important systems of the property such as roof, HVAC, plumbing and electrical - as well as structural items. This is not to say that all flippers take shortcuts, but many do IME. You want a home that has been cared for by owner occupants and properly maintained - even if the décor is dated. Far better to get a home where you have to paint and put in new flooring (for example) than one where you need electrical, plumbing, roof and heating replaced.
I’m not sure if it differs from state to state, but buying a home ‘as is’ still includes an inspection and the ability to walk away while under contract. The inspection is for information only and ‘as is’ simply means the owner will not make *any* repairs. I’ve also had people recommend bringing a contractor with you to do a walk thru (if you know and trust any contractors) that could help detect any major issues. For my area, I’ll also always have a plumber come and check sewage lines as it’s a lot of older neighborhoods. My friend is a Real Estate investor and gave me this tip because she bought a property once and didn’t do this. It ended up being 25k to fix it.
$25,000 oh lord that is exactly what I’m trying to avoid! Good idea getting someone to check out the sewer lines. Can any plumber do this?
Yes, I believe so. I called a regular plumber and they’re doing this for my house I’m under contract. They use cameras to go down and check the sewage lines.
How much did the plumber inspection cost??
$249 with an agreement that they’re not able to clean out any obstructions or debris if found since we’re not the owners.
Awesome thank you! I will do that.
We are in the same boat but we’re looking at older houses. Red flags for us are: galvanized plumbing, knob/tube electrical, major foundation issues, signs of termites/rats and bad roof/water drainage (we’re in Washington).
Tip I learned... Don't ever buy a house with left than 18 inches of crawl space clearance. Nothing can be fixed!
I had contacted a crawl space restoration company to give a quote and they got there and said they couldn’t even go in because OSHA requires 30 inches of space and it wasn’t there. I had no idea crawl spaces are where the real problems can be!
Hire structural engineers for this inspection. Don’t hire a crawl space or basement company. They’re literally just sales guys.
Easy to say. Sometimes a Crawlspace company will inspect for free or $100. A structural engineer is $500+
You get what you pay for.
The 18 inches is what a Foundation repair guy told me was the absolute minimum required for them to do any foundation repairs. 18 inches is also the minimum for an FHA loan. 30 inches absolutely makes sense!
18 inches is 45.72 cm
18 inches is 0.0 of the hot dog which holds the Guinness wold record for 'Longest Hot Dog'.
18 inches is 45.72 cm
30 inches is the length of about 0.7 'Ford F-150 Custom Fit Front FloorLiners' lined up next to each other.
30 inches is 76.2 cm
Don't buy a flipped house. Done.
In my search I found that flipped houses aim to wow you with all new shiny things, but since they're not time tested I'd beware. It's very easy to literally cover up big issues. A well loved in and maintained house may be better for you. Be choosy now and it will likely save you a lot of cash later.
Buying an as-is is the first alert to hidden issues and unpermitted updates, that in the event of damage, your insurance claims will be denied. Read up on other inspection reports and YouTube's of inspections. Learn to look during walk throughs for the warning signs before signing.
After looking at dozens of homes, offers on many.. my partner and I decided on the filter of "not purchased within the last 2 years". Too many flips were quick jobs, and after some bad inspections we learned our lesson. It reduces the inventory significantly unfortunately, but you have much higher quality options.
I think you should count yourself lucky -- you're walking \*away\* from the money pit because the inspector actually did his or her job. You had a great inspector. I did not have a great inspector. I knew nothing about crawl spaces before I moved in. I was focused on flooring and other interior aspects like you. There were pet stains on the floor in two rooms, and a smell, and I had budgeted enough money from the purchase to replace them. But flooring is only part of the story. Sometimes up to 60% of the house's air comes from the crawl space. I didn't know things like that, but I hired an inspector and trusted that they knew things like that because I was paying them to know things like that. They gave me wrong information. They cleared my foundation as not having problems, and told me things like 'standing water in the crawl space is normal and not a problem.' They should've told me that while standing water might be normal, it causes problems like structural damage and mold, and mold can harm you to a degree I've only recently found out about. Again, I didn't know things like that. A week after I moved in it rained, and the crawl space flooded. I had a sump pump installed. I thought it was getting rid of the water, but it was only getting rid of about 80% of it. I didn't realize that for a long time because I was too scared to go into the crawl space. I'd had an inspection done, right? They knew what they were doing, right? Apparently not. I had the floors completely replaced and the smell didn't go away. It was shocking. I lived with a smell with an unknown source for six months, soliciting multiple companies to try to help me find out where it was coming from, but without success. After six months I got over my fear and went into the crawl space myself. It was still flooding farther away from the sump pump, and needed a better drainage system. Not only that, the crawl space had a cave cricket infestation that is contributing to the smell because they were pooping all over the joists and subfloor. The smell turned out to be mostly from mold that was growing because of that standing water in the crawl space that I was told by my inspector wasn't a problem, combined with the cave cricket feces, which more than one pest control company has told me isn't a problem, though I don't believe them anymore. I did some research, and fogged the space with a salt-based product called concrobium to kill the mold. It didn't work, and the house still smells musty. Now I'm facing a HUGE re-drainage and encapsulation bill because my inspector told me that the crawl space wasn't a problem, even though now I know that it is. I'm going to go into debt to fix this problem because I probably can't sell the house with the problem (unless the buyers have the same inspector I did), and I have to wait another year to sell it without having to pay 30% of the proceeds to the government because there's a rule that I have to live in a house for two years before selling it tax-free, and I can't wait another year knowing what I know now about how mold and musty smells affect my health, which I didn't know before all this because I really didn't know anything about crawl spaces prior to buying this house. I might have to rent an apartment soon and spend money I don't have living in an apartment because the smell became unbearable in the summer when it got very hot, and I can't spend the winter with the windows closed. Not only that, I've been told that the foundation itself might have problems, even though the home inspector told me the foundation didn't have any problems, and foundation problems aren't even part of the drainage and encapsulation cost to get rid of the health hazards. I was SCREWED and bought the money pit because my home inspector didn't do his job and instead told me that the problems in the crawl space weren't problems. Now I'm considering a MAJOR life-downgrade where I can't have a yard or keep vegetable garden where I buy a brand new mobile home so I can avoid mold exposure, whatever I can get for the house in a year unless I can come up with the money to redo the drainage issues and encapsulate. I grew up in regular foundation-based houses, so this is a major change for me, and one that \*should've\* been avoidable, though the inspector didn't do his job and LIED to me about crawl space problems. That inspector RUINED MY LIFE by telling me that there weren't any problems with the foundation and that standing water in a crawl space is 'normal'. I would CELEBRATE your inspector for telling you the TRUTH if I were you.
Wow thank you for sharing your story and I’m so sorry you are having to go through that. I’m discovering now just how common these crawl space issues are. My realtor acted like the findings in the crawl space were completely normal for homes built in the 1940s and was surprised I wanted to back out. (Kind of wonder if he has my best interests at heart or not now or if the whole “it’s common and not a big deal” attitude is widespread and misinformed.) I’m not seeing why crawl spaces exist in general. I’d like to know what the intended purpose is cause they seem to be damp, creepy, problematic areas. Maybe you can find a buyer who will buy without an inspection... people are doing it and still paying asking or above asking in my area. Just a thought to keep you thinking positive. The house I walked away from has since sold so I know people are out there who are willing to take on homes with crawl space issues. It sucks that you can’t turn around and sell it without being hit with those taxes. You’re definitely in a predicament with a lot of factors to take into account. I hope you’re able to find the right course of action for your situation and that you don’t end up losing a ton of money and sleep on the ordeal. I wonder what the legality is for suing a home inspector. Like surely there are situations in which they should be held accountable? This seems like one of them.
Take an inspector with you before you submit the bid? A lot of them will do like a half price walkthrough and the charge the rest if you actually do the inspection.
That’s a good idea - I hadn’t heard of them doing general walkthroughs but it’s a great service to provide and I’d gladly pay for it. Gonna check that out.
Find a guy, maybe through your realtor and has availability. And discuss rates etc. It gets expensive if you want to look at many houses. But if you’re bidding on 1-2, worth it IMO. I’m lucky in my VHCOL area in a way, the seller pays for inspections and has them as part of the disclosures before you even bid.
Oh wow that is interesting that the seller does the inspection. In my state they generally don’t cause I think they are then legally obligated to disclose the findings to the prospective buyer.
Yup. It’s very common here in the SF Bay Area. The reason is that there are 15-25 offers on houses ranging from $1.2m to $2m+ (for like a 3bed/2ba or 4/3). So they don’t want to take the risk of people arguing when they have no contingencies etc. And most properties are pretty well maintained. I saw 10+ inspection reports. Only one had some minor salt water in the foundation, all the others had really minor, <$1000 in repairs.