I would, but then again, I'm pretty pushy. I wouldn't expect to get much solid info out of the conversation though.

Re:smoke. If the house is closed up, that is going to concentrate any smells. Opening up the windows in summer is only going to make it smell better.

Also, if a house is in terrible shape, 35k can be a drop in the bucket. The cosmetic stuff is predictable, but if you have to start on electrical, plumbing, heat, or anything structural, the bills can add up fast. A LOT can go wrong in a house in 7 years.

If you can't smell smoke now, you probably won't have an issue in the summer. I would want to know what caused the fire, though. What do you have to lose by calling the former owner? The worst that could happen is that they are rude. While any info you get should not be viewed as totally reliable, it may help you put together the pieces. You may also want to try to check with the former insurance company and see if they are willing to tell you what their records show since they must have investigated each instance. Sometimes people just try to make claims for trivial or non-covered incidents, but it would be another piece of the puzzle.

You can also check with the town hall re: building permits that were pulled (you need to get one to go $25k in repairs), that might tell you something.

I would call also. Also, make sure you can get insurance on the house. Homeowners are finding it hard to get insurance after certain types of claims are made.

I would call the fire department. If there was a fire, they should have a record of the event. You might learn something of interest.

creek_side: I would call the fire department. If there was a fire, they should have a record of the event. You might learn something of interest.

Oh yeah, especially after the neighbors were "shocked" to hear there was a fire in the house next door.

I called them! She was actually very nice and it DOES explain alot. She SOLD insurance. There was no fire in teh house, there were animals that ate through some power lines outside and "fried 25k worth of electronics inside." Ummm, sure, I'll buy that. Sounds like she knew how to work/scam the system. I am just glad there was no fire. I feel much better after talking to her. Thanks all!

Don't be too quick to think that's a scam. Most of these we never even turned into insurance, since they were smaller events over periods of time in different houses. My son used to raise fancy hamsters. A door got opened somehow during the night, the little rodents got loose into the room and they went behind his very, very expensive stereo component system and ate wires like it was pasta primavera. He knew how to rewire the system, but if we would have had to take it in for repairs......it would have been substantial. It was one of the few times I've seen a teen boy in tears.

We also have tractors and tillers and you can take it to the bank the tiller wires would be consumed like clockwork each winter when it was stored.

Obviously, we live in the country, and we've lost two refrigerators to mice coming inside in cold weather (they seem to migrate twice a year) and doing damage.

Or the groundhog.....yes..groundhog who chewed through several fluid lines in my SIL's car. Or the chipmunks who built a nest in my Jeep engine and fouled a drainage hole causing water to back up and leak into the interior.

Or the squirrels who take down the transformers each year as they electrocute themselves. LOL. I could go on. Some homes easily have 25K worth of electronics and under the right circumstances........you could have major issues with one event.

"Don't be too quick to think that's a scam" Nah, it's a scam. Not the rodents eating the wires part, but the "I have 25k in electronics part." The house itself is only worth 155k, there are not many 600k homes that have 25k in electronics, let alone a 155k house. I addition, they claimed wind damange several times but the roof has had no work. She is a scammer.

"She is a scammer."

Sounds likely... Between the multiple insurance claims, condition issues and foreclosure, it seems very possible that the former owners were not your ideal homeowners.

Any chance you could bring an experienced contractor with you to the inspection to help you put some numbers to the work? Could be a lot more than you're expecting...

I would be surprised if you get a civil response.

Brickeyee-read above post. I spoke with them and they were very nice and helpful. I was surprised.