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trilobite_gw

Buying a foreclosure?

trilobite
12 years ago

Any words of wisdom for someone looking at a foreclosed property?

We are going to have a very through inspection done, the house in general has the look of an active handyman homeowner who tended to be more enthusiastic about starting projects than finishing them, including an abandoned bathroom remodel/addition.

Comments (5)

  • marie_ndcal
    12 years ago

    Check with your city/county building department to make sure the previous owner got the needed permits and everything is up to code. You might have them look at the propery also. Is this in the city? county? water? sewer? septic? heating? roof? etc
    The average home inspector may not be the best from what you describe. Ask your building dept if they will do an occupancy inspection. Are you buying from the owner or agent. Get everything in writing and if you give more details, we have some very knowlegable people here that will help you

  • barbcollins
    12 years ago

    Do you already have an accepted contract?

    The banks we dealt with when we bought our (3) foreclosures would not accept an inspection contingency. Many I see on the MLS state that "seller will make no repairs and any inspections are for buyer's information only".

  • trilobite
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Marie-ndcal, agreed. We're actually planning to get a local building inspector. I think the guy doing the work was quite capable, but I would be surprised if he actually went out and got all the necessary permits. I just learned it passed all the septic stuff just last year, which was an important question. But we're very sensitive to possible problems, there's already a lot of work before move-in that we can see, anything serious that isn't immediately apparent would be a big issue.

    Barbcollins, not yet. We hadn't even been setting out to buy a house quite yet, but this is a very unusual and beautiful property for our price range so we're going to try and jump on it. I'll keep in mind what you say tho, that would be a big deal breaker for us.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago

    "Check with your city/county building department to make sure the previous owner got the needed permits and everything is up to code. You might have them look at the propery also."

    Not very likely.

    Inspections cost time and money.
    They are paid for through the permit fees.
    No permit no inspections.
    In many places you even have to pay a 're-inspection fee' if you fail an inspection.

  • ncrealestateguy
    12 years ago

    Barb,
    All banks that I have dealt with over the last 10 years offer the buyer at least 7 days, usually more, to do one's due diligence. The buyer can back out for any or no reason. I bet your contract was the same. The only time I have heard that you can not do a formal inspection is at an auction.
    Otherwise, the sellers would have a terrible time finding a buyer who was silly enough to purchase a home w/o a chance to perform at least a basic inspection.