I am in the process of buying my first house. For various personal reasons, we ended up selecting a house in West Houston, off of Hwy. 6. It is 1981 construction in a fairly good neighborhood.

We recently had the inspection done and it did raise a littany of issues, major and minor. Most prominently:
1. The roof on the house was probably the original roof, really bad shape. There was also no form of ridge vents or turbines -- only soffit vents.
2. The hallway carpet outside the master bath was soggy and the drywall between the master bath and the hallway had moisture.
3. The foundation is good throughout the house, but drops 1.5 inches across 18 feet in the attached garage.
4. The downstairs A/C is only getting 9 degrees of temperature drop
5. There is some rusting galvanized piping connected to the water heater and you can tell they've already gone through and replaced some of it with PVC.

As for the roof, the seller has agreed to replace it with the ridge vents and everything. This is a huge relief for us.

They are investigating the cause for the soggy carpet today. I'm a little wary, because I am fairly sure it relates back to the corroding galvanized piping near the water heater. My guess is that the water supply has some pitting corrosion going to the master bath in the wall. I mean -- it's not a dramatic fix, but it makes me worry about the galvanized piping in the rest of the house. Are my concerns fair?

The inspector told me that 1" drop for every 10' of length is considered acceptable for foundations, but even then my garage was in razor thin margins. He also warned me that some might argue that the garage doesn't matter, since it's not a living space. However, it's an attached garage and the sinking of the garage has definitely caused some superficial cracking. I'm sensitive to foundation issues from growing up in Houston, so it is quite scary to see the drop. However, the rest of the house is within 5/8", and that's pretty good for a 30 year old house. What would you do?

They've agreed to fix the A/C. I'm hoping it's something simple.

Also, I just got my first quote for homeowners insurance and it was a bit higher than what I was expecting -- about $200 per month on $195K dwelling coverage and a 1% deductible. I am in Harris County, 500 year flood plain. I'm not really sure what I need and what I don't need. I should mention that I have auto insurance with State Farm also and they are showing me a $757 discount (per year) for that. Eh?

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 7/18/2011 4:53p).]

I would run away from bad roof with soggy interior. Even if the roof is fixed you will have a mold problem.

As to the foundation problem, get a company to quote the repair. Expect the seller to take that much off the house.

Is there a reason you are desperate for this particular home? Surely that are hundreds for sale in a few mile radius of this property.

My 2 cents.

I've researched hundreds online and this had a rare mix of things we are looking for in terms of location, layout, etc.

Maybe what I should do next is get a mold inspection? The roof didn't show any signs of leaking or internal water damage. That's an interesting thought about the foundation quote.

I would be worried about the bad roof too. Definitely get the seller to repair this before buying. Foundations can be pricey too, but it's pretty common for older houses in Houston to have work done. Seller should pay for this too.

I wouldn't worry too much about soggy carpet. My house had the same problem, but it was because the water in the garage leaked badly, and like the house you're looking at, the garage slopes the wrong way and all the water came back in the house. I had to replace the WH and now I don't have the problem anymore. Mold is a definitely concern, but if you're going to remodel anyways, you can put up new drywall.

Galvanized piping is very common in older houses. I'm fixing to have my master bath outfitted with all new PVC piping at a good price, but I should note that I have torn down all the walls because I am remodeling the entire room, so it's easier for the plumber to access everything.

The A/C needs fixed too.

Do you have a realtor already? How about a plumber? Insurance agent?

I can offer you some recommendations on all 3 in the Houston area. Actually, my insurance agent works from home in CS but she is C/O 2007 and works for Allstate. I switched from Nationwide to her last year because her pricing on auto, flood and home combined saved me $800/year.

If you're interested in any of this info, I can post my email for you. All 3 people know me and would recognize my name if you called. I don't get any referral fee out of this, just trying to help out another Ag.

Don't buy someone else's problem. You will have mold even if it is replaced. Did the conduct a mold test? I bet it's already molding...

I'll be brief. Don't buy that house.

I'll third don't buy that house... and I like "adventures in homeownership"...

Ok, could someone give me answers to my questions on the foundation movement, galvanized piping and the insurance. I've really given you guys a very small amount of information and I think me and my family are the best judge of whether to buy or not. But I do want to be informed on the issues, which is why I came here for help. Bottom line, in my search criteria I'm looking at 30-50 year old houses with tons of issues everywhere. I have a seller willing to build me a brand new roof and resolve the rest of the issues I've asked to be resolved. I just need to be well informed and safe guard myself as good as possible.

you are way too young to be buying a house with those issues............run, in the opposite direction

don't be upset, don't get sad just get away from that house.

If you've made your mind up about the roof, the rest don't matter. You are buying a pig in a poke.

Just another opinion of course, but with this being your FIRST house, I'd be extremely hesitant. We bought a house with a brand new roof, no foundation issues, and in relatively good order. And in one year we have done all new duct work, had to completely replace the AC system, and completely replace the sprinkler system. Just so you know, that is well over $10K in repairs. That doesn't include the other money we spent to update the house by scraping the popcorn ceilings, new light fixtures, new paint, etc. Your first you will be overwhelmed regardless. But with all of these issues mentioned, I know if I were in your position, I would move on. That is more than I would want to take on. Remember that for all the things you plan for, there will likely be just as many things you don't plan for. We still have attic efficiency issues to resolve, new grass and landscaping, and some plumbing things to get done. Home ownership is expensive and can be stressful. Don't get in over your head. One of the hardest things to do in house hunting to is to remove the emotion from it. Foundation issues, roof issues, potential mold, etc....that's a lot. Best of luck though.

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Ok, could someone give me answers to my questions on the foundation movement, galvanized piping and the insurance.

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* You need a foundation expert to give an opinion. Is the slant driving water into the house? Is is slanting to the yard? Is the slant acceptable? This is the one item I could probably live with if an 'expert' said it was ok.

* Galvanized piping: I have two houses ('65 & '67) with galvanized piping. We have not replaced any of it nor have we had any problems.

* I think the insurance quote is pricey if you are NOT in a flood plain. My insurance on $200k house is $1k/year. Get another quote (info below).

* Have the owner rip open drywall in the 'wet' area. See what has happened with mold; it grows really fast in an environment like Houston. I've seen houses with just a small amount of mold where water came in brick weep holes. It was an easily treatable spot using bleach and a good scrubbing. You won't know until it is open; DO NOT TRUST WHAT IS SAID UNTIL YOU SEE IT!!! If you buy it and have mold it will be impossible to sell.



[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 7/20/2011 9:36a).]

FYI, Superspeck and I are both gutting and renovating homes in B/CS--so we don't scare easily. I believe this is just a home with too many problems that you can't deal with in a cost effective manner. The old adage of time & money.....

You are going into this with your eyes wide shut.

And on top of that, this is your first house, you probably don't have a huge nest egg in the bank, and you're not experienced and doesn't sound like you're handy.

You have SEVERAL people -- one of them a guy who's training to be a house flipper (AgDrummer), one who's very publicly gutting a house in College Station and doing quite well at it, and one who's a small scale renovator with four or five projects under his belt, all of whom have been through WAY more houses than you -- expressing concern. Don't you think you should maybe take their concerns into consideration?

Since I currently live in the area and am helping with two renovation projects in the area -- I live in Houston with my girlfriend and own a house that I'm doing a gut on in College Station -- I'm going to guess that the house is listed for $240k (although neighborhoods in Enclave can range from $150k for a condo or beater house to 500k for an expanded and well-updated one on parkland.)

If done properly, depending on the size of a house, a new roof is in excess of $10k, probably closer to $15k. That's stripping the roof, replacing any rotted sheathing, putting new 30 year tarpaper and a decent 30 year shingle up. They might get away with what, $3k if they just ******** another layer of shingles over it and call it good. I would be in the driver's seat for that one. (The 1981 house we're renting has three layers of shingles.)

The foundation issue is worrying. I looked at a house that had almost the same problem, but was closer to 8. The garage was cracked off, but what you didn't see without having my girlfriend (a wetlands and drainage engineer) on hand was that the culvert that runs along the back perimeter of the property and back into the drainage trench behind was having a base failure, and the house was getting sucked in. The garage was just the first sign of things to come. I'm not sure what the solution would be in a situation like that... my girlfriend was mumbling something about footings and underpinning and retaining walls. Sounded expensive. Are you CERTAIN that it isn't the case here? Have you had an engineer look at it, not just a home inspector or foundation repair guy? In the extreme case I looked at, my girlfriend gave a loose estimate of $50k to repair it. Do not proceed without investigating this.

HVAC -- be ready for a complete replacement of the downstairs unit. Not cheap. $5k to $15k.

Plumbing -- Water is insidious. Water damage is hard to fix. There is nothing that scares me more than water problems. At the first sign of them, I tear that entire part of the house apart, replumb it, and replace any water damaged wood, insulation, or drywall with new. Why? I value my health, and it's all too easy to have things mold here. $2k to $20k depending on what needs to be replaced. Having already seen parts replaced and things rusting is not encouraging. You WILL end up ripping out entire portions of the house.

Just in rough numbers, I've managed to come up with a few projects that probably negate close to half the value of the house. The place you're looking at is a money pit. Dude -- the entire area is up for sale. Pick another house. Leave this one to the vultures or some other fool.

[This message has been edited by superspeck (edited 7/18/2011 11:33p).]

Have you stepped back and asked yourself why the seller is so agreeable to repairs/replacement but didn't do them for himself?

Foundation....we have a concrete slab that shifted during the 1979-80 drought here in Waco. No, I can't tell you the measurement or the degree that one end of our house has shifted BUT balls automatically roll to that corner, cabinet doors won't stay open, when you walk across the room you can feel the pitch! The closet in that bedroom is okay but the opposite corner has drywall that is tearing at the seam AFTER it was patched with tape and caulk. There is a closet in the adjoining wall, other bedroom and the joint taping is pulling away at the corner. The windows in both those bedrooms won't open. Those are the NOT MAJOR foundation issues.

MAJOR issue, this same shifting caused the hot water line inside the slab to crack open...the leak was so minute we had no water damage to see but I could feel heat coming through the vinyl or on the carpet. A new line through the attic, 29 years of worry that you are out of town and there is a hard freeze and because the replacement line is in the attic...the house would be ruined before we could get back.

This same low end of the house is home to a stand up shower whose tile/lead pan have been replace three times due to leaking. We tore down to the studs, replaced the damaged ones and built a new shower.

The garage has shifted and cracked as well...don't try garage floor epoxy because no matter how meticulous you are the cracks allow enough moisture that the epoxy scraps off.

You asked for firsthand knowledge and I am strongly suggesting you back away from this home. My firsthand experience would make me run from it.

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Just another opinion of course, but with this being your FIRST house, I'd be extremely hesitant. We bought a house with a brand new roof, no foundation issues, and in relatively good order. And in one year we have done all new duct work, had to completely replace the AC system, and completely replace the sprinkler system. Just so you know, that is well over $10K in repairs. That doesn't include the other money we spent to update the house by scraping the popcorn ceilings, new light fixtures, new paint, etc. Your first you will be overwhelmed regardless. But with all of these issues mentioned, I know if I were in your position, I would move on. That is more than I would want to take on. Remember that for all the things you plan for, there will likely be just as many things you don't plan for. We still have attic efficiency issues to resolve, new grass and landscaping, and some plumbing things to get done. Home ownership is expensive and can be stressful. Don't get in over your head. One of the hardest things to do in house hunting to is to remove the emotion from it. Foundation issues, roof issues, potential mold, etc....that's a lot. Best of luck though.

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Outside of buying a brand new home (which isn't an option for me), you've pretty much revealed that there is a chance for pitfalls in any older house. I wish I could do new construction, but it just simply isn't practical for me. My budget is also smaller than a lot of you give me credit for -- we're talking $160K to $180K. Almost half of the houses I looked at in my age range were practically breaking in half the foundation issues were so severe. So, yeah -- buying an old house is terrifying, because there are so many underlying issues that come along with that. Even if everything looks right on the surface, there could be so many issues inside the walls that you aren't even aware of.

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* You need a foundation expert to give an opinion. Is the slant driving water into the house? Is is slanting to the yard? Is the slant acceptable? This is the one item I could probably live with if an 'expert' said it was ok.

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The slant is going away from the house. The inspector I hired was actually a professional engineer doing a structural report AND a home inspection (paid more), and he said the garage foundation was within the acceptable limits per his metric of 1" of movement for every 10'. Another engineer recently told me that the solution might be as simple as more watering around the garage and swelling the ground more. Either way, I'd like another informed opinion on the actual 1" per 10' metric.

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* Galvanized piping: I have two houses ('65 & '67) with galvanized piping. We have not replaced any of it nor have we had any problems.

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OK, that makes me feel good. I kind of assumed as much.

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* I think the insurance quote is pricey if you are NOT in a flood plain. My insurance on $200k house is $1k/year. Get another quote (info below).

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The house is on the 500 year flood plain, shouldn't be an issue. After talking to my dad, I'm going to change the coverage they quoted me initially to drop the price some.

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* Have the owner rip open drywall in the 'wet' area. See what has happened with mold; it grows really fast in an environment like Houston. I've seen houses with just a small amount of mold where water came in brick weep holes. It was an easily treatable spot using bleach and a good scrubbing. You won't know until it is open; DO NOT TRUST WHAT IS SAID UNTIL YOU SEE IT!!! If you buy it and have mold it will be impossible to sell.

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I have asked to be present for when they tear open the wall and fix the water issues. If anything looks wrong, I'll make them fix it. My inspector did a pretty thorough job around the hosue and he commented that even though the roof was old, there was no signs of water damage inside. He did say that with the condition of the shingles, he expected the roof decay to accelerate.

WHY ARE YOU BUYING THIS HOUSE??

Seriously. EVERYONE HAS TOLD YOU IT IS A BAD BAD BAD BUY.

Do you frequently ack for advice on an issue you admit to having no experience and then completely discount everyones opinion?

Again, it sounds like you have made up your mind, so why even post?

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You are going into this with your eyes wide shut.

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Doesn't everybody? I tried my best to get a really thorough inspection done with a professional engineer who also completed a full structural report.

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And on top of that, this is your first house, you probably don't have a huge nest egg in the bank, and you're not experienced and doesn't sound like you're handy.

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More or less, you're right. It's not like I don't have a family full of homeowners and my dad isn't an engineer and my father in law isn't a machinist and a big time handy man though. They know the issues better than you do and neither of them is scared of buyign the house -- and you would think they would be protective of their children. I'm a mechanical engineer myself and watch a lot of HGTV, which doesn't make me an expert by any means, but I am aware of the issues and the huge pitfalls you can run into. My favorite show is "Holmes on Homes" and it's definitely put the fear of God into me with buying a house.

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You have SEVERAL people -- one of them a guy who's training to be a house flipper (AgDrummer), one who's very publicly gutting a house in College Station and doing quite well at it, and one who's a small scale renovator with four or five projects under his belt, all of whom have been through WAY more houses than you -- expressing concern. Don't you think you should maybe take their concerns into consideration?

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I have taken it into consideration, butI also think that none of these people are in my exact situation. None of them have probably had to buy a house with my budget in my target area with my considerations in hand. If I had the attitude to run away from any house that had issues that presented during inspection, I probably would never buy a house.

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Since I currently live in the area and am helping with two renovation projects in the area -- I live in Houston with my girlfriend and own a house that I'm doing a gut on in College Station -- I'm going to guess that the house is listed for $240k (although neighborhoods in Enclave can range from $150k for a condo or beater house to 500k for an expanded and well-updated one on parkland.)

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More like $180K.

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If done properly, depending on the size of a house, a new roof is in excess of $10k, probably closer to $15k. That's stripping the roof, replacing any rotted sheathing, putting new 30 year tarpaper and a decent 30 year shingle up. They might get away with what, $3k if they just ******** another layer of shingles over it and call it good. I would be in the driver's seat for that one. (The 1981 house we're renting has three layers of shingles.)

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They are going to do the full roof replacement and install ridge vents. It will be over $10K. I haven't seen their quotes yet, but I've asked to review the scope before they begin the repair.

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The foundation issue is worrying. I looked at a house that had almost the same problem, but was closer to 8. The garage was cracked off, but what you didn't see without having my girlfriend (a wetlands and drainage engineer) on hand was that the culvert that runs along the back perimeter of the property and back into the drainage trench behind was having a base failure, and the house was getting sucked in. The garage was just the first sign of things to come. I'm not sure what the solution would be in a situation like that... my girlfriend was mumbling something about footings and underpinning and retaining walls. Sounded expensive. Are you CERTAIN that it isn't the case here? Have you had an engineer look at it, not just a home inspector or foundation repair guy? In the extreme case I looked at, my girlfriend gave a loose estimate of $50k to repair it. Do not proceed without investigating this.

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I am trying to investigate it right now. I mean -- I brought in the "expert" to do the full structural analysis. He said it was OK, but something to keep an eye on. I would like a second opinion, for sure. The fact of the matter is (and all of yo uknow this) there are two kinds of houses in Houston -- those that have foundation repair and those that need it. When I was shopping for houses, almost every single house I looked at had signs of foudnation damage and about half of them were extremely severe. Severe to the point where you could see the drywall separating in all parts of the interior, huge cracks in the brick veneer. I actually thought the house I was looking at was one of the best I saw in terms of foundation -- however the garage part is a little disconcerting.

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HVAC -- be ready for a complete replacement of the downstairs unit. Not cheap. $5k to $15k.

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I'm not buying the house until the A/C is getting the correct amount of temperature differential -- and they have to do whatever it takes to get there. That's already been established. The downstairs unit is actually a relatively new Trane unit, so I don't think it need to be replaced any time soon. Both the inspector, my dad, and my opinion is that it is probably a quick fix to get the A/C back to operating normally. If it does need to get replaced, they will be the ones replacing it.

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Plumbing -- Water is insidious. Water damage is hard to fix. There is nothing that scares me more than water problems. At the first sign of them, I tear that entire part of the house apart, replumb it, and replace any water damaged wood, insulation, or drywall with new. Why? I value my health, and it's all too easy to have things mold here. $2k to $20k depending on what needs to be replaced. Having already seen parts replaced and things rusting is not encouraging. You WILL end up ripping out entire portions of the house.

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I agree. I've asked them to fix all the water damage as a result of the inspection and I've asked to be present during the repairs. As dubi noted above, there are lots of old homes out there with galvanized piping that aren't flooding. I'd like to understand more about why the corrosion is happening and I'd like to learn the root cause for why there was water in the hallway.

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Just in rough numbers, I've managed to come up with a few projects that probably negate close to half the value of the house. The place you're looking at is a money pit. Dude -- the entire area is up for sale. Pick another house. Leave this one to the vultures or some other fool.

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Most of the issues will be resolved prior to me moving in the house and the rest of the issues are just inherent to owning an old house in Houston. With my job, family, and budget, it's not practical for me to buy brand new construction or even relatively new. To be honest, this 1981 house is the NEWEST house I looked at in my search criteria and was in the best shape.

For every problem you see, you will find two more you didn't know about days/weeks/months/years down the road.

you can hang your hat on that.

Your sentence.........

Even if everything looks right on the surface, there could be so many issues inside the walls that you aren't even aware of.............

is the EXACT reason people are telling you to step away.

In this house there are RED FLAGS ON THE SURFACE that are causing alarm so by your own admission look out when the wall opens up.

I think he is failing to realize that they can repair it, but that doesnt mean that in 2-3-4-5-6 years, the effects wont still be raising thier ugly head with the old homeowners counting their cash and thanking god for making a miracle happen for them.

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WHY ARE YOU BUYING THIS HOUSE??

Seriously. EVERYONE HAS TOLD YOU IT IS A BAD BAD BAD BUY.

Do you frequently ack for advice on an issue you admit to having no experience and then completely discount everyones opinion?

Again, it sounds like you have made up your mind, so why even post?

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I'm buying the house because I have a seller who is willing to work with me and correct all the issues I have with the house before selling it and it's a house I like in a location I love with lots of room to improve. I don't blindly follow other people's opinions because they don't have as much data as I do with regards to my life, my family, my home criteria, etc. I am happy to have other people's opinions on whether or not I should buy, but in the end the only opinion that matters is mine and my families and that opinion will be formed by real facts and reasoning -- not simply: "some guys on Texags said run away". I'm glad some people finally shared their reasoning with me, because as an engineer just telling me to "run away" doesn't actually compel me at all. I need the data and the facts in order to make a good decision.

I posted not to ask people whether or not to buy the house. I posted to get information on certain questions I had regarding the results of the inspection and insurance.

If my decision was purely based on the house itself, I would have taken my $180K out to the far reaches of Katy and bought some brand new or relatively new construction. I wish I could, honestly.

Mom,

The foundation issues you mention I have seen in other houses I looked at while shopping for a house. They are not that bad in the garage I looked at. In fact, the professional engineer I hired to do a structural report on my foundation said that the foundation in the garage was within the "acceptable" limits. As far as the other houses I looked at, this house actually had probably the least or second least signs of foundation damage. I just really don't think I'm going to find a 30-50 year old home in my price range with no signs of foundation issues at all.

That being said, I would like a second opinion and it would be great if I had someone who could explain the root cause of the garage foudnation moving so I could understand if it's a quickly deteriorating situation or if it's something managable with something as simple as watering around the garage for a while.

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I think he is failing to realize that they can repair it, but that doesnt mean that in 2-3-4-5-6 years, the effects wont still be raising thier ugly head with the old homeowners counting their cash and thanking god for making a miracle happen for them.

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Again, outside of buying new or relatively new construction, isn't that the case with any old house you buy?

No. the HVAC goes out, you get a new system. The siding is rotten, you replace it. Carpet is stained, you install new carpet. If your roof is leaking, there is more damage than you or most inspectors will be able to predict becuase you dont know how long, how bad, etc the situation has existed.

If you buy this house, keep a short list of local hotels/apartments as you will likely be spending a sizable amount of time there when they find toxic mold growing. There are a couple of things Ill never buy: a house with a roof problem, a house with a significant drainage problem, or a house with a foundation problem. A fixed roof leak is never a solved problem. it is the end of the cause and the begining of the effect.

I know a number of folks have offered a ton of good information so far, but I will chime in on a few things.

First, rusted galvanized plumbing is a clear indication of deferred maintenance - the homeowner either just didn't get around to fixing a problem or didn't care. The wet carpet is also an indication that the homeowner just didn't get around to fixing things. If I have a water leak on my property, it's repaired within HOURS, and it's repaired correctly. My galvanized plumbing is 75 years old and doesn't have a speck of rust on it. If you have rust, you have a serious problem.

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I have asked to be present for when they tear open the wall and fix the water issues. If anything looks wrong, I'll make them fix it.

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How much experience do you have with plumbing? How do you know if it is or is not correct?

This is a tell-tale sign to RUN THE HELL AWAY from this house. Sure, mold can be remediated with enough $$, but if the owner didn't care enough to fix a water leak like you have described, what else did he not care enough about to fix? What got a band-aid? What got covered up? This is my primary concern about the house. Any prolonged maintenance issue should raise red flags.

Superspeck is also correct on total replacement of the AC. My guess is it's either original or second generation for the house, or is undersized. If you reuse your existing ductwork, you will land closer to $5,000, but God only knows what maintenance issues were deferred on the HVAC system..

I can speak from personal experience of what it is like to buy a house that has a lot of band-aids, bad fixes and covered up problems. I bought a house that was built in 1936 and had been a rent house for 30 years before I bought it. 5 years and $30,000 later, most of the work I have done on the house is stuff you can't see. In 2010 I spent more than $10,000 maintaining and repairing my house.

I know it's very tempting to see a house with an owner who is willing to pay for a new roof and band-aid some of the visible problems. I know it's tempting to save money on a fixer-upper - my house shopping was for exactly that. However, you need to really take a hard look at yourself and question your capabilities. I was lucky enough to grow up in a contracting family and helped my dad gut our house when I was in high school.

The folks on this board who have chimed in on here have some really impressive experience, and some of that experience includes some pretty impressive problems or mistakes. We don't want to see you go through some of the things we or others have been through.

I can completely appreciate your situation, but I would hate to see you dump a ton of money into a house that will not give you a return on your investment for a good 10 years. For $160-180, you could find a house closer in that will appreciate much more rapidly than the place you are looking at now. Hell, for $180 and some fixer-upper money you could live next door to me and get a decent ROI in less than a year. I would even help you with your projects or let you borrow tools.

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I would like a second opinion and it would be great if I had someone who could explain the root cause of the garage foudnation moving so I could understand if it's a quickly deteriorating situation or if it's something managable with something as simple as watering around the garage for a while.

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Far west Houston has a lot of problems with subsidence.

Does the house have a flooding history? Did the house flood during the April 2008 storm or Tropical Storm Allison?

Yes, the house may be in the 500-year floodplain, but there is a comman misconception regarding 100-year, 500-year, etc. floods. A 500-year storm event has a 0.2% annual chance of happening based on historical rainfall data, not once every 500-years. There is a 6% chance that a home within the 500-year floodplain will flood over a 30-year mortgage.

[This message has been edited by Jack Klompus (edited 7/19/2011 10:25a).]

If you give me the address, I can pull permit history and see if there has ever been any significant permitted work done or check for flood damage inspections.

The water we found in the hallway wasn't there the week before when we looked at it with the realtor. The house is vacant right now -- it's been on the market for 3 months. Their original asking price was too high. They dropped the price twice before I bit. The first time they had heard of the water is when we told them.

I'm no licenced plumber, but I'm experienced enough to be able to note what the root cause of the water in the hallway is from and to see whether it is symptomatic of a larger issue or a quick fix. I'm also going to be there so that they don't just mask the issue to make the symptoms go away, but don't correct the larger issues.

[This message has been edited by HotardAg07 (edited 7/19/2011 11:24a).]

[This message has been edited by Ryan the Temp (edited 7/19/2011 10:33a).]

I responded back to you with info on HVAC and plumbing permits.

Why do you think the owner is willing to pay $10-15k to get rid of the house?