Urgent Advice needed - should I keep the inspection or not

[Georges A.]

Guys give me your insight on this one..

REO in a nice area in Medford listed as a HomeSteps (that unfortunately doesn't exist in MA yet so I'm stuck with a regular loan) so not competing with investors for 409k (comps are 550-600). The property has the following points in the public records:

- Mold - no report

- foundation issue - no report

- cut out and treated wet sheet rock - no report

- basement was cleaned anti microbial - no report

- City assessment : 498k

when I saw the property with my realtor we noticed that in the 1st unit which is a finished basement - I was able to see that they cut the wall and it smells pretty bad (like mold). The other 2 floors looked in a pretty good shape.

So we decided to put an offer (I am limited to 40k cash):

5% down ($1000 deposit and 21k P&S + inspection contingency + financial contigency + 440k leaving around 8k for closing cost and 10k for rehab.

The plan is to bring in an inspector this Wednesday and have him inspect the property (although we're requesting a showing) and if things are not bad (as I am concerned about the structural issue ) we will go ahead and withdraw the inspection contingency we gave.

A part of me thinks it's the best I could do with my financial situation but another part of me thinks it's a waste of $600 for the inspection. do you think it's worth the risk of bringing one / removing the contingency or it won't add up much esp if I competed by a cash buyer. Should I cancel the inspection and wait to see if my offer got accepted before spending the money?

[Wayne Brooks]

No need for an inspection until you have an accepted offer. Your $8k closing costs seem low, including your prepaids, verify them.