My first inspection on investment property

[Ken Nyczaj]

First I want to say, HomePro Chesapeake and the inspector did an excellent job. They came out on a holiday weekend within 48 hours of us calling. The inspector was highly knowledgeable and has already gotten the report back to us- same day! The plan is to fix and flip the house which requires about $70,000 in repairs. Majority of the repairs coming from the roof and crawl space that has water damage. We knew there was water in the scrawl space, but our initial assumption was it was just groundwater since we’ve had a lot of rain in Maryland and the Annapolis area. What’s actually happening is the water is coming from the front right corner of the house, where the sewer line runs, plus there is a gap in the foundation in that same area that needs to be sealed. Our inspector said most likely it is the gap in the foundation that has allowed water to seep through, but worse case, the sewer line is damaged and needs to be replaced or sealed. The water underneath the crawl space has moved itself around the perimeter of the foundation so we will be installing a perimeter drainage system. The Joyce’s are also wet but not rotting whatsoever. He said they may sag or start to rot after they dry... hard to tell without an experienced framer looking at it. We are hiring a plumbing inspector to come out this week to run a camera through the sewer line to check for cracks. Also, hiring a knowledgeable framer to come look at the wood to see if it will be ok after it dries. Anyone have experience or some knowledge they could share when it comes to water in crawlspaces? We’ve estimated $9,000 in costs for this and are hiring ServPro. That price is not including if the sewer line is damaged, with that I don’t know how much it will cost. Thank you