Good opportunity but structural issues...

[Umer M. Chaudhry]

Hello guys,

I have been involved with single family/ two family houses for few years now, and have learned to swim a bit in this deep ocean.

I am working on a house to buy and rent in Clifton, NJ area.  Offer has been accepted and I have to finalize within a day or two if I should back out before loosing my earnest money.  Other than the problems I knew and was comfortable with (including retaining wall, plumbing, electrical and other TLC work etc.), I found out that the house has sunk 2-3 inches in one corner (mainly due to poor drainage and that retaining wall giving up... both linked).  Cant really see the foundation/ basement walls as basement is finished and exterior is bricks.  However, you can tell by looking at the windows in that corner, cracks in outside brick wall, and checking level of the floor.  

This is certainly out of my comfort zone.  Based on what I see online, normally people are scared of houses with structural issues/ repairs... The contractors I have talked to are mostly saying it can't cost me more than 10k to lift the house and fix it (in addition to other stuff).  Next step would be to hire a structural engineer and get a detailed report of root cause and fix, however; I am thinking if its worth it for the following reasons...

1.   Even if I am willing to take this obvious bullet, can it get worse?  Other hidden issues associated with it?

2.   Usually people are scared of buying such houses... If I need to sell it for whatever reason, would buyers be interested?

What do seasoned investors advise?  Would you look at these houses as golden opportunities to make money (less competition) or like to stay away from them?

Your advise would be greatly appreciated :).

Thanks and take care.