Home Inspection Dilemma - 24 Hours to Decide (pics included)

[Jesse Petrillo]

Hello all,

I'm in the process of purchasing my first single family rental property as a long-term buy and hold. I'm located in CT and purchasing in the Atlanta area, so I can't see the subject property in person. I received the inspection report today and everything was good, except for a structural concern pointed out by the inspector on the right side of the property. My inspection contingency date expires tomorrow, so I want to make a decision on this quickly.

I'm not familiar with concrete block foundations. Therefore, I wanted to share photos from the inspection report and ask for your opinion. The inspection recommends grading the land next to the property and installing a gutter extension to prevent further washout and settling. I'm okay with all that, but unsure how concerned I should be with any damage that has already been done.

The inspection report also recommended a structural engineer inspection due to the foundation recently settling from extensive rain. I've asked the realtor to ask the seller to order a structural engineer inspection at their expense and extend my inspection contingency, but I'm preparing myself if the seller doesn't agree and I need to make a 'take it or leave it' decision tomorrow.

I also want to mention the full appraisal was completed last week and there was no indication of any foundation issues/concerns within the appraisal report. There was also an older inspection that was completed about 7 months ago, and no mention of any foundation issues/concerns within that report either. So maybe this isn't as big a deal as I'm making it out to be in my head, but nonetheless I wanted to share these photos and hear your thoughts.

Thank you in advance for your feedback! It's much appreciated.

[Russell Brazil]

It's pretty typical for any structural potential issues for a home inspector to day get the opinion of a structural engineer when they know there is likely no problem. It's a way to limit liability.

If you buy site unseen....you are going to run into this same issue over and over and over again. Inspectors are going to point out potential problems that they know are likely not an issue and refer you to structural engineers, electricians, plumbers, etc. 

And I'm not saying this is ok or bad on this house, but just that this will be similar to what happens on subsequent properties. So you will really have 2 choices....take a leap of faith at some point or start seeing the properties in person.