Report Foreclosed House to Code Enforcement???

[Andrea W.]

There's a house in my neighborhood going to auction in a month. I walked up to the front door and the roof is visibly rotting, you can smell mold from over 10 feet away from the house, and the house and backyard are full of garbage. The only thing visible from the street is a section of rotting wood.

I may or may not want to buy this house. Certainly, the fate of this house will affect the value of my house. Since I know the roof will need to be torn off and replaced, and possibly the interior framing and drywalling, and plumbing and electric will need to be redone, and I'm familiar with housing values in the neighborhood (all except 1 under $100,000, but this house is the smallest in the neighborhood), I would not bid more than $15,000 under any circumstances, but I'm fairly sure that some fool will bid more and be stuck with something that he cannot afford to repair.

On the other hand, I can afford to repair it, especially as my significant other is a carpenter and has a skilled crew on-hand.

I'm trying to determine the pros and cons of reporting the house to code enforcement. 

1. Pro - ensure the house is properly rehabbed. If the buyer obtains any permits, of course the permitting office will inspect and direct needed modifications. But what if the buyer does not apply for any permits, since the county does not know that anything needs to be done.

2. Con - if I decide to buy it, I may be forced to make repairs that in our evaluation do not need to be done. I'm not too concerned about this, because I know a lot needs to be done, but it may help to have a chance to clean the place up before it is inspected.

3. Pro - potential buyers will have a better idea of what they're getting themselves into.

4. Con?

Thoughts?

Thank you.