A $300 Investment Saved Me Thousands Today!

[John Thedford]

I put a REO SFR house under contract in Cape Coral earlier this week. Today I had a professional home inspector come do a thorough check. He found several areas where water has been seeping in the house for some time. This led to serious concerns about mold. The air condition would not come on. There were several outlets not working. The water system did not work. There were so many issues--and the fact that there may be mold due to water seepage that I decided to cut my losses. This inspection cost $300 but I believe saved me thousands in headaches. Granted there are not many "deals" in our area and this house had the potential to make a good return but why risk dealing with potential serious unknowns to try and make money? I am sending in a cancellation to the bank along with the inspection report. Lesson learned: a home inspection can be priceless!

[Rick Baggenstoss]

Why not discount your offer accordingly or aggressively and include a summary of the Inspector's findings?

I recently had a nice short sale under contract for $35k. This house would rent for $850 a month. After an inspection (by me), I discovered rot under the kitchen floor and rim joist. I knocked $6k off the price even though it wouldn't cost me a fraction of that to correct.

Now I'm buying the house for $29k.

I wouldn't make this your strategy, but you might want to offer what you think it's worth now that you're 'fully' informed.

Rick