Remote Investment Property

[Selena Williams]

I would really love some advice from the BP community.

I recently made an offer on a duplex in another state. It was supposedly a turnkey property and is being sold by a developer. The offer was accepted however when the inspection came back - well to put it lightly I’ve never in my life seen an inspection this bad. It checked every box of the worst problems - structural/foundational problems, termite damage, electrical damage, roof damage (even though they represented they put in a new roof), water damage, and mold. There are also a million other smaller damages - one of the doorknobs to the outside doesn’t close properly, a brick is missing from the outside steps, and pretty much all the appliances are old and already don’t work or are on their last leg.

It appears to me like the developer did cosmetic work only, to make the place appear turnkey. Maybe I’ve lived in NYC too long but the inspection makes this whole deal feel like a scam.

Would you back out or keep going and see if the sellers will fix the problems? Keeping in mind I’ve paid a $2k due diligence fee that I can’t get back. Other than that and the cost of the inspection if I walked away I would be “free and clear”.

What would you do?