Help! Hidden Health Dept Condemned sign!

[Timothy Doenges]

I was just shown a property near me, low entry price. Owner had his relative come open the property and stood by the door whole time I was inside. GC and I decided repairs were more than the property would resell at and I’m not too comfy yet with tackling some advanced strategies on making this work, so I said “no thank you” and went to my car. Here’s the kicker: the GC and I stood by our cars for a while and the seller’s relative got tired of waiting for us so he locked up and left. At that point, we saw a yellow sticker on the front door. Went and took a look, the property has been condemned by the municipality due to hazardous material and they are requiring the property to be demolished. Didn’t specify the material (black mold, oil tank, w/e), but I assume mold since there were water issues with the exterior. It was obvious someone had attempted to remove it and also tried to scratch off the “do not occupy” part of the sticker. No evidence of remediation on the sticker. Now, I feel violated. I toured the home with interest to buy, but he seller was obviously (in my eyes) trying to hide the sticker. My health was jeopardized. I could have been stuck with a property that needed to be demolished. What would you do?

[Matt K.]

Readjust my expectations...