House with water in the basement and water damage in the ceiling

[Daniel Krauss]

I am starting to explore buying my first property to either flip or rent and I would any and all opinions/thoughts/ideas/suggestions. There is a ranch house not far from where I live and it’s in a great neighborhood. It’s been vacant for 5 years and recently it’s been taken off the market even though they have dropped the price below market value. We live in an area where houses do not last long on the market so I was very interested to get a look. From the outside it’s not in bad shape, trim mold needs to be replaced, landscaping and siding need to be updated. Inside, however, had ceiling damage due to a skylight but the rest of the upstairs- kitchen, living room, bedrooms just needs you standard improvements. But the basement is where the real issues are. There was water damage and mold along with a crack in one of the walls. Now my first instinct is to completely move on and forget about this but the other part of me is thinking to get estimates, make a very low offer to see if they bite and take on the project. Again, would love to hear your opinion, stories (good or bad), recommendations, etc as I want to get this right for my first time! Thanks in advance.