Coal Celler filled with dirt Is this a problem? And needs siding

[Mike Calabrese]

I am trying to purchase a home in the Brookline area. I had the inspection today and we found a coal cellar? This was a room that was almost below the basement and off on an end. It appeared that no one had been down there for a long time. This room was actually behind a door which had been boarded up. It was filled with dirt. The foundation wall of the home was in between it and the actual house minus the doorway. The inspector said this was not an issue. In addition, he said, if I didn't want access to the room, which I don't know why I would, I could have a mason fill the doorway in. He didn't find any foundation issues with home even on the side with the coal cellar.

My questions are has anyone had any problems with rooms like these and could it become a problem? 

In addition, the house will need new siding on the first floor plus the old siding needs to be removed. What is a good estimate for this? 

[Anthony Angotti]

@Mike Calabrese I have at least 8 of these cellars. Two have a lot of dirt in them and it hasn't been an issue. I think it's for more access to the Crawl Space area under the porch or kitchen than was a coal cellar, but I don't know. You can drive yourself crazy trying to play  house detective on old homes.