Under contract duplex w/ structural issues

[Mike Webb]

Hi BP folks! My name is Mike and I have been perusing the boards for a couple of months now. Well...we pulled the trigger and made an offer on a duplex that is about 30 years old a couple of weeks ago and had the inspection today. Here are the details of the deal. I am looking for feedback and advice.

- 2 Units with income of 1650/month (could be 1800/mo after work)
- Under contract at 101,500
- Closing mid September
- Both sides leased (one side I am requesting be vacated prior to closing due to unit needing work and tenant is destroying the property)
- (Soon to be vacant side) Needs carpet, paint, vanities, interior doors, appliances, patch work, etc.
- All cash deal

However, the kicker today was during the inspection in the crawl space, they found 2 of the 4 beams, towards the middle of the property, (2x10's) supporting the joists were rotted away due to poor drainage in the front of the property. We are unsure how long this has been an issue but it didn't start last week.

Anyways, I called the City to see what I would need to do to get this squared away as far as moving tenants, permits, etc. They said I need to call a mechanical engineer to take a look at it and that would determine if I need to have the tenants vacate to complete work. Has anyone had to deal with anything like this? Is it worth pursuing? Now that it is an identified latent defect, the seller has to disclose it to anyone else looking to buy (therefore, it could be a good bargaining chip for me). I remember James Vermillion specializes in foundation issues...anyone else have some input?

[Adam Johnson]

$ 350 is very reasonable, enough so that I would double check to make sure it gets you everything you need. Call the building inspector that has jurisdiction for the property (City or Town commonly) and ask what would be required in order to pull a permit and close the issue out. Some may ask for stamped drawings (by an architect or engineer). If that is the case, make sure that is included in the $ 350 price quote.