Should I buy an otherwise great property with a leaky basement?

[Hong Yang]

So I'm looking at duplexes in the Buffalo area and I found one that hits all the boxes. Its vacant, its turn key, its in a pretty decent area, its competitively priced, and should rent pretty well.

However, its been on the market for a long time and I suspect that is because of the leaky basement. My agent inspected the place on a dry day and the basement was wet (not flooded, but definitely wet). They do have a sump pump in there, but it seems like the basement leaks when it rains and all the electrical is in the basement so....

Is it worth it to buy and fix the basement? How bad can it be?

Is this like a $10k fix or is this a black hole that will consume my life.

[Matthew Irish-Jones]

Quote from @Hong Yang:

So I'm looking at duplexes in the Buffalo area and I found one that hits all the boxes. Its vacant, its turn key, its in a pretty decent area, its competitively priced, and should rent pretty well.

However, its been on the market for a long time and I suspect that is because of the leaky basement. My agent inspected the place on a dry day and the basement was wet (not flooded, but definitely wet). They do have a sump pump in there, but it seems like the basement leaks when it rains and all the electrical is in the basement so....

Is it worth it to buy and fix the basement? How bad can it be?

Is this like a $10k fix or is this a black hole that will consume my life.

 I don't like basement issues.  They can be foundational, ground water, etc... and they can lead to bigger issues like mold, tenant complaints and more.  They are also notoriously hard to diagnose and fix.  Why buy this property when there are more opportunities available?