He seems to be the authority figure of the relationship and if he signs, pyschologically, it will seal up the property for him and probably her.

Dealing with the city on permits alone could be a very expensive and lengthy proposition with sealed drawings, etc.So that means you are offering less than $15K for the property which , realistically, he won't acccept probably.

Once I knew my buyer was serious I then footed the bill for the engineer to inspect, create a report, and put his "seal" on it.

Get a termite inspection during your purchase process so you know what issues are there and can handle them during your rehab.Since you are, where you are and the problem is only in one spot (as indictaed by your post) use plastic to seal off the kitchen, chip up the tiles, replace the bad wood beams in teh subfloor, and replace the tiles.

Every faucet had to be replaced, door seals were shot, many rooms needed flooring, paint, etc.

You can also take small clothing items and place them in sealed bags with a couple of dryer sheets.

Mildicide needs to be applied to all of the studs and framing and they need to be sealed.

Many times I've heard from folks I deal with or have taught that it was their presentation that tipped the scales in a transaction.Even when it doesn't, it builds your reputation as a knowledgeable professional --- and that's what may seal the next deal.

.- LS uses a catch phrase "Real Estate is Easy, People are difficult" implying that RE is easy, you just need to be able to deal with various temperaments of various people involved in the sealing of a deal.

The epoxy seems to have sealed the hole for now.