Ours was a slightly unique situation in that the house was going into foreclosure and had an impending auction date that was coming up very quickly. We set the closing date for one day before the auction date - hoping that our gesture and ability to close quickly would make for a stronger offer (we actually have no idea what made our offer the strongest). What this meant was that there were less than 30 total days before closing, which made EVERY SINGLE deadline tight (and by tight, I mean nearly impossible to meet).
Our first order of business (besides loan paperwork, which was a learning experience in and of itself) was the inspection. Due to our tight schedule, we needed an inspector... yesterday. After calling around to several highly recommended inspectors (all of whom were booked for the next couple of weeks), we finally found our man - George. Not only was George available, but he was available on a weekend, which we were pretty excited about (knowing full well that we'd need every single vacation day available for later on).
Having not a clue what to expect, we show up ready for action - M [I mean Dearest Hubby **I received a request for a better blog name**] with old tattered clothes and gloves, fully expecting to have to go into the crawl space with George, and me with my notepad and pen to take fastidious notes all afternoon. Dearest Hubby didn't end up getting quite as dirty as anticipated (or as I think he would have liked) and I didn't end up with the writer's cramps that I was expecting. Nevertheless, we ended up receiving the best crash course on house miscellany that we could have ever wanted. George was more than happy to point out and explain every defective, broken, irreparable, or dangerous feature in and outside of the house - and the list was long. He took "photo ops" of everything (which were all explained in detail in his 59 page inspection report). At the end of the 4 hours, we at least knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into.
Here are a few of the key snippets from George's inspection report...
The page 1 summary goes as follows: "1 family. This property overall is a 'fixer upper' and has had many systems and components that have not been upgraded or have not been upgraded in a manner consistent with sound building practice; many unsafe conditions exist as well as many systems and components that are deficient and will be costly to improve. This inspection will report on many conditions most of which require further assessment by qualified contractors with repairs as necessary. There are many other potential issues as well as cosmetic or fit and finish types of issues that will not be reported upon but that require further assessment and repair/completion as needed by qualified contractors. This inspection and inspection report does not eliminate uncertainty. Please note: the Company has identified many health and safety concerns within this report but there are likely more to be assessed and repaired as needed by qualified contractors; the Company strongly recommends that the home not be lived in until these assessments and repairs have been performed."
So, looks like we're off to a great start... Moving on...
The exterior parts of the house and property:
We have two chimneys - one of which we were aware of prior to the inspection. Here's a photo of the second:
Yup, those sure are bricks just laying on the roof! That's gonna have to come down...
It also turns out that we have FOUR layers of shingles on the roof meaning that there's a whole lot of weight for those old rafters to support. No wonder the roof looks like it's sagging... Although, I have to say the the gutters on this side look NICE and CLEAN.
The interior of the garage, which has been a victim to a pretty damaging fire (although the roof is replaced). George recommends that the garage be condemned.
Let's head inside and see what George found there.
For starters, George noticed that it was not possible to use two water sources at the same time. In other words, don't think about trying to take a shower with the kitchen faucet on. Ok then! This pesky galvanized pipe coming into the basement was a sure sign that we had galvanized pipe all the way out to the street. Probably 100 year old galvanized pipe, corroded so much that the inner diameter was nearly zero. Not a cheap fix (or a DIY fix) for this problem...
Finally, George points out something good... we have a 90% efficient new furnace... but no photos, unfortunately. Photo ops were apparently reserved for all of the defective, broken, irreparable, or dangerous features.
Uh oh, major health and safety issue: white "tape" surrounding ductwork and beams is potentially chock-full of asbestos. Call in the HazMat team!
Electrical was a big problem and many things were pointed out as unsafe, if not electrocution hazards. A few of the issues found:
Original knob and tube wiring scattered EVERYWHERE in the attic - with "updated" Romex tied in periodically. Definitely not good practice.
Questionably wired boxes in attic, leaving wires exposed.
Live wire in panel... VERY LIVE! I think George is measuring 125V on that wire!
Other than that, a lot of the rest of George's report had to do with "old house" types of problems - some of which presented a safety hazard and some of which just needed a little elbow grease (lack of tempered glass, sloping floors, loose hinges, etc.). He did leave us with a strong recommendation to have specialized contractors come out and take closer looks at each system in the house to both assess the condition and provide estimates on what it would cost to fix everything.
And now the real fun begins... Just how much is it going to cost to fix all of the broken-ness??? Time to start calling electricians, plumbers, roofers, and excavators and find out!
