House shopping *Dies laughing*

Due to the economy being crap I decided I want to buy a house because they are dirt cheap right now. SO, I went and looked at 8 houses yesterday, I fell in love with one of them (3 bedroom, office, dining room, living room, 2 1/2 bath, full finished basement, fireplace, and a pool) well when I asked to see the attic the owner got really antsy and uncomfortable so then I demanded to see the attic or I was leaving. OMG it made me think of this: http://youtu.be/thzUR_mq6OY
BTW I am in love with the mayhem commercials!
So the attic had sever water damage on the floor in a spot that had been obviously patched up, the insulation was torn off of the walls and torn to shreds all over the floor, a dead bat was on the floor, there were scratch marks all over the floor, it smelt like death and mold, and in spots on the floor there was animal feces. *Dies laughing* Yeah, not picking that house that seemed straight out of the mayhem commercial.

If the owner was selling the house, wouldn't he at least attempted to clean up and hide the evidence or something? If he hid it well, your trusty home inspector should have caught it before you sign your life away

theasianview is 100% correct. If you are using a real estate agent, the agent should advise you on things to look for, and questions to ask. Besides the attic, key places to check are the basement walls , floors, corners for water damage or leaking or mold; the roof; the foundation for cracks.
The home inspector that you hire is the one who SHOULD identify any issues or problems. Make sure you hire a reputable person-ask for references.If you buy a house AFTER the pool is closed and covered for the winter, ask for a separate pool inspection or for money to be held in escrow until you the buyer see the pool open and running with no visual or mechanical problems.

There is a great show on one of the home oriented cable channels - " Holmes on Homes ". This home inspector goes in and finds all kinds of major issues ( costing big money to correct ) in a house that the original home inspector missed. Houses look great visually and cosmetically, but behind the walls and out of view to the uneducated homebuyer there are problems.

Happy House Hunting !!!!!!

I watch Holmes on Homes every sunday morning, Great show.

I watch Holmes on Homes every sunday morning, Great show. Originally Posted by jymie

Jymie,
What cable channel is this show on ??? I agree with you that it is a great show. I always wanted to know how much money this guy spends to correct the problems he finds. He rips down walls, ceilings, floors, decks,plumbing, digs up the yard and more to correct these problems. If I was the homeowner who thought that they just bought their dream house, I would first be very angry that the original home inspector missed all these flaws - THEN I would be in tears watching someone tear apart my house .

LMFAO "This time in your attic has been the best week of my whole raccoon life....I'm the smartest raccoon I know!"

Lexxxy really nice catch - demanding to see the attic! House shopping with you might be really ... fun

Jymie,
What cable channel is this show on ??? I agree with you that it is a great show. I always wanted to know how much money this guy spends to correct the problems he finds. He rips down walls, ceilings, floors, decks,plumbing, digs up the yard and more to correct these problems. If I was the homeowner who thought that they just bought their dream house, I would first be very angry that the original home inspector missed all these flaws - THEN I would be in tears watching someone tear apart my house . Originally Posted by quail

HGTV

I had a home inspector look at my house. To get my tax lowered. It worked. Its a fine 1840's stated to 1880's last addition. The cost to make it up to a slandered just to put on the market per NYS. Starts with a match, then sell the lot. Town had me at 250k house. And with homes near by dragging that down. The replace value is more than that. And this old barn is really in good shape for it age.

So to buy a house you need.

home inspector
what its taxed as

what wavers will be needed to buy/sell for the state your looking(I sold a shit hole that only need one for no fire detectors. I would need over 20 for where I'm at. And its a nice house)

cost of wanted/needed repairs/improvements
cost of insurance, and for what
average of near by homes
How long you plane to stay there. Flip to old age (as some would not be worth to flip. But may be ok if plan to stay long term)(that can go the other way also)

area cost of utility's(water, gas, oil, electric, etc )
Is the area being ran to or from and why(both can be good and bad)

etc
etc
etc
opps I need this one, is it on or wanted to be on a list of historical homes(this could be good and bad, mmmmm mostly bad)( my current problem, its wanted to be on.) ( being in a controlled neighborhood would be the same as in the end. As others can control what you can or can not do to the house.)

Have fun,

PS: do not fall in love with a house till you know all you would get into if you buy it.