Advice from a Home Inspector on Buying Foreclosures

We asked our friends at Pillar to Post "What advice do you give clients when purchasing a short sale or foreclosure?"They gave us a lot of information, so much so, that we made this a two-part article. (See part 1 here)

Owner Dave Leopold says, " Thinking of just bringing that nice contractor guy your friend met at a party? Not so fast. That “contractor-looking-for-work” doesn’t have your best interests at heart. He has something else to gain if you buy the house: a job.

It’s also unlikely that Uncle Vinny carries a moisture meter or an infrared camera. Freshly painted walls can be very deceiving. We can find the saturated sheetrock walls in a basement that a desperate short-seller painted over. Beyond simple property damage and unexpected expense to waterproof a leaky basement, there may be threats to your health like mold waiting for you after closing. We have the equipment to detect the problem and test the indoor air quality to make sure you’re safe.

 
You and your friends may notice stains on the carpet and walls. Trouble is, you haven’t been trained to recognize what the remains of a drug factory run by a couple of stoned meth-heads looks like. You probably won’t learn what a danger those toxins present to you and your children until after you own the problem if you rush the process.

Popular television shows depict the quick riches to be made “flipping houses.” Do you ever see a plot centered on how the buyer wanted to do “a great job” on the house before it’s flipped? No. They want to make “a great profit.” We did one inspection where a part-time builder bought a house without an inspection only to find it was riddled with termite damage. What did he do? Tons of appealing cosmetic repairs. Trouble is, he never did any of the structural repairs that were needed, and never even bothered to have the house exterminated!

Consider the sequence of events that takes place before a property goes into foreclosure or short sale. A buyer pays too much for a house. Like most people, they then want to make some improvements. Many are young and have relatively little home improvement experience or skills. Some are not particularly savvy when it comes to looking at a home as an investment. After over-paying for the property, they compound their mistake by over-paying for improvements. As the reality of their financial situation begins to sink in, they start taking shortcuts. Don’t end up being that guy. And if you’re going to buy that guy’s house, make sure you know what you’re buying.

courtesy of:

David Leopold
146 Coleman Road
Fairfield, CT 06825
tel: 888-801-7111
fax: 203-374-4564
David.Leopold@pillartopost.com

www.pillartopost.com

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