Did not see that coming...

After wrangling around while the seller's broker (bank-owned) finally got the CO and approved for single family residence, had a property inspection yesterday.
The building is 21 years old. I already knew the roof/plywood sheeting needed replacement in near future. I also knew the large deck had a limited future lifespan. ANd they disclosed it had been treated for mold.
But when going around with my hired inspector looking for issues, BOOM !!!!
Boiler is bad (estimate $12,000). Only has baseboard heat left
Northern foundation has badly separated by nearby trees (est $5000)
In crawlspace, main support is cracked (est $5000)
There is essentially a small stream and standing water and thus mold everywhere, in crawlspace. (est $10,000+ to install French drain, unknown to waterproof foundation)
Several ceilings are covered with mold (not black). The crawlspace plus this plus other needed mold remeditation estimated $10-20,000.
Not even including costs to refloor (rugs everywhere) or fix walls for anything they have to rip out.
Deck 3-5 years left but no large crowd. Concrete footers bad and wood supports into ground are soft. $15,000
Roof, as plywood sheeting is bad. $12,000
Sunroom floor and seals bad; there are large moss growths from the heavy condensation. (est unknown)
And I thought ZONING would be my main obstacle. I was floored, and will be discussing with my buyer's broker about a response. Not like seller can hide these things and hope next buyer won't notice...!

i really think you should look for another property - preferably one that is already a b&b or inn. I think you said you wanted to start fresh? this one has so many issues, not to mention you don't know about the zoning. is there a reason this property is your main focus?

Wow! It does remind potential buyers to spend some money on an independent inspection when they are looking at where their "dream" is supposed to happen. It sounds as if they may have to pay you to take it off their hands.

[h2]
WALK AWAY NOW!!![/h2]
You have a money pit there that will never give you roi. FIND SOMETHING ELSE or you will regret this for sure.
nuf said

Mold.... walk the other direction. New French drains are expensive and you need someone good to do it. There is a lot of work to do. And months of carrying a mortgage to get it done. They shouldn't be selling it in this condition. RUN for your life or make them fix it, first.

Already looking. Former b&b, 3600sf, 6br, 5ba, remodeled, 250k, zoned commercial. Overlooks amazing stream. 0.85 acre
Liked the other for location, and 15 acres wooded lot

happykeeper said:

Wow! It does remind potential buyers to spend some money on an independent inspection when they are looking at where their "dream" is supposed to happen. It sounds as if they may have to pay you to take it off their hands..

Click to expand...

600 well spent. Guy uses infrared looking for all sorts of things.

Undersea come to the light...buy our B&B. If you haven't see our link I can send it to you. I just walked home a few blocks from a major show - it is all up and coming here.
Licensed approved and the town gem. You can do whatever you want here. Functions, spa, etc.

STOP! DROP! and ROLL! Your dream doesn't depends on this property. Try another one or buy a B & B.

Joey Bloggs said:

Undersea come to the light...buy our B&B. If you haven't see our link I can send it to you. I just walked home a few blocks from a major show - it is all up and coming here.
Licensed approved and the town gem. You can do whatever you want here. Functions, spa, etc..

Click to expand...

Joey Bloggs said:

Undersea come to the light...buy our B&B. If you haven't see our link I can send it to you. I just walked home a few blocks from a major show - it is all up and coming here.
Licensed approved and the town gem. You can do whatever you want here. Functions, spa, etc.

Click to expand...

You would be getting a well-maintained property with beautiful gardens, adequate parking, great furnishings, a website par excellence so you could be making money while you figure out what sort of additional ventures you'd like to start up.

Joey Bloggs said:

Undersea come to the light...buy our B&B. If you haven't see our link I can send it to you. I just walked home a few blocks from a major show - it is all up and coming here.
Licensed approved and the town gem. You can do whatever you want here. Functions, spa, etc..

Click to expand...

I am tied to here

Time to look for another property. You wouldn't want any future guests to be exposed to possible mold, even after remediation.
Not to mention all the costs and aggravation of fixing up this property. Because it will always cost you more than you think and take longer for all the repairs.

Samster said:

Time to look for another property. You wouldn't want any future guests to be exposed to possible mold, even after remediation.
Not to mention all the costs and aggravation of fixing up this property. Because it will always cost you more than you think and take longer for all the repairs..

Click to expand...

Samster said:

Time to look for another property. You wouldn't want any future guests to be exposed to possible mold, even after remediation.
Not to mention all the costs and aggravation of fixing up this property. Because it will always cost you more than you think and take longer for all the repairs.

Click to expand...

An insurers hate mold. The rates could be astronomical.

We had a similar inspection and went ahead anyway.
Renegotiated the price to pay for the rebuilding of the porch and the basement cleanup and dry.
Two years later, we have a beautiful porch, a dry basement, a new oil tank and electrical system and a thriving business.
But a lot of people told us to walk away. Including our inspector and our friend, the contractor.
If you stick it out, there could be even more issues that you don't know about. Or you could live a year of hell and end up where you want to be.
Is this really the best buy?

I should also say, I'm sorry. I know these moments are emotional. Time to be practical.

I too am sorry.
From the sellers perspective I know the let down when you are hopeful.
I also know for us as aspiring innkeepers we had a property in mind in a different state, and as we told a couple yesterday, our paths were directed here, and for that we are thankful. So not to be so cliche' about the one door closing and another opening, but I am thinking this road block may be something that leads you to just the right property!

It was our 4th and last trip to West Virginia for 1994 that we found this house. It was not on the market until AFTER trip #3. Timing was perfect in the fact it was October. The previous winter had been so harsh they had burst pipes and accepted our bid with NO dickering. THIS is where we were supposed to be. I cannot imaging being as happy anywhere else as we are here.
There is a reason for everything and everything has a reason.

gillumhouse said:

It was our 4th and last trip to West Virginia for 1994 that we found this house. It was not on the market until AFTER trip #3. Timing was perfect in the fact it was October. The previous winter had been so harsh they had burst pipes and accepted our bid with NO dickering. THIS is where we were supposed to be. I cannot imaging being as happy anywhere else as we are here.
There is a reason for everything and everything has a reason..

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We had 6 houses to look at. One was kind of like your situation. We realized the price tag had nothing to do with the house. It was the land that had value. Maybe the same in your situation. Found our place even though we had crossed it off our list. The listing had been removed from MLS but we drove out just to look at what might had been. Surprise, it was still for sale. Even though we bought it and love it now, we found a ton of surprises that no one had warned us about. Spent double what we anticipated but we're still happy we stuck it out. Toughed us up! Hope all goes well with whatever you choose to do.

2cat_lady said:

gillumhouse said:

It was our 4th and last trip to West Virginia for 1994 that we found this house. It was not on the market until AFTER trip #3. Timing was perfect in the fact it was October. The previous winter had been so harsh they had burst pipes and accepted our bid with NO dickering. THIS is where we were supposed to be. I cannot imaging being as happy anywhere else as we are here.
There is a reason for everything and everything has a reason..

Click to expand...

We had 6 houses to look at. One was kind of like your situation. We realized the price tag had nothing to do with the house. It was the land that had value. Maybe the same in your situation. Found our place even though we had crossed it off our list. The listing had been removed from MLS but we drove out just to look at what might had been. Surprise, it was still for sale. Even though we bought it and love it now, we found a ton of surprises that no one had warned us about. Spent double what we anticipated but we're still happy we stuck it out. Toughed us up! Hope all goes well with whatever you choose to do.
.

Click to expand...

2cat_lady said:

We had 6 houses to look at. One was kind of like your situation. We realized the price tag had nothing to do with the house. It was the land that had value. Maybe the same in your situation. Found our place even though we had crossed it off our list. The listing had been removed from MLS but we drove out just to look at what might had been. Surprise, it was still for sale. Even though we bought it and love it now, we found a ton of surprises that no one had warned us about. Spent double what we anticipated but we're still happy we stuck it out. Toughed us up! Hope all goes well with whatever you choose to do.

Click to expand...

We found some surprises too. The funniest was that they had painted to freshen up the look. But they did it lazy. They painted around a mirror on one wall and when they left, they took the mirror! They painted floors but didn't move the furniture!! A couple well placed rugs helped until we got around to repainting the floor.

TheBeachHouse said:

2cat_lady said:

gillumhouse said:

It was our 4th and last trip to West Virginia for 1994 that we found this house. It was not on the market until AFTER trip #3. Timing was perfect in the fact it was October. The previous winter had been so harsh they had burst pipes and accepted our bid with NO dickering. THIS is where we were supposed to be. I cannot imaging being as happy anywhere else as we are here.
There is a reason for everything and everything has a reason..

Click to expand...

We had 6 houses to look at. One was kind of like your situation. We realized the price tag had nothing to do with the house. It was the land that had value. Maybe the same in your situation. Found our place even though we had crossed it off our list. The listing had been removed from MLS but we drove out just to look at what might had been. Surprise, it was still for sale. Even though we bought it and love it now, we found a ton of surprises that no one had warned us about. Spent double what we anticipated but we're still happy we stuck it out. Toughed us up! Hope all goes well with whatever you choose to do.
.

Click to expand...

2cat_lady said:

We had 6 houses to look at. One was kind of like your situation. We realized the price tag had nothing to do with the house. It was the land that had value. Maybe the same in your situation. Found our place even though we had crossed it off our list. The listing had been removed from MLS but we drove out just to look at what might had been. Surprise, it was still for sale. Even though we bought it and love it now, we found a ton of surprises that no one had warned us about. Spent double what we anticipated but we're still happy we stuck it out. Toughed us up! Hope all goes well with whatever you choose to do.

Click to expand...

We found some surprises too. The funniest was that they had painted to freshen up the look. But they did it lazy. They painted around a mirror on one wall and when they left, they took the mirror! They painted floors but didn't move the furniture!! A couple well placed rugs helped until we got around to repainting the floor.
.

Click to expand...

Our PO's did the same lazy work. Floors refinished without moving furniture. Throw rugs to cover stained carpet. Paint with a different sheen slapped over marks on doors and walls.