Home failed inspection.. miserably

[cookderosa]

UGH.. SO as you all know, we're moving to Chicago because I start my new job on March 5. We couldn't have the entire family make it out there in time for my start date, so DH and I flew out a few weekends ago to go house hunting and after some negotiation, we put in an offer on a beautiful house in a large neighborhood.

Things started a little rough because in spite of a VERY dated kitchen and strange bath colors (fire engine red bath/toilet in master, bright blue in kids bath and pepto-bismo pink in another) the seller wanted top dollar and a price equal to comps in the area. We managed to haggle and only got a 5k concession for new paint and carpet and were willing to deal with the other issues because it's a great house right next door to a park and a block away from a pond and several other parks. I'll even share the link since we won't be living there! 639 Matthew Ln, Carol Stream, IL 60188 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.comÂ

Anyhow.. all was moving forward with the closing scheduled at the end of March and then we got the inspection results. OMG!!!!! Yes, we knew there were cosmetic issues, but holy cow the place is falling apart!! Major mold issues, heater that's been leaking, with a filter that hasn't been changed in what looks like YEARS, AC totally broken, staining and leakage throughout, appliances totally broken, electrical problems too numerous to mention, foundation issues, and I could go on, but I'll spare you all the details.

So sad and a bit angry that we are now out $600 bucks for home inspection and no closer to finding a home. I have insisted that my agent forward the full inspection report to the seller and his agent so that he will be forced to modify his disclosure statement. I also wrote a long email that I have requested to be sent to the owner explaining in detail how much it would cost to make the home livable and have suggested that he is posing a major danger to his current renters. No, it doesn't get me my $600 back (and all the excitement that our family had) but it will hopefully force the guy to be more responsible. Or at the very least, he couldn't claim ignorance if something happens to his tenante. After all, he is renting this place and it's not safe to live in!! And on his disclosure paperwork, he claims that everything is just fine. UGH.. what a slimeball!!!

Thank goodness for home inspectors!! I'm so glad we didn't buy this money pit!!!!! Back to the drawing board!

Listen, it's $600 but it's a blessing. Our home passed all the inspections we had (well, septic, whole-house) but we STILL had major issues....of course the issues were all outside the scope of what we paid for = no recourse. In that price range you should be able to find something that nice in as nice of an area that passes with flying colors. I fell for you, really. (((hugs))) It's a process.