should I skip home inspection

Question

Just got my offer on a single family accepted. The property is in the north side of Newark. Larger single family home that is being used as a 2 family. The building itself seem sound though the interior has not been maintained. I plan to substantially renovate the place and ( if possible), make it a legal 2 family.

Should i just skip  the home inspection? I feel that since we are going to rehab the place, there is not much the inspection will tell us that we either don't already know or are not already planning to fix but wanted to ask for some opinions , in case i was missing something.

Also, can someone recommend a good home inspector in the Newark area.

thanks

Satha Palani · Answer

Its been awhile and i thought i will give you the folks on here an update.

The seller and I went back and forth on pricing, he wanted me to forgo the mortgage contingency and wanted to limit the amount of money he was willing to spend on the work needed to get the CCC.

We finally settled on on an "as -is" price where i would assume responsibility for the repairs; close with a temp CCC and use a home style mortgage to get all the repairs done post closing.

I kept the inspection clause and have had the house inspected; primarily to determine that the structure is ok. The inspection was fine. :)

@Ben Sosa We are on 4th ave close to Broadway

@Ro Maga i should have been more clear. The house is being taxed as a 3 family and is zoned R3. The current owners, who have owned it for over 30 years have been using it as a single family (sort of). Technically, we would not be converting but rather returning it to its original status.

If any of you have contractor recommendation, preferably those who have worked with the Home-style loan  please let me.

thanks again for all the inputs

Jerryll Noorden · Answer

If you like taking a gun, you know those awesome metal big-butt pistols with those rolling compartments with these wicked bullets in where when you turn them you hear tktktktktktktktktktktktktktkt... put 5 bullets in and leave 1 compartment open and play Russian roulette. Yes by all means then you would love skipping inspections.

BUT if you rather not take dumb risks that could cost you so much that it was never worth taking that risk, then no my friend.

What does an inspection cost. 900?

Doing a rehab doesnt mean it can't get "more expensive".

So I had this seller once. House was crap.  SERIOUSLY crap, as in the house came down and the only thing scanding was the chimney.

My offer was below the value of the land, and she was furious.

I said.. yo woman!

It will cost me MONEYH to friggin tear that thing down, clear the land  pay for the removal and disposal of the rubble. Of course the lot with THAT house on it is worth LESS than the land alone.

Sheeet bish

Same applies here.

Rehabing doesnt mean it is the  most expensive thing you have to do.

But you worry me a little. If you ask such a question, and BY NO MEANS am I scolding you or insulting you mind you...

but are you ready to flip a house? Be sure to do good research my bud!

Satha Palani · Answer

Thanks Jeff ,

You raise some good points.  I am going to go ahead and have the house inspected.

Amy A. · Answer

I never have 3rd party inspections because I either buy from banks or buy low enough that I know the seller can't or won't reduce the price if I find a hidden problem.  I always assume it's going to need a lot of money put into it.  Remember, inspectors can't tear open walls or anything like that to tell you what the wiring looks like, if there's rot, etc.  If there are possessions in the way it's even more difficult because often they won't move them.

If the inspector suspects there's an issue, he will tell you to hire an engineer to inspect it.  My husband is an engineer and he's not willing to take on that kind of liability for the relatively low amount people are willing to pay.  Not many engineers would.

One thing to remember is to step back and look at the property.  Is it crooked or slumping?  Is it on the edge of a hill that's eroding?  Common sense can save you a lot of time and money.

Satha Palani · Answer

Thank you all for the replies. I am not looking to flip the property ; rather to buy it, fix it up and hold it as a rental. My wife and I bought a fixer upper some years ago so not a total stranger to construction / renovation though there is a ton for me to learn.

Does anyone have the name of a inspector they would recommend.

Thanks ,

Cara Lonsdale · Answer

The home inspector may give you a good road map for your renovation, and what items need to be handled first.

Jeff Bridges · Answer

Things like roof, foundation, electrical and other infrastructure are always an enigma for me. Inspector can help warn you of issues to avoid such as foundation damage and also of repairs you Had not been planning for in your estimates. The $$$ could help you avoid $$$$ in overages in your repair budget. sometimes there are repair budgets that can explode and make a good deal into a very bad deal if your repair budget spirals. thats usually good to find out during your inspection contingency period than after you've closed and are stuck with dealing with those issues. just something to think about. Finally, not necessarily related to inspection, I'd want to find out about what is zoning requirements in newark and can you legally convert into a 2 unit and what additional work it takes to do that. If not, you will not be able to get the units licensed and could have problems if you try to evict during evictions proceedings and cannot produce a rental license to the court. that is a short-term problem for you if you were to acquire.

should I skip home inspection

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