Basement Water Problems

This time a week ago I thought I was going to lose the house.  I had gotten so close to getting the deal finalized and it was starting to fall apart all around me.  Since I am using a lender’s money to purchase the property, the house needed to be appraised.  Usually having one of the houses I purchase appraised isn’t a big deal because I buy them below market value.  I am always extra cautious when running the numbers and comparables to determine where I need the purchase price to be so I wasn’t worried.  I knew I was getting this house for a good price and apparently so did a few other investors who came out of the woodwork with cash offers on the property as well.  Lucky for me I already had a signed contract so it was mine…for now.

For this appraisal the issue came up not with the value of the property but the condition.  Basically the appraiser noticed the evidence of past water damage in the basement and the possibility of there being mold.  The problem was he marked his appraisal “subject to the water/mold issues being fixed.”  In short he valued the house at “X” dollars as long as the issues were fixed.  He also added that he estimated that it would take $5,000 – $10,000 to fix the issues.  Now because I am using a national lender to purchase the property and all their loans are federally backed they can’t loan money on a property with an appraisal that has a “subject to” issue. MORE

Finish reading and see a lot of photos here!

http://www.flipphillygreen.com