Neighbor's Warning Sign: 'Do Not Buy That House'

[Robert59]

Norfolk resident says shoddy work in his own home doesn't bode well.

Another unusual tale from the world of Virginia real estate. Earlier this week came the story of the Fairfax home that sold, as is, with two reported squatters in the basement. Now, WAVY reports on another house for sale, this one in Norfolk. The odd thing in this case is that prospective buyers surely can't miss the large white sign next door pointing to it that reads, “Do not buy that house before talking to me.” The "me" in this case is the owner of the adjacent house, Conner Jewell. He says the plumbing in his house is so messed up that waste comes out of the shower when the toilet is flushed, and he says the same company is trying to sell the neighboring house.

https://www.newser.com/story/319405/neighbors-warning-sign-do-not-buy-that-house.html

 

[debodun]

Sounds like some of the contractors I've hired in the past.

 

[Don M.]

The way this housing market is, people are buying and paying a ridiculous sum of money without having a good inspection, etc. Sellers have NO incentive to fix anything before they put their house on the market. Anyone planning on buying an existing house should probably plan on having some extra money to fix up any number of "flaws" that have gone unattended.

 

[debodun]

I feel for the people that bought my former residence, but he is a contractor and he did his own inspection. Therefore, he has no recourse.

 

[Jace]

That's ridiculous!
I can't believe something couldn't be done about that basement Dweller?!?!

 

[Jeni]

That's ridiculous!
I can't believe something couldn't be done about that basement Dweller?!?!

i would think so to....
but i think back to when i bought my First house got a good deal so was happy ... the owner had renters in there told me he would drop price more if i took on responsibility to evict them ......NO way.....
We were actually very surprised he got rid of them and they did not damage things knowing he sold house cheap just to get rid of them.

 

[Colleen]

The way this housing market is, people are buying and paying a ridiculous sum of money without having a good inspection, etc. Sellers have NO incentive to fix anything before they put their house on the market. Anyone planning on buying an existing house should probably plan on having some extra money to fix up any number of "flaws" that have gone unattended.

Definitely get an inspection before you buy. Take it from me. We're learning the "expensive" way.

We sold our home so quickly in AZ (within 24 hours) that we were unprepared for the housing shortage, and what there was available, was so ridiculously priced, we had a difficult time staying within our budget.

Time was running out for our house to close and even though we had found 5 other homes to buy, the inspections were scary, so we backed out of all of them. That was a huge mistake on our part. We should have gone with one of the homes, even though the fixes would have been much less then the home we did buy, but we were never in that position before to buy a house that had "problems".

So, we waited...and we waited...and we waited, until it was down to the wire and we HAD to buy something or be homeless. This house had just been listed (an estate sale) and it was in an area we liked and knew well, so we opted to not get an inspection. Big mistake.

We've had the electrician here twice to fix things that was so messed up...and the ironic thing was, the owner that had passed away was an electrician. Yikes! We have to have a new kitchen put in. It cannot be remodeled. It's that bad. The disposal doesn't work and neither does the dishwasher or sink sprayer. The upstairs bathroom is being replaced also. The house needs new windows because they are the original single-pane windows from 1969 and we have air conditioning all the time. It needs new carpet throughout and we've ordered it but who knows when that will come in. The front door is being replaced. It has 2 side-lights that are very drafty also. This house is a money pit.

I blame us the most for not continuing to look. We panicked. We also had a terrible agent that was no help whatsoever. He just said it needed a little updating. He wouldn't do a video walkthrough. Said he didn't know how. Said he was technology challenged at his age (70). It was a struggle all the way with him. We should have fired him at the beginning.

Lessons learned. Get that inspection...don't try to save $400 because it's worth it in the end.