Buying “as is” bank-owned property – thoughts?

[XBoxBoy]

Can I add a cautionary tale?

My wife and I moved into a house about two years ago that was very nice. It was an older house, but had been remodeled down to the studs a couple years before we moved in. It was on the side of Mt. Soledad, and everything appeared to be in good shape. Shortly after moving in, my wife started to have trouble breathing. Also in the middle of the night she would wake with lots of pain in her chest. After several more months and many many doctor visits, someone suggested to us that maybe there was mold in the house. It seemed odd, since the house was in good shape and there weren’t any water marks on the walls or leaks in the roof. Just to check things out, I crawled under the house, and sure enough under our bedroom there was a good bit of mold growing.

Fortunately, we didn’t own the house, but were renting. My wife spent the next month and a half with friends or living in hotel rooms, while we moved. It took months to recover from this episode, and boy was it a pain.

So what’s my point? Forget what the disclose says, forget advice that unless the house is in a swamp you don’t need to worry. Forget whether the house is new or old, REO or regular purchase. GET A MOLD INSPECTION! They aren’t that expensive and the cost of getting mold fixed can be huge, and I’m not even counting all the doctor bills or the inconvenience and disruption to your family. But definitely get a mold inspection. Just as I would never buy a house without a regular inspection, I would never buy a house without a mold inspection.

XBoxBoy

[dharmagirl]

Hi SDR,

I’ll be sure to check that out.

We found out that we can do VA financing. And, becaise my husband is technically a disabled veteran, I think we are exempt from the origination, funding fee and PMI. It seems like a great deal.

This REO purchase price is well under what we expected to have to pay. Our lender has suggested that we dont put the full 20% down since there is no PMI. He suggested that we put 5 or 10% down and use the rest of our money on improvements like hardwood flooring or landscaping.

SDR, any thoughts or “gotchas” on VA financing? Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge and information!

DharmaGirl
Temecula, CA

[dharmagirl]

Hi SDR,

I’ll be sure to check that out.

We found out that we can do VA financing. And, becaise my husband is technically a disabled veteran, I think we are exempt from the origination, funding fee and PMI. It seems like a great deal.

This REO purchase price is well under what we expected to have to pay. Our lender has suggested that we dont put the full 20% down since there is no PMI. He suggested that we put 5 or 10% down and use the rest of our money on improvements like hardwood flooring or landscaping.

SDR, any thoughts or “gotchas” on VA financing? Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge and information!

DharmaGirl
Temecula, CA

[dharmagirl]

Hi SDR,

I’ll be sure to check that out.

We found out that we can do VA financing. And, becaise my husband is technically a disabled veteran, I think we are exempt from the origination, funding fee and PMI. It seems like a great deal.

This REO purchase price is well under what we expected to have to pay. Our lender has suggested that we dont put the full 20% down since there is no PMI. He suggested that we put 5 or 10% down and use the rest of our money on improvements like hardwood flooring or landscaping.

SDR, any thoughts or “gotchas” on VA financing? Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge and information!

DharmaGirl
Temecula, CA

[dharmagirl]

Hi SDR,

I’ll be sure to check that out.

We found out that we can do VA financing. And, becaise my husband is technically a disabled veteran, I think we are exempt from the origination, funding fee and PMI. It seems like a great deal.

This REO purchase price is well under what we expected to have to pay. Our lender has suggested that we dont put the full 20% down since there is no PMI. He suggested that we put 5 or 10% down and use the rest of our money on improvements like hardwood flooring or landscaping.

SDR, any thoughts or “gotchas” on VA financing? Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge and information!

DharmaGirl
Temecula, CA

[dharmagirl]

Hi SDR,

I’ll be sure to check that out.

We found out that we can do VA financing. And, becaise my husband is technically a disabled veteran, I think we are exempt from the origination, funding fee and PMI. It seems like a great deal.

This REO purchase price is well under what we expected to have to pay. Our lender has suggested that we dont put the full 20% down since there is no PMI. He suggested that we put 5 or 10% down and use the rest of our money on improvements like hardwood flooring or landscaping.

SDR, any thoughts or “gotchas” on VA financing? Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge and information!

DharmaGirl
Temecula, CA

[jimg111]

Banks will and are considering repairs termite, mold and other minor repairs right now to get rid of the asset. Be reasonable and just document your request and ask, all they can do is deny your request, but our experience is that they want their exposure limited and want the property sold.

[jimg111]

Banks will and are considering repairs termite, mold and other minor repairs right now to get rid of the asset. Be reasonable and just document your request and ask, all they can do is deny your request, but our experience is that they want their exposure limited and want the property sold.

[jimg111]

Banks will and are considering repairs termite, mold and other minor repairs right now to get rid of the asset. Be reasonable and just document your request and ask, all they can do is deny your request, but our experience is that they want their exposure limited and want the property sold.

[jimg111]

Banks will and are considering repairs termite, mold and other minor repairs right now to get rid of the asset. Be reasonable and just document your request and ask, all they can do is deny your request, but our experience is that they want their exposure limited and want the property sold.

[jimg111]

Banks will and are considering repairs termite, mold and other minor repairs right now to get rid of the asset. Be reasonable and just document your request and ask, all they can do is deny your request, but our experience is that they want their exposure limited and want the property sold.

[SD Realtor]

I would suggest you simply ask for a credit for the repair. This reduces the liability and expedites the process.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

I would suggest you simply ask for a credit for the repair. This reduces the liability and expedites the process.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

I would suggest you simply ask for a credit for the repair. This reduces the liability and expedites the process.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

I would suggest you simply ask for a credit for the repair. This reduces the liability and expedites the process.

SD Realtor

[Author]

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