L

You better check with the code enforcement officer in the area since they can literally make you tear down something that was not done with a permit. Work being done without a permit means it was not inspected and it may not be up to building code and could in fact be dangerous! Here they can also make the owner pull a permit (after the fact), pay a fine and if it doesn't pass make you tear it down. You would be better off doing this before making the offer so you know what you are getting into because once you buy it and sign off as is you will be the one responsible for the code violations.

Some cities are now making owners bring properties up to code ahead of time because of this terrible foreclosure mess you should check to see if your city is one of them. - Thu Jul 3 2008, 15:15

Good for you! Glad to hear it. We were reasonable when we sold our home even though the market had not started in free fall we helped our buyers a young couple with the down payment on a traditional first time buyers city loan. Many of the Realtor's helped push this current crisis by telling people if they didn't buy now they wouldn't be able to afford to buy later and you see what happened to them they are now in foreclosure.

Stand your ground and don't put yourself in a bind. Know that there will be plenty of other opportunities to buy another property this foreclosure mess is far from over and it will take years and years for a recovery we are older and have been through a similar situation in the 80's. Good Luck and Happy 4th! - Thu Jul 3 2008, 14:14

Walk Away it's a Buyer's Market! Don't get yourself in a situation where you can't afford to keep your home. We had a home we bought in the early 1980's and it was several years before we could even think of getting what we paid for it. The bottom of the market has yet to arrive since they continued to give Liar's Loan's through 2007 and if you find yourself in a bind you will not be able to sell your property for MANY years without a Loss! In addition to the Liars Loans many people with traditional mortgages are now beginning to default and with the high costs of gasoline, food, heating fuel, etc., that number will only rise making it even more difficult to sell if you should encounter hardship.

Look at it this way the Seller will either come around or you will find another property that won't put you in financial hardship. - Thu Jul 3 2008, 07:05

I believe foreclosure's will continue at least into 2010 since they did not stop giving Liars Loans until sometime in 2007 if you also consider the fact that many homeowners with traditional mortgages are starting to have problems in record numbers and many more will be falling into default with the rising gas, heating costs, soaring food prices, etc. you can expect the prices to continue to fall I would guess another 10-15% depending upon the area. In other words we haven't seen the bottom yet and it typically takes years after the bottom for a recovery. This has happened before in the 80's we could not have sold our home for what we paid for it luckily we learned a lesson held onto it until shortly before the collapse began sold it and rented. - Wed Jul 2 2008, 14:32