making an offer on a house tomorrow! mill village longmont - need advices

[danny_isr]

ok i'm back in the game. i offered a bit more and the other buyer had 72hour to remove his contingency and he didn't so i'm the buyer now.
the main problem is this , i'm out of the US for 4 weeks buying a house remotely is scary business for me. so any help will be appreciated !

new issues ... i sent an inspector over he found a long list of stuff but two concerning things :

1)CRAWL SPACE
Under the sub-floor, recommend complete sealed vapor barrier installation on
earth floor in crawl space to reduce ambient moisture and mold/mildew growth.
Soil is very damp with extensive mineral growth as a result of the moisture.
Possible mold/mildew concern given the level of dampness. Further evaluation
recommended by a qualified specialist.
Remove all wood and cardboard debris from crawl space to help reduce any
potential termite activity and mildew/mold growth.
There are dark spots on some of the joists and some on the soil where there is
sawdust and wood parts. These are likely microbial/mold growth
Consult specialist to inspect all of sub-floor area, advise and address as needed.
Vapor barrier installation is now the current standard for most all sub-floor crawl
spaces due to prior history of water and mold damage in the past in some.
Also, the drainage tile is above the soil in spots it appears. This does not make
sense for proper function. Have qualified contractor or engineer inspect and
advise and repair as needed.
Also the soil does not appear to have adequate clearance from the foundation in
several areas. This void area is needed for this type of pier construction. have
qualified contractor and structural engineer inspect and advise and repair as
needed.

BEDROOM - Master
14.1 WALL
Significant movement cracks evident over what appears to be a patched
opening. Consult seller as to history of cracking and any repairs made to
correct. Has cracked since patched. Recommend consulting a structural
engineer for analysis and recommendations.
Patching noted over door as well.


2) Studio apartment:
A permit was possibly not obtained for the
carriage house finishing work. Consult seller
as to history and city and insurance
company as to possible ramifications. There
outlet over the stop is an indication of such
a concern. Improper. Have electrician
repair/relocate for safety.


bottom line , it's wet below the basement floor. is this a BIG deal ? or can it just be repaired ? i contacted a contractor that said he can fix this for $2000. the seller agreed to reduce that amount from closing fees.
so if this really fixes problem from that nature i'm ok with that.

the Studio, seems like there was no permit to make it as an apartment.
the seller will not do anything about this. they treat this structure as "bonus" and not part of the house. they didnt even added the sq/ft of the studio to the house in the ad. So i guess i'm by myself here.
My Realtor told me Permit is $600 + inspector for electricity and plumbing is another $600. and this is of course if there no need for additional work.




so my questions are those :


1) what is the source of the water usually ? is it ground water ? won't this problem return in the future ?

2) what percentage of moisture i can expect after the cleaning and the system . and how much time that will take to get to those numbers ?

3) Should I expect mold inside the house , over leather clothing and such ?

4) is it a big issue regarding the permit of the studio ?


below is the mold/moisture contractor offer :


Assessment: performed a limited visual, non-intrusive, mold/ moisture inspection in the crawlspace at the referenced address. xxxxxxx used an AEMC thermo hygrometer for accuracy and found the relative humidity (RH) reading in the crawlspace to be 63.7%. The industry standard for RH is 20% - 50% to avoid vegetative growth. The moisture content level in the floor joists was 14.9%. The Department of Agriculture recommends wood moisture content for the state of Colorado should be 12% or less, and concrete should be 5% or less, to avoid mold spore development. Mold was found growing in the crawlspace on the floor joists and some of the floor sheeting. The mold is most likely of the genus Aspergillus/ Penicillium. No laboratory testing was ordered at this time to determine the exact species of mold. The mold is in the viable state indicating it is active and growing at this time. No structural damage was observed at the time of inspection. The source of moisture that contributed to the mold conditions in the crawlspace was excessive ground water. The crawlspace does not have adequate ventilation to facilitate avoiding humidity buildup. Per OSHA requirements, all trades must be notified of possible health threatening conditions before entering any contaminated areas. There are a few areas where the drain tile is above the dirt. This will impede the ability for the drain tile to work appropriately.
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Remediation: Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) will be mandatory for all personnel on the jobsite. Containment will be set up at the crawlspace hatch. An air scrubber will be used to create negative air movement.

The drain tile will be dug down and buried so that it will work correctly. Contaminated debris in the crawlspace will be removed and disposed of according to the local landfill regulations and NYCDH protocols. All wood areas affected by mold will be HEPA vacuumed, HEPA abraded and misted with a mold inhibitor. A Soil Moisture Depressurization (SMD) System with liner for groundcover will be installed in the crawlspace. The liner will be sealed to the foundation with perforated tubing below the liner. The tubing will then be attached to a 4’ PVC pipe that will exhaust the trapped humidity outside of the home via an inline Fantech exhaust fan. This is a Level III contamination as defined by the Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments published by the New York City Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental & Occupational Disease Epidemiology, and the Center for Disease Control, and the Environmental Protection Agency of the U.S. Government and remediation work will be done according to protocol set by the same.


**Cost:
Reburying the drain tile $ 85.00
Containment, encapsulation and debris removal $ 110.00
Mold Remediation $ 485.00

Installation ofSoil Moisture Depressurization system $1,265.00

Contract total $1,945.00

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Mold is a serious issue. Make sure, if you go through with this, that whatever they do just doesn't put a band aide on the problem but fixes it so the problem does not resurface. Who knows - maybe this is why they are selling.

The structural cracks I would be really concerned about as well. Seriously - don't gloss over that.

The permit on the studio. You don't know what can of worms could be there. In order to get it up to par to legally rent, you may be in for a lot of work.

Lot of red flags here in my opinion. The studio I suppose is a risk you would have to decide if you want to take - you indicated you will need to rent it out, but what if it turns out you can't or it costs an arm and a leg to get it to the point in which you can?

Did the contractor regarding the moisture issue come out and look at it or just give you numbers over the phone? I would not do anything until I found out what was causing the issue - not just how to fix it. Also, I would want the owner to not take money off the amount, but have it fixed. Because what if other things are uncovered and it ends up costing you way more than $2,000?

[tfox]

I agree with jrkoop that all these things are serious considerations that you should probably seek expert advice on. I've never dealt with mold or cracks so I really don't have good advice except that some of the issues do sound fairly serious. Still, you need a specialist's point of view, amateurs like me aren't going to be able to give you good adviceo n this.

As for the studio, I don't think the problems with permitting are a big deal for your purposes. Once houses are over a certain age they are invariably full of work done without permits; that doesn't affect you too much. You say you want to rent it out, but there's no need for it to be a legal second-unit rental -- really what you're looking for is little more than simply having a roommate. No problem there. If you eventually decided to wanted to rent your whole house out as two separate units, Then it might be a problem -- but likely you wouldn't be permitted to do that anyway since it's likely sold as a single unit property.

[delantero]

Sounds like a good plan, but if you have to rely on that rent for your mortgage/quality of life . . it's a bad idea.

Overspending and poor decisions are what got the country into this mortgage/financial crisis in the first place.

On the other hand, if you have the means, the fire sale has started and I think everyone should jump in . . .

Things always turn around, it's just a matter of your time horizon before you break even . .

[danny_isr]

i'm not relying on rent. but it will help if things get tough job wise in the future.
i can rent either depends on how tight things are.

the studio , they agreed to reduce $1000 for that. it wont cover the whole expense but it should be close.
as far as Longmont City care about the permit , they dont. i can rent it tomorrow . i already asked.
but if something bad happens there like fire. my insurance company wont cover me i bet.
so for that reason i wont have a choice and i will have to fix this.

about the contractor that estimate the moisture fix. he was there and checked it himself.
he said there is one year warranty but he is willing to give even 5.
the crack above the door opening in the second floor warring me the most at the moment.
it was painted there 2 months ago i estimate. and already cracked. not sure if the original crack there wasnt fixed good or it's a new one.
and if it is actually movement, is it because of the moisture in the basement ? if it is then the fix for the moisture should take care of that.
there is an unknown in this purchase there no doubt. i'm taking here some risk. but i bet any used house has some unknown to it.
i tried my best here, i checked with police about the history, city planer about the area, inspector for the house, talked to the neighbors about the house history and the neighborhood itslef .
i think i did enough time to enjoy the new house that looks great by the way.

[runbody]

I saw 3br APt at Main St go Craigslist in Longmont CO it's about $ 750 - I have no idea WHY..!!