Chosen by Asker

50 year roofs are common place. Have it inspected. A water heater is no big deal, they are very inexpensive. The banks sell with no disclosures at all, they never lived there, they have no idea what might be wrong. You are liable to have it inspected yourself. The banks sells as is, do not count on them to cover anything. If you need a perfect house you look only at perfect houses, if you need everything new, you look only at new houses. Your Realtor should be a wealth of knowledge about houses, and should be able to point out apparent things. Like that roof, they should have sold hundreds of houses and have an idea if it is going to pass or not. Most structure issues are obvious to anyone who has been in a few and can look for them.

by Janet P

1 month ago

Asker's Rating: 

It depends what kind of roof the building has, if it is terra cotta tile it could last 50 yrs.or longer without repair. Some newer fiberglass shingles claim a lifespan of 45 yrs. A normal water heater lasts 10 to 12 years. A 20 year old water heater definitely needs to be replaced. You should be able to get a complete house inspection for $500 or less. That could be the best $500 you ever spent considering the total cost of the house. At least you will know for sure what you are buying into.

by bonnie s- 1 month ago

your realtor sucks. i had one like that and she didn't know squat about furnace, roof, hot water tank etc....GET A NEW REALTOR. That is the main thing they are there for...to look at the house and tell you what is wrong!!!!! Mine will tell me all about the major things in EVERY house we look at.

by allie in NY- 1 month ago

I think the VA and FHA are more lenient these days, but a roof is wore out at at that age. Even slate will leak and so will tile as they age. A hot water heater can go out in nothing flat when they are old. I had one replaced ,it was $500 with labor. My next door neighbors was $700. a month later.When banks own a property they DO NOT have to tell you any of the problems the property has. They just want to get out from under the loan.I just bought a forclosure. We paid for the inspector. It is worth the peace of mind.We got the house for a good price. We bid very low and the bank countered. WE did lots of updating and people are amazed at how good this place looks. But we went into it knowing we were going to spend some money because we got a good deal

by Raymond S- 1 month ago

Allie in NY is wrong, Realtors can point out things they notice but in the end it is up to you to get an inspection. We are not contractors, appraisers, surveyors, plumbers, or electricians. We aren't qualified to know about furnaces, hot water heaters, etc... If we pretend like we do it opens us up to huge liability. It is NOT a Realtors "main thing" to look at a house and tell you what is wrong with it. All bank owned properties are sold as-is, there is nothing to disclose as they have never lived in the home and do not do inspections. A lot of bank owned homes/foreclosures do not even have the utilities on, so how can we tell you what's wrong, and most listing agents of foreclosures don't know what's wrong with the home, the banks definitely don't, that's why they fill out a Property Disclosure Exemption instead of a regular disclosure. Roofs have a basic life expectancy, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years, depends on the roofing material, but a 30 year roof that has been laid over previous shingles is really only worth about 50-75% of that. Hot water heaters last about 10 - 15 years, if it's 20 years old be prepared to replace it. When you look at a home check these major systems out, then make your offer accordingly. Most contractors will give you a free estimate so if you find a home you are really interested in have one give you an estimate, then you'll have an idea of what it will really cost you. At one time VA and FHA were a little more lenient in their lending, however, now they will most likely not approve a home that needs major work, ie: roof, electrical issues, plumbing issues, etc.. Usually on the MLS listing it will tell you if a home will be able to go FHA, VA, Conventional or cash, if you are still worried and don't want to spend the money on an inspection or appraisal ask your lender. When I have a buyer I always ask what type of loan they are getting, that way I know not to show them homes that won't fit in with their financing.

by Lisa S- 1 month ago

I'm just curious, I've never heard of anyplace where a water heater would be a permitable change and would require a government agency to be notified. When mine went out in SoCal earlier this year from when it the leak was noticed to when the replacement was completed was about 7 hours. How would you deal with a permit on that? Would you have be without water during the permit process?!?

by sbinlb- 1 month ago