As a home inspector in Columbus, Ohio I'd like to share a few observations regarding bank owned property.  It seems that almost half the homes I inspect these days are foreclosures.  Most of these properties have been shut down with the gas, water and sometimes even electricity off.  When buyers understand the limitations of inspecting the mechanical systems without the utilities on they generally would like to have them restored.  Often it can take weeks to coordinate getting these turned on.

The buyers generally must have the utilities put in their names for a day or two. The call is made to the gas or water company and it is assumed that everything is a go for the day of the inspection.  In my experience more times than not there are problems getting things turned on.  The gas company is notorious for spending about two seconds trying to open the lock box.  If it is not right in front of them and easily opened they are gone.  It could take several days to get them back out to try again.  By that time the water is probably scheduled to be turned off.  Sometimes the inspector must come back at his own expense to reinspect just to make things work.  No one wants to come out to the house on the scheduled time for the inspection spending time driving to the the property only to have the buyer cancel because the gas isn't on.

The fact that these properties are discounted from their pre slowdown prices attracts buyers.  Unfortunately you often get what you pay for.  People who are in foreclosure do not generally invest in maintaining their homes and many times substantial deferred maintenance is present.  Closing down a home for a substantial period of time can cause problems with mold and moisture.  Most of the banks have extensive disclaimers regarding mold and market the properties in as is conditions.  The irony is that they have created the very conditions that has allowed the mold to become a problem.  The cost of mold remediation done according to accepted standards is cost prohibitive to most buyers.

Many buyers come to realize that the discounted price may not represent such a good deal when the problems with deferred maintenance are taken into account.  Unfortunately bank owned foreclosure property will be part of the available inventory for at least couple of years.

David Tamny

Professional Property Inspection

www.worryfreeinspections.com