If you “really like” the house, and it will become your home, and you can afford it, go for it.

Do you have a buyer’s agent?

Where are you, what is the historical escalation of real estate in your area.

Do Due Diligence.

I don't think moving the electrical wires would be very costly, but the other two items sound as if they could be. Did the sellers say how they came up with the $2,000 figure? Did they get repair estimates or offer any explanations?

IMO, if you don't have savings for these potentially costly repairs it's not worth the risk. Water damage and/or foundation issues can cost thousands of dollars. I'd be prepared to walk. What does your realtor advise?

I would ask to have the basement wall inspected by a structual engineer. It is quite possible it is not structural. Many years ago I had a buyer who was looking at a house with a similar issue. It was found not to be structural and it was from a front porch that was built with cement pushing on the wall. It didnt compromise the structure of the house. The leak and the electrical are both easy fixes.

Let me show you where this could all go wrong. Then, you can decide how you want to proceed.

You have an identified leak in the downstairs tub. If it is a leaky faucet, that is an easy repair. However, if it is a leak under the tub at the drain area, that is a very expensive fix. By the time the tub is removed, the floor joists my be compromised by water damage. You could be looking at renovating a whole bathroom. That's where this could go wrong. You need to find out. While the structural engineer is looking at the bowing basement wall have him take a look at this situation, too.

The bowed wall needs to be inspected by a structural engineer. The engineer will tell you whether the wall and foundation is sound. It could be nothing or it could be $30K. Get the engineer in to look and certify it's soundness. Get someone to take a moisture meter to the wall and see if it is dry behind it. My guess is it is not and the dry wall needs to come off. Finished basements in older homes are nightmares. The structure is typically not designed to shed water effectively.

Raising the electrical service will need to be done to meet code. That can be expensive. Call an electrician and find out how much to raise the service line. It's the bringing it up to code that is the unknown. Your electrical provider will be the one to change the supply line and connect. Your electrician will prepare the structure to receive the new service. It's a collaboration.

Given the age of the home, it's a lot for a first time buyer. These are often best left to more experienced buyers. But, with good guidance and the use of experts, you will have a better idea of the costs.

Getting professional expertise will also provide you with the ammunition to renegotiate the price to reflect any true deficiencies and their cost to repair. Your realtor should be helping you with this.

And to tag onto Homechef's comments if it's a full bathroom gut, you're looking at a minimum for basic of $15,000 and more likely $20,000-$25,000 to redo in keeping with the feel of the house since it's an old house.

My advice, run away.

I have bought and sold a lot of houses and so long as it is priced accordingly nothing in your first and third bothers me in the least.

However, the second problem, "a wall in the finished basement that is bowing inward and also some evidence of water penetration in the unfinished part of the basement," is a hard pass for me. I wouldn't even bother hiring a structural engineer to evaluate it. (1) It is too likely to be throwing good money after bad, and (2) regardless of what the structural engineer says, buyers are going to run from a wall bowing inward. Eventually you are going to want to sell this house so don't start with a defect that most people will run away from.

If the price is a steal and the seller pays for the engineering report I might consider it, otherwise I would probably pass.

If you don’t have a lot of DIY ability, or a lot of disposable income, your first house should be a post 1980 one, and it’s your training wheels practice house to become handy. There are way too many expensive issues with owning a house as old as that if you aren’t handy.

The cheapest part of an old house is the house note. You’ve got to work up to owning a house like that. A 1980 house will have a modern electrical system, modern plumbing, central heating and air, snd even though many things will still need attention or replacement, you won’t need to be gutting it to get those major systems safe.

The no insulation is a big one for old houses. They just are not comfortable in winter, unless your heating bills are huge and you’re heating the outdoors.

What if: you pay $200k for a property and have to pay $100k to make things “best”.

Can you afford that?

Is this something you want do do? Is this purchase your “statement”?

Is this about money?!?

What @bry911 said is perfect.

I also agree with JuneKnow that a first house should not be so challenging. And I’d add that I have renovated 3 houses (plus helped with a friend’s), and I am still learning. The biggest—and riskiest—thing with a first-house’s repairs, is you don’t know what you don’t know.

A bowing wall - oh man, I’d skeddadle out of that house so fast.

We bought a house with bowing basement walls. It cost $9K to pay a company to put plates in the walls to prevent further bowing. And we regraded the yard and did some other things to eliminate the water coming in that caused the bowing in the first place. There were posts in the basement to hold up the floor, so they weren't putting much load on the walls.

That same house had a longtime toilet leak (covered up by several layers of vinyl), and we had to gut to the floor joists.

This was a house built in 1920. We were willing to do all this work (and a lot more) because we we have the capability to do so DIY. And we only paid $14K for it.

One issue with basement wall repairs is that often it is very obvious that repairs have been made: added columns, shear walls, patched masonry. It just doesn't look good down the road when you want to sell the house. Even if everything was repaired perfectly, buyers get leery when they see the obvious repairs.

My husband is a structural engineer and he said, “RUN!”.

Pass on this one. The wall bowing in means structural problems which can cause many other problems (even the leaking if walls have moved enough). Two other buyers backing out is likely related to this, despite what you were told. The inspection findings are required by law here to be passed along to the next buyer (not the report, necessarily, but the defects must be disclosed).

A seller response with an amount in lieu of repairs is fine for the piddly stuff like replacing outlets with GFCIs or replacing deck boards or something. But this is structural. Just pull out of this one. There is another house for you that you will love that will only have the smaller issues appropriate for a new home buyer.

Too many serious problems with this house. I would walk away from it pronto. With the bathroom water problems and unable to see what it actually is, you may also have mold/mildew problems. More unexpected problems meas more money to fix. Don't purchase this one. There will be another less costly (repair wise) house for you.

Yes, I'd keep looking...

Didnt the inspector give any ballpark nos. and ideas on how these problems can be addressed? If he wasnt sure about the structural defect, then did he refer you to someone who could give you answers? If not - then I think you want to shop around for a more savvy inspector. Some of them are pretty lame and not particularly helpful. Look for someone knowledgeable about and loves old houses.

Conceivably this (or any) house can be worth it.... IF you get it at the right price. In the case of structural defects, if it costs say $20,000 to fix it then that determines what your offer is, assuming you really want the house and the repair looks pretty straightforward. Ive heard it said that you take the estimate and add 50% for unforeseen hassles - in some situations that might be wise.

Thats where a good inspector who you trust comes in - you need someone you can rely on for accurate info so that you can make these decisions. Maybe the house is worth the hassle, maybe not. Your agent too should be able to help re: deciding how much cost of repair you will ask the seller vs. how much you will pay yourself. Conceivably they've already lowered selling price to reflect the defects - your agent should be able to advise.

I see your post was 2 wks ago - did you decided? We are dying of curiousity out here - did you get it, or walk?

Please walk away from this deal . The $2000 allowance and closing costs won't begin to touch what this will most likely cost you in repairs. If you don't believe what you've read here, do more research. While you may lose some sleep now, it's better than losing sleep for years to come. Please look for a more recent home, particularly as this is your first purchase.

With these issues I would not move forward without getting contractor out to assess the extent of repairs needed. Sounds like a lot more than $2K. But if you have the money for repairs and the neighborhood supports the higher investment at least you’d go in knowing what to expect. Good luck!

For me, the first and second red flags would be sufficient grounds for leaving, especially in light of the absurd credit the owner offered and the fact that they barely budged on the asking price. You might have to spend $20–$30k to fix that bowing basement wall, and after that you'd constantly have to report that there were foundation problems. Run!

There are really two questions here: First, as a first time home buyer, I recommend you walk. Beyond needing the money for repairs you need to be prepared to deal with structural engineers, and vetting contractors and bids., when all you probably want to do is move in and get settled. The second question: is it worth the risk, depends on the value of a typical home in your area. It may already be priced with these problems factored in. In my part of the world, you could't even by a small lot for that money. So in my area and for someone who has experience and is looking for an investment, it would be worth it. But that is not your situation, so I would probably walk.

It was 2020, folks. Give up.

😂I wonder what the buyer did…

Backed out i suppose