Why would a house not be able to be financed?

nocones said:

Whatever it is you have to let us know.  I'm engaged now so the suspense is real..

No response from listing agent so far. Makes me wonder if John Welsh is correct about snakes in the business..

Don't request info. Request a showing.  This should amp up the pressure for the listing agent to get you the info. 

I smell stalling. 

Another option, go to the front door and knock.  The sellers agreement probably states the seller can not talk to you directly but I bet they will.  If the resident is not the owner but rather a renter, I'll bet they talk your ear off.  

Stop following someone else's made up rules and try to go buy a house.  If the residents won't talk then try to speak with the neighbors.  I wouldn't open the conversations with the "un-financable" issue but I would beat around it and see if anyone divulges voluntarily. 

Update time!

No HVAC & plumb wore out shingles seem to be the reason buyer believes it won't qualify for loan. Apparently had an offer previously & prospective buyer needed a loan, but mortgage co said no due to HVAC & insurance co said no home owners insurance due to roof condition. So buyer backed out.

Looked at the house this morning. Needs roof, Windows, entire HVAC system, exterior doors, one deck rebuilt, another deck torn down, kitchen completely redone, flooring throughout, basement needs something - it is 3 "separate" spaces that aren't quite sealed off from one another and aren't big enough to be useful as configured, paint entire interior, landscaping, & some general junk removal from property. Also has potential option to buy adjoining 2+ acres.

Probably going to make a low offer in a couple of days & see what happens.

Run away.  

I looked at a house and something about the foundation and land around the house didn't look right.   So I started asking neighbors about the house.  One told me "Oh, that's the house on the geological fault.  The last two owners went bankrupt trying to fix it."   I looked more closely at the land, street and houses around there.  Sure enough you could see a trend in the soil where it dipped down.  This house was the only one lying across it.

I talked to the listing agent she told me that in Texas the condition of being on a geological fault is not something they legally had to disclose.  

For me the legal minimum is a starting point.  For this crooked agent it was an end point. 

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

Do you have enough cash to buy the home and tear it down? Then, finance a new home on the existing property. 

Said another way, it seems the property is the asset and the house is the liability. Is it easier to just level the house and start over?  I ask because after reading your list I'm having a hard time gathering what is still good about the house. 

While I like old houses and think they should be preserved, I agree with John that this sounds like the best parts about the house were that the door didn't fall on you when you tried to open it. OK, I might be exaggerating slightly but you get my point.

I'd at least figure out both approaches (renovate existing house or flatten & rebuild), and I' do a very very thorough inspection.

Another angle.  

Is it possible to buy the adjacent 2 acres for a high market price (but financable) and then simultaneously buy the existing house plot for a grossly under market price with cash?  (like a one dollar purchase.) 

This would require that the 2 acres can be built on and the existing house leveled later.  Also requires that the 2 acres are a separate deed. 

I can be tough to finance raw land unless you go in for a construction loan, It depends on the area. The other option is to find out what the seller wants to clear from the sale and build the cost of fixing the stuff the finance company flags into an offer.  Have the stuff fixed before closing.  Get everything in place for a closing, contractors get paid at closing out of loan proceeds.

In reply to jgrewe :

You'd want a pretty bulletproof contract in that case tho', lest you accidentally end up fixing up the house for the current owner.

The contractors don't get paid until closing. If no closing, they can place a mechanic's lien on the property.  Escrow would be how I would handle it. Dry closing from the seller into escrow, stuff gets done, bank approves, releases funds, final closing to buyer.

Definitely a job for a law weasel though.

Additional land not for sale separately. Buy it all & tear down is too much $, I could buy at least 15 acres nearby for that amount.  I already went down that path & figured out I would lose $ buying land & building from scratch if I ever wanted to sell.  Cheaper to renovate an existing house than start with buying raw land (as long as you don't hire some tv show personality to spend your $).

This house sounds like a pile.  Why would you even care to embark on a total restoration/redo project like this?  Like John asked, what is good about this place?