I was going to suggest the same thing, but I don't know if the property can support a garage addition next to the house. Block up the garage door opening, and fill the hole. My two car garage is just storage anyway. I have to move stuff out of the way just to get my tractor mounted snowblower in there in the winter, otherwise I have to store it in the outside shed and I can't start it when it is freezing out. The throttle and choke cables freeze up.
You've been given excellent advice. Walk away. This is your first home purchase and if that's you in the picture, you have young children. You don't need adventure at this point in your life..
The first thing you learn in real estate investing is that you never buy a house with a fatal flaw.
You cannot park on the street, just in your garage and your driveway. There will be days, perhaps weeks, when you cannot use those.
If your Realtor recommends this house, get another realtor fast. I had one of these basement garages for my first house, and was very lucky to sell it a couple of years later before we had a really hard rain so I could honestly say we never had water in the basement. If the basement floor was 10 - 12" above the garage floor, it would be a slightly better situation, but I still would walk away now before you get too involved emotionallly.
The 2 walls on the side of the driveway make it look like a swimming pool waiting to happen. The drop off from the yard to the bottom of the drive looks like a nasty place for a child to fall from after not looking where they were going..
The condition of the garage door is worse at the bottom and improves as you go up (kind of like a big ol' tired sponge)...
Oh good grief guys - there are many houses like this in the northeastern and midwestern US, people manage every day with this, many people. This is coming off like rejecting every pre-1970's house for having low ceilings or small closets. "Walk away from that house, it would cost you $$,$$$.$$ to raise those ceilings" blah blah blah.
I agree it's a hassle. I agree that drainage issues need to be *carefully* looked at. I'd *personally* pass on the house if there were another similar option. But I ain't the poster who asked the question. It's not like it's a house half-eaten with termites or something....
Every house has advantages and drawbacks. Some people care more about this or that advantage, some people couldn't care less about this or that drawback. I remember my father, a real estate agent at the time, sternly warning me away from any house on septic. Which would be 9/10s of this county LOL. I have well and septic.
But, otherwise, I agree--OP has been given things to look at/question/consider. Now he'll have to decide whether the positives are are or are not enough to make up for the negatives overall...
Actually, that sort of thing usually gets factored in to the price. There will be comps around with that same kind of drawback. Or similar things like only having a carport. Or a really slopy property. Or a location on a busy through street. People do buy and sell these and live happily in them if they don't care and they know they might wait a little longer to find a buyer that doens't care. Bought a little cheaper, sold a little cheaper, so what. But you know what? I haven't noticed that these houses are the only ones with for sale signs. Or the ones on a busy street - I haven't noticed they're the only ones for sale. As I drive by, I see them to go "for sale", to "sold", to a moving van pulling up... This kind of thing is not a white elephant failing foundation/huge water damage/huge pet damage kind of thing. It's just one of 'em houses with an underhouse garage and a slope toward the door.
This isnt' like some kind of standout unusual problem in the Boston area.
The OP decides if it's a big deal for him, or not. Simple as that.
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