I bought a $15,000 home with problems.

[normant36002]

I just bought a home for $15,000. It had been listed for $79,900 but the price was lowered when they discovered several major faults. There is an electrical short which is sparking in the house. There is also a gas leak and the house has the strong odor of gas. I just paid cash for it and the closing was yesterday. I'm a little short on cash after that, and I want to get some homeowners insurance before I begin repairs, in case someone gets hurt. So it may be a few weeks before I get started on the repairs. When I do, which problem should I fix first?

Norman T.

[Tony Hwang]

Are you trolling?

[jthread]

the toilet.

[hallerb]

start by turning off all utilities.

its not insurable till repaired.

oddly enough it sounds like a fun project.

with all utilities off get gas leak fixed first, then put in temporary electrical service. assuming main panel is OK run a line or two to each floor for power during construction with a light on each floor.

one of my most memorable moments.

friends had a house fire, I was walking thru home with owner and remarked dont touch around anything electrical might be dangerous.

She said no the fire restoration electrician has everything safe theres no power on this floor. At that moment she touched a sconce by a mantel, sparks and got shocked she flew across room.

The fire restoration folks got fired and I disconnected ALL lines from main panel in basement and installed some temporary lines on each floor with a master switch which served them well till the job was complete.

In pittsburgh you MUST use a registered electrician, he asked who did your temporary they did a nice job.

[willshak]

on 11/10/2007 12:36 PM [e-mail] said the following:

Turn off the gas at the source, and turn off the main electrical breaker. After that, the electric should come first, so you can see in the dark when fixing the gas problem. Leaking gas and electrical sparking at the same time is asking for disaster.

[Frank]

If it walks like a duck.............. Hard to believe he's getting some serious answers. We just don't keep our kids busy enough these days ;) Frank

[AZ Nomad]

See if you trade it in on a used yugo.

[Meat Plow]

Close all the windows, let gas accumulate, hope spark occurs, collect insurance.

[Oren]

What insurance?

-- Oren

"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"

[Red Green]

[e-mail] wrote in news:obqbj31haio6tr2sjonas4avnv5a8r34f2@

4ax.com:

The doorbell.

[BETA-32]

Turn off all utilities.

Ask an insurance agent what kind of insurance you need for the construction/rehab phase (which will be expensive). Homeowner's won't cover your losses during this period of rehab.

Or, go to:

find a real estate investors association group near you, join it, and offer your property as a "wholesale" opportunity for your $15,000 plus an assignment fee of say $5,000 and let someone else do the rehab.

[Oren]

Even more expensive when the OP has to buy homeowner's.

-- Oren

"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."

[JoeSpareBedroom]

No, you didn't.

[clifto]

Sure, he did. He doesn't even mind that the sides of the house have Kelvinator in big letters.

[Dave Bugg]

Hmmmm, then he paid way too much. :-)

[Oren]

Sure! Nigeria. It was on special yesterday, only.

-- Oren

"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."

[DerbyDad03]

Sorry...can't resist...

"so you can see in the dark when fixing the gas problem"

You can't see in the dark, even if the electric is fixed. You can provide light to "eliminate" the dark, but you can't see in it. ;-)

[SteveB]

Troll Meter Rating - zero

plonk

[Cshenk]

Norman, if you are serious and not just a troll, then turn off the gas line to the house at the street and turn off the electrical too while at it.

You can not get insurance on the place until you fix the electrical and gas problems. Depending on where you live, these both probably have to be professionally hired folks.

[nick hull]

A fool and his money are soon parted ;)

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/