Got burned by that 'too good to be true' duplex in Scarborough

I went to look at this duplex near Kingston Road last month, listed way below market at like $650k. Seemed like a steal for the area. Got there and the basement had a huge crack in the foundation with actual mold growing out of it. The realtor just smiled and said 'oh that's just some minor water staining.' Minor? I could smell it from upstairs. I asked about permits for the basement suite and he got all weird and changed the subject. Took my inspector buddy out there and he said it would need at least $40k in structural work before the city even lets you touch it. Has anyone else dealt with sellers hiding really obvious foundation issues like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

wadeg921mo ago

That 40k number from your inspector buddy actually hit me hard. I used to be one of those guys who figured you could just patch up any basement crack with some hydraulic cement and move on. But a few years back I helped a buddy tear out his entire finished basement after we thought we fixed a "minor" leak. Turns out the crack ran all the way down to the footing and water was traveling six feet sideways under his subfloor. We ended up having to jackhammer a trench around the whole interior perimeter for a weeping tile system. Cost him close to 25 grand and that was with me doing half the labor for free. So yeah, when realtors say "minor water staining" I'm out. Those Kingston Road duplexes are rough because half of them were thrown up in the 70s without proper drainage anyway.

leobrown1mo ago

Can't believe it cost 25 grand even with free labor. That's brutal. Makes you wonder what that inspector buddy of yours would find in half these old builds, @wadeg92.