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Noob questions: Looked at house with down slope and big trees, problem?

By Malkovich   Follow   Sun, 29 Jan 2012, 8:28pm   1,653 views   8 comments
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Looked at a house today in Oakland. I liked it but had two concerns:

1. It is on a somewhat steep down-slope. There were a couple cracks on the ceiling. One even traversed the ceiling and down a wall. The exterior looked like it had some cracks recently patched up in the stucco. The house is also next to a creek, pretty much on the slope leading to the creek. The garage floors had some minor cracks. The most alarming was the one that ran across the ceiling and down the wall.

3. It is on a corner lot and there is a section of yard (towards the creek) with 5 or 6 big, big oak trees. They look healthy but they are growing over the street even reaching the other side of the street.

Are these things to be concerned about? For the cracks, if I were to make an offer, would I hire a soil engineer to check out the seriousness of the situation? What about the trees? Are they a consideration in determining the value of the house and any future problems?

Thanks for any advice.

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1. Malkovich Follow Befriend (4) 20 threads 108 comments San Francisco, CA Malkovich's website

   1   8:39pm Sun 29 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I don't want it if it is going to slide down a hill. Or if I have to pay a company tens of thousands of dollars to remove some trees. I take it homeowner's insurance won't cover these type of things.

2. clambo Follow Befriend (5) 1,070 comments Santa Cruz, CA

   2   9:13pm Sun 29 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Low ball it and forget it.

3. Malkovich Follow Befriend (4) 20 threads 108 comments San Francisco, CA Malkovich's website

   3   11:42pm Sun 29 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (2)   Dislike   ptiemann, thanks again for your helpful comments. I very much appreciate them.

4. KILLERJANE Follow Befriend (3) 12 threads 600 comments

   4   12:34am Mon 30 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Sounds like you want to buy a problem.

5. Nomograph Follow Befriend (1) 104 threads 2,851 comments

   5   6:38am Mon 30 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   All the houses in Oakland hills are on steep slopes, generally not a problem. Get an engineering report to be sure. Trees not only add value, but also stabilize slopes enormously. Why would they be a problem?

6. elliemae Follow Befriend (25) 413 threads 6,983 comments Saint George, UT elliemae's website

   6   6:48am Mon 30 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Nomograph says Trees not only add value, but also stabilize slopes enormously. Why would they be a problem? http://www.smashinglists.com/10-amazing-human-like-trees-captured-on-camera/

7. Malkovich Follow Befriend (4) 20 threads 108 comments San Francisco, CA Malkovich's website

   7   7:20pm Tue 31 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Cratering Housing Prices says If you really want it(and for a fraction of the asking price) hire a structural engineer that specializes in soil mechanics and have him develop an estimate for stabilization of subgrade. It's going to be a pile of money and you want it to be to offset the inflated asking price. Sounds like an interesting bargaining tactic. However, it is a short sale and the bank could just tell me to screw off. Still learning how these things work...

8. Malkovich Follow Befriend (4) 20 threads 108 comments San Francisco, CA Malkovich's website

   8   7:28pm Tue 31 Jan 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Again, I am still learning, but it was described to me that in a short sale the bank has the final approval of any offers. I've heard some stories of short sales that lag for months with all sorts of game-playing by the banks. So I have to take that into consideration.