I live in an economically depressed area of the NE US where a decent
old six-room home averages 80K and up.

I found a very old but apparently well-maintained FSBO bungalow-style
home that literally can't be inspected by a home inspector. There are
several reasons for this.

1) The kitchen, bath, and laundry room are in the cellar. This is
because the (large) lot the bungalow is on is on a hillside. The
"upper" story is actually the story with the door and mailbox that face
the street. On the lower floor, new tile flooring, a new (raised)
bath, and inexpensive berber carpet on the (raised) dining area make it
impossible to see the subflooring and/or concrete and/or stone this
major part of the living area rests on.

2) The square footage of the home is so small that the upper story (or
street-level floor) has no access at all to the crawl-space attic. The
roof is not architectural but shows no stain, and there are new vinyl
soffits and gutters.

3) The interior of the home is entirely clad in cheapo composite
panelling. I asked the seller if a pest or home-inspector would be
allowed to remove a piece of the panelling in an unobtrusive part of
the home, perhaps the laundry room in the crevice at the front of the
lower/cellar. He said no.

4) The breaker box is 25 years old--an I.T.E. I noticed what seemed
an unusual amount of outlets for a home this size and this age. There
were all grounded, but the wiring is all hidden behind the panelling
and/or dropped ceilings.

5) This FSBO seller does not realize that I know he owns a major strip
mall in a well-trafficked, high-income area. He also does not know
that I'm aware he's affluent. He will not give me his home address,
but because our local newspaper makes public the property tax records
for the county (something I think is an invitation to disaster in the
wrong hands, BTW), through a little sleuthing I was able to find out
who "(Blank) + (Blank) Realty" really is.

From the next-door neighbor to this bungalow, I learned that this
enterpreneur purchased this home as a Fannie Mae foreclosure in August
for 48K, laid the berber carpet, redid the bathroom, and is selling it
for a price in the low 60s.

The neighbor has told me about past owners and has assured me the home
was always well-maintained. I am always suspicious though of homes
were the seller or realtor stresses "newly painted" and "new carpet,"
as these are the cheapest, easiest fixes.

Well, thank you for reading this. The seller is almost strangely
reluctant to continue with the sale, having twice cancelled scheduled
"pre-sales-agreement" walk-throughs by my electrician.

I have concentrated on the questionable or negative aspects of this
property, and I'm not sure they are questionable or negative at all. I
don't intend to offer what he's asking, but the size of the lot alone
would make the property desirable; and as far as depressed communities
in my region are concerned, this community is among the most desirable
because of a county community college.

Again, thanks for reading and maybe posting your thoughts.