I apologize for the vagueness of my post.
We did use a home inspector. The report stated "above average settling". I
called him and asked him point blank and he said that the house had probably
settled as much as it was going to and that it wasn't an "oh no!" situation.
When I asked him if he would buy this house he said he could loose his
liceance for answering that question.
Some of the cracks are pretty large, a 1/4" or more and run horizontaly the
length of one wall, another verticaly (right through the block) from top to
bottom, several step cracks with varying widths (one I can see daylight
through at the window well), and there is a "T" crack where the wall has
pushed in about a 1/4". This one was hidden by a tall freezer so the
inspector did not see it and "our" real estate agent told me to use the
epoxy. Many of the cracks have been poorly patched, (patches falling out)
and filled with [filler rod?] so they did have knowledge of them.
The basement bath flooded after about an inch of rain. The walls are
finished so I'm not sure what's behind them. I asked the sellers (through
our agents) if the basement stayed dry since we needed it for office space.
The answer was that they had some trouble years ago but that it was fixed.
The market in our area is actually pretty good. We have several booming
industries which keep thiings going. Some houses have been sitting but they
are over priced. I didn't care for the house when we bought it but it was
the only one we could afford in a safe neighborhood. Now I just want to fix
it and get out.
I don't trust home inspectors, is there anybody else I could bring in that
wouldn't have an agenda?
Lastly, do disclosure forms mean anything?
Thanks for all the replies.