My name is TJ Sayers and I am one of the owners at Birmingham Homebuyers, LLC. Our company buys 60-70 houses per year in Birmingham and we see a lot of interesting things in the homes that we buy. We do this professionally and we look at each home before we buy it. Even though we are very experienced (and my business partner is a former licensed home inspector), we still miss things from time to time.
One of the biggest nightmares we have faced involved Chinese drywall. Chinese drywall is a defective drywall that was manufactured in China and was imported and used in US construction in the early 2000’s. The defective drywall has high levels of sulphur which can cause health issues such as asthma, coughing, headaches, sore throat and irritated eyes. It also causes issues with copper wiring, copper pipes, and failure of hvac systems and appliances. The picture to the left is not the house we bought (I hope we would have noticed that!), but this is what the drywall eventually looks like!
Even experienced buyers make mistakes when buying houses in Birmingham!
Several years ago, we were under contract to buy a home in Helena, Alabama. This particular home was built in the early 1990’s, so we never considered Chinese drywall. Apparently we did a quick walk through in the house and did not notice the distinct smell. After purchasing the home we met at the property to get our crews ready to start renovations, and then we noticed the smell (think rotten eggs). When we checked the wiring and copper pipes in the basement our concerns were validated, they were all black which indicated Chinese drywall. The home was built in the early 1990’s, but the basement was finished in the early 2000’s (during the Chinese drywall phase). Luckily for us we did not have to replace all of the drywall in the house, but only the basement portion. We were able to clean some of the copper piping and wiring, and we had to replace other parts. This taught us a valuable lesson to be more diligent when inspecting homes before we buy them. We still made a small profit on this deal, but this mishap cost us an additional $25,000!
Selling A House With Repair Issues!
Maybe you have a house that has issues such as Chinese drywall, mold, foundation repairs, or other problems that make a traditional sale much harder. Or maybe the home has title issues and you think you cannot sell? We Buy Houses in Birmingham with all of these kinds of physical and title issues. Give us a call at (205)502-2161 to discuss your options and see if we can help!