Manchester, Ohio
1649 Brownhill Road
$650,000
18 Hole Golf Course
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Have you ever wanted to turn your golfing passion into a business?
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This golf course could be the answer to your dream. Well established & highly praised.
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Contact: Kim Abbott
937-403-2425


Symmes Township
11951 Paulmeadows Drive
$399,900
12 Rms, 4 BRs, 2/2 Baths
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This very spacious home is ideal for growing families. Expansive lower level.
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Nearly 1 acre of park-like serenity on quiet cul-de-sac.
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Contact: Cynthia Jansen
513-842-2231

We came across this instructive article in the Washington Post regarding purchasing foreclosure property. We are sharing it here, somewhat edited to fit our format.
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QUESTION: I recently purchased a home from a bank that took it back from the previous owner in a foreclosure. I was led to believe that the home had updated electrical wiring and updated plumbing. I had a contractor come in to do some renovations that I thought were going to be cosmetic. As it turned out, almost every area we tackled opened up a can of worms: exposed electrical connections in the attic and broken sewer pipes.
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Shouldn’t this have been discovered by the bank’s inspectors or my home inspector? In these cases, who is liable for the repairs? I feel like I have been a victim of fraud. Is it legal to sell a home that has busted plumbing as serious as this one? The electrical cost me about $1,000 and the plumbing repair will be another $1,000. Should I be talking to a real estate lawyer about this? I am out of money, as there were several other problems with the home.
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ANSWER: When you buy a bank owned property you take risks. The bank has not lived in the home and the bank doesn't have knowledge about the home's history. You, as the buyer, must take extra care when buying a foreclosed home. It seems that you tried to take care but still have found problems with the home.
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The real question is whether the problems you uncovered could have been discovered by a reasonable home inspection. We're not sure whether a normal home inspection could have uncovered problems with the sewer system. We know of two basic ways to discover plumbing/sewer problems with a home. The first way is to have a plumbing company scope the drainage system with a camera. The second is to start using the system until you uncover the problem.
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Keep in mind that a home that has been vacant for some time develops problems on its own. It's as if a vacant home knows that it should start to fall apart. By that, we mean that the sewer system may not have been used for some time and that lack of use could have contributed to the problems you now face. Furthermore, a new family moving into a home frequently ends up using the systems of the home to a greater degree than previous owners did.
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Sometimes homeowners or their contractors do a sloppy job of renovating a home. In many cases, poor workmanship may violate local codes and ordinances. Nevertheless, that violation may be too difficult to find in an ordinary inspection. We don't believe that inspectors should be responsible for uncovering problems that could only have been discovered by opening up walls.
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As for the bank, the bank probably knew little if anything about the home. If the home had electrical work done, the real estate agent for the bank may have told you that electrical work had been done on the home, but the agent would not have known if it was done properly.---- -RSIR - courtesy The Washington Post