For Chris – and other interested parties

As you noted - the chimney is in good shape
The roof is fine – for the most part – except where the additions join the central structure
The cabin portion of the house was built to last and will persist for centuries assuming no one knocks it down
All of the additions suck and should be knocked down
The electric needs to be completely redone – estimated low ball cost 5-6 thousand
The east wall of the foundation needs to be replaced and is probably not structurally sound – to be evaluated by a structural engineer – needs to be replaced by poured concrete and rebar
The driveway needs to be redone on the east side of the house so that water flows away from the foundation rather than into it– the rest of the foundation is ok
The sump pump needs to be reinstalled
The well cap is ancient and the well itself is too shallow – it ran out of water while we were there running it – the toilet also flooded when we turned the water on – I sent the real estate agent back to town for a mop and disinfectant to clean it up
The well and the pseudo septic are sufficiently far apart
There are no plumbing vents
There are no roof vents
The dishwasher doesn’t work
The fireplace works – but the exhaust pipe is not connected to the chimney – easy to fix
The burners work on the stove, but the oven doesn’t – also fixable
The septic system appears to be simply an open drain that has no dispersion field, no tank, and the pipe itself has not been properly buried – the plants are very green there

The land is pretty – everything can be fixed – we can negotiate on all of these points or we could walk/run away… right now we are simply thinking about it and waiting to hear back from the bank on the official appraisal. We are learning a great deal about real estate and it is clear that the listing agent is a #$#^%&^%^&%.