My Dad asked a lot of good questions that a homeowner would know to ask that hadn't occurred to me to ask. How old was the water heater, what kind of well did the property have, how was the water test, and when was the roof last updated.
Tony and I took stock of all of the damages and things that would need repairs or upgrades. A hole and large crack in the wall, a couple places where the ceiling is falling down (just the drywall, not the actual roof), some water damage spots here and there, a chip in the kitchen flooring, the tipped porch floor, the peeling paint in the porch, lots of cracks along the walls throughout the house, the tipped area of the kitchen floor, new gutters, possibly a new roof, patching one of the out buildings leaky roof, a couple places where paint or wallpaper are peeling or torn, the screened porch needing all new screen installed throughout, one bedroom does not have a door, the front step is crumbling, and there is a broken window in one bedroom.
It sounds like a long list, but really, it doesn't seem insurmountable. The house is even smaller than I remember, but I think that if we really work on getting rid of all non-essential belongings, we can make it work.
That said, I think the asking price is a little high for the amount of damages to the property. I'm afraid if we make an offer too low they'll turn us down, but the agent assured us that it's been on the market long enough that it may be worth it to send a lowball offer with a list of damages and see if they bite - just to take it off their hands so they don't have to keep maintaining it when nobody lives there. Tony is expecting his bonus in about three weeks, and perhaps we will use that money to negotiate a deal. If nothing else we can have a contractor out there to look at it.
My only other concern is that this house is very old (over a century) and some of the electrical outlets are original to the home - the kind with two equal-sized prong holes. Some have been updated to three-prong outlets, but those old ones, and some of the lights that flicker when you click them on may indicate electrical problems. I definitely want to get that checked to be absolutely certain everything is up to code and functional.