I would suggest stone since it's a more attractive option than concrete block and a more lasting option than wood.

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As above. No way should that "wall" be allowed to exist.

I can't imagine that would ever pass inspection and could possibly keep you from getting a loan.

If you are in California calculate about $100 a linear ft for a new 3’ block wall stucco will be about $8 a sq ft more and give maybe a thousand or two for removal of blocks. Sometimes in escrow the home owner will give new buyer money toward item they did not want to fix. U could get a contractor to quote before u buy but that is not a retainning wall. :) .. currently.

"... however the retaining wall doesn't look solid." That's a major understatement!

There are two ways to deal with elevation changes: slope or retaining wall. It would depend on what's happening around this area in order to determine what you need. Explore that first, coupled with your desires in order to determine what you should do.

You're going to want to be extremely diligent in checking up on this property. The look of it reminds me of homes on a mountainside in my city. The land is moving far below the surface, so foundations are cracking, walls are separating, walls crumbling... The city ended up buying a lot of the properties because the development should never have been approved.

If you decide to take on this project t, make darn sure you're not biting off more than *anyone* can chew. Talk to the neighbours.

We had to have a wall built and we used these and then I planted ivy at the top that now pretty covers the wall I trim every spring and thats it. We put gravel big O drainage into the slope first then the wall was built This pic was before we redid the decking but you get the idea

Glad you are asking before you buy. If it were me, I would get an engineer to look at it since depending on soil, seismic potential. precipitation, etc. will influence how reasonable it will be to fix. How expensive it would be to fix may depend on issues such as access for heavy equipment such as a bobcat or a cement truck as well as the other factors mentioned above. Comments about bank loans being difficult with this type of potential problem are on target.

Geotechnical engineer inspection required. During the inspection period. AKA immediately.

If there's something that has the potential to be a serious problem, get a specialist inspection. It is WORTH it. We got specialist inspections for a house we were considering and that nixed the house purchase. In a house we bought later, we negotiated the price of repairs off the price. You can even suggest that the seller pay or split the cost of a specialist inspection.