Foundation issues and flipping houses

[Thuy Pham-Satrappe]

I just got an inspection done on a property where the inspector believes there are major foundation issues (cracks, bowing interior, ineffective DIY metal posts in basement).

When I spoke to the contractor who provided a bid to fix and flip the house, he basically said foundation issues are not that big of a deal in Ft Wayne because all houses in Ft Wayne basically have some type of foundation issue because of how old the houses are.

My question is- how big of a deal have you found it to be when it comes to buying and/or selling the house?

Aside from the ethical dilemma of not fixing a problem I know is there, I dont want to spend a bunch of money fixing up the house (and not the full issues behind the foundation), only to list it, get a buyer, and then have it fall through or reduce the sale price significantly when the buyer gets their inspection

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you!

[Cheryl Logue]

Hi @Thuy Pham-Satrappe,

In North Texas many homes have foundation issues too.  I have heard that some lenders require a fix before close depending on the severity of the issue.  There are foundation repair experts in our area, I would try to find one in Ft Wayne and get another opinion.

Good luck!