Property Under Contract in Chicago - Foundation Issues

[Andrew McCotter]

My business partner and I have a property under contract in the 60647 zip code in Chicago. We just completed the inspection and realized the building is leaning pretty significantly. We couldn't get in the crawl space because the current owner glued the hatch shut. The land value of the property seems to be around $320K - $350K from what I'm seeing in comps.

A little background on the property:

2 Flat originally built in 1898

Purchase Price - $320,000

Lot Size - 2178sqft

My question - Has anyone dealt with fixing foundations before, and if so, is it worth it? Anyone familiar with this area who might want to partner on this deal?

[Mark Ainley]

@Andrew McCotter The fact that the crawl space is sealed shut is the first red flag that should cause you to run from this deal.  This seller may have other things hiding too.  There is enough inventory out there or properties with issues not so extreme that you can find.  I imagine being built in 1898 you have a Cobblestone foundation which makes it even more expensive to address.