Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2013 · 64 posts · 1 vote
I want to hear your most basic thoughts about buying properties with visible foundation problems. I understand there can be a huge spectrum of problems with consequences varying from "can't play a fair game of marbles" to "oh $hit the house is falling down the hill." I also know reasons for foundation issues can vary throughout the country; I live in a hilly city with clay-heavy soil and that affects how things work here.
Generally, do you consider purchasing a home with foundation problems? If you are doing buy-and-hold and you buy with the assumption that you can watch the foundation and perhaps install a French drain or push piers later, how do you strategize for future repairs? How do you figure out what will address the problem?
I want to hear all your thoughts about buying properties with foundation problems!
We are buy-and-hold and see foundation issues like any other repair. They need to be accounted for in the price. I just bought a grouping with obvious foundation issues and included a structural engineer in the due diligence process. Relative to the value of the properties, he wasn't terribly expensive ($500 for 5 buildings) and I then knew what was serious and what was cosmetic, what would wait and what wouldn't. I strongly recommend that you not make any assumptions about what the repairs will be. It's worth a couple of bucks to have a pro look at it.
Much less headache and cheaper to just fix it yourself. Of course the max I will pay cash for a rental is 10 to 25k so not much wiggle room there for excessive spending. No way would I bother getting soil samples or anything like that since the cost would probably exceed any economic value I could derive from the property. An easier method would be to build a basic 2x4 frame and then add scrap wood or shims to the areas that need it until it's level then toenail the frame in place, optionally insulate and then nail down your subfloor.
I have purchased three houses with foundation problems. I still own all three, 8 year, 5 year, and 3 year holds respespectivelly. I bought them very cheap, and they make great rentals. I have put a lot of money into them, but I don't fell comfortable selling them quite yet, I am still observing settling in the 8 year and 5 year holds, and have been doing some tweaking in between tenants over the years. The 3 year hold is solid, and I will probably sell in 2014. The 5 year hold one is particularly interesting, sometime in 2005 some investor bought it, did some cosmetic repairs, then sold it to a third party without disclosing the prior structural issues, which he did not repair. That investor did the same cosmetic trickery to a half dozen other homes in the area, and ended up doing a few year in jail as a result.
So the moral of the story is to not buy a property with a foundation problem unless you are willing to put in a lot of money to do the repairs, and to hold it for a long to time to assure the repairs are effective.
Are structural problems apparent to home inspectors or do you need some experience mixed with a little bit of intuition to recognize foundation problems?
Thank you,
I had an inspector come in and found a sagging beam and some joists that needed reinforcements. Worth the $333 charge as he found other things that needed attention.
I haven't had any specialists come in, yet, but one is scheduled for this Friday.
Doors not closing right, wavy or unleveled flooring, stuck/cracked/broken windows and cracking walls are the visual signs that you have a foundation issue.
Also, for a raised foundation, as in my case, you can see where the water is coming in under the house and erosion is evident. It just so happens that no rain gutters were installed, so guess where the water goes?
I'm hoping we can walk away with no more than $5,000 in repairs and have a great foundation.
I'm from California, so I've only known concrete slabs my whole life. New to Florida has presented a challenge in accepting that most home foundations in Florida are raised. Which would I prefer? if it had no issues, no-brainer. Slab. If it did have foundation problems? Raised would seem to be less costly in repairing, though I have no experience in either.
kevin martin-my sonis buying a home in englishtown/manalapan area in monmouth county,nj-the house is built on a slab. after reading about the scary things that could-be defective,i feel we need an inspection. the house is about 45years old was on the market for about 7 months. i haven't been inside,but i have seen photos-there have been roof,windows,flooring and cosmetic upgrades.routine inspection is scheduled for 10-7-16.owners say they had a termite problem that was taken care of.they will only pay 500.00 dollars for any other termite problem. I feel they are not telling my son something.I contacted a foundation experts=they will use cameras to check out whats going on underneath the slab,such as sewer,water,cracks,leaks. fee is $475.00.i will wait until after the initialinspection before doing anyrthing, do you think they will give me an honest report,seeing how they will have a chance of doing any repairs. I am trying not to pay another fee-engineer-if possible. hope to hear all opinions,thanks,barbara
hi all, I am very new to this site. But I have a question.
I am under contract to buy a house that have foundation problems, we have a 14 day contingency waiting on the report and the repairs. The report was send to me today. It states that they have to reset and reshim two additional support beams that are uneven and falling in their designated capacity. Remove 2x4 shims and replace the entire length of double width 2x4 sill plate on center grade beam, finishing with steel beams, and reset and reshim sill plate/grade beam and under structure as needed to adjust and correct over lift of entire beam foundation area of the main dwelling. There are 10 black dots on the picture of the floor plan. And pictures of the affected beams.
Can someone explain this to me in a way I can understand. I need to know if the Damaged to the house is too big that it would be better for me to back out of the purchase, or if after the do all of that, it will be fine.
Do you recommend hiring an engineer to evaluate and give a report about the foundation work? My goal is to refinance my property using BRRRR, after the foundation repair is done. Does the report help refinance easier? Or in the first place, do I really need to tell the lender that there used to be a foundation issue and we have repaired it?