Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
Looking at a potential foreclosure property, backyard of house is on a slight decline, as is all the other 5 houses in a row. There are several cracks throughout the exterior of the house, some have even been tuck pointed?.... And cracks still appeared. Any insight on this matter would be great! Structural engineer? soil samples? Should I run the other way?
Flipper Mostly 路 Redwood City, CA 路 Member since 2012 路 107 posts 路 26 votes
11y
I've bought em like this, fixed the foundation myself and made lots of money, don't run just yet... I'm no structural engineer but I can get a good crew to dig under, setup heavy bottle jacks, raise it and fix it... big thing to look for is if its red tagged by the city, then I would run...
Investor 路 west seneca, NY 路 Member since 2014 路 376 posts 路 211 votes
11y
hi john. thanks for the pictures. in regards to the rear patio and steps. look at the pipe coming out of the wall. it is in direct line with the worst part of the patio, where the lowest part of the patio is sinking. what you have here is water intrusion. the water is getting under the patio and sinking the base underneath. the steps are based on the patio so it is following wherever the patio goes. what you need to do here is totally tear up the entire patio, steps and everything. re-do the base and put in a new patio. first things first, you need to do away with the water source that is causing this. could be water from the roof, could be from that pipe sticking out of the wall right there. look at the path the water has left on the patio and the grass beyond it. you have a virtual river flowing there. that patio was designed to move the water toward the middle and funnel in into the yard. the problem is, the water is funneling toward the center of the patio but seeping under it and destroying the base. the new patio needs to have the highest point at the house and tilted toward the yard all the way across the patio at a 4 degree angle going FROM the house. that puts the water into the yard at a moderate pace and spread out across the entire patio. the front porch, same thing, you have water intruding underneath the porch and eroding away the base. find the source and reroute it somewhere away from the house. then rebuild the porch slightly tilted away from the house.
Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
11y
@Mark Elliott your awesome man, I'll be going to back to this property very soon to take a look at where water settles and see if that area has cracks.
Investor 路 Colorado Springs CO 路 Member since 2014 路 535 posts 路 253 votes
11y
Whoa, that is some serious settlement in those pics. Yes, definitely get someone out there to assess it. Not sure if it is related to frost heave, the fact that it used to be a marsh, etc., but a local engineer can probably assess what is going on.
We bought a fourplex in CO last year that had some frost heave issues. The first floor slab on grade had settled a little, so there were some bumps in the floor that we had to address when replacing flooring, but the foundations were fine and there were no cracks in any drywall and all doors and windows worked fine, so we knew there were no settlement issues with the structure itself. Since this house has cracks in the bricks (and you have not yet determined if there are issues with doors or windows or cracks in plaster), it may be having significant settlement issues affecting the structure, which could be costly to fix.
Investor 路 Canton, GA 路 Member since 2014 路 727 posts 路 500 votes
11y
That's nothing. Come to North Texas and Oklahoma and you can see some real foundation settling and cracks.
If it is slab construction look for the slab to be cracked under the flooring in that area too running across the corner. As it has already been patched and opened up again, count on a few piers needing to be placed after it is jacked up. Get permits.
No way. In Texas, slabs are often cracked. If you find the foundation companies that work with investors, you can get good repairs done for less than $150/pier - usually a minimum of 10 piers. I've had foundation repairs as part of two rental rehabs. $1500 on a $20000 rehab is nothing. And because retail foundation companies will charge way more (like 7-10x more), foundation issues are a great way to talk the price down (if they hadn't marked it down already).
Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
11y
@Doug McLeod That's what I like to hear! I'm hoping everybody has passed this house because they see the cracks and backyard patio and look the other way.
Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
11y
Now I'm wondering if I should bypass the structural engineer and go straight to a contractor that handles foundation repairs?? And it seems like this all caused from water not being drained away from the property... Prolly the most common answer that was shared.
Now I'm wondering if I should bypass the structural engineer and go straight to a contractor that handles foundation repairs?? And it seems like this all caused from water not being drained away from the property... Prolly the most common answer that was shared.
We buy run quite a few houses with foundation issues. I have a local foundation contractor I bring out to evaluate and quote on any project I am concerned about. If foundation repairs are not needed, he doesn't charge me anything to come out.
He is not a structural engineer, but they have one sign off on their work if needed, and the provide us a lifetime warranty that I can pass on to the buyer anytime they, strap, peir or replace a wall.
I googled foundation contractors in your area, a couple show up that I suspect would give you a free evaluation.
Engineer 路 Edgewood, NM 路 Member since 2014 路 21 posts 路 8 votes
11y
Keep in mind that a foundation contractor is in the business of fixing foundations to make money. I have worked with several good and reputable foundation repair companies in my area but I have also had a geotechnical and structural engineer evaluate the repairs before proceeding.
Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
11y
@Gary Landon good point to bring up, as of now I'm simply trying to budget for the repair, to see if this house is worth pursuing. The company I'm looking at claims to have a lifetime warranty on their work.
Real Estate Investor 路 Audubon, PA 路 Member since 2009 路 13k+ posts 路 8k+ votes
11y
The site formerly being a marsh would concern me. Have you spoken with the neighbors to see if there are water related problems with their properties? Near my area, there is an industrial park that was built on a marsh. When it rains, the roads can become small streams, and parking lots can become small ponds. Seems the soil might saturate with water quickly.
Investor 路 Clarendon Hills, IL 路 Member since 2015 路 89 posts 路 7 votes
11y
@Steve Babiak the house I currently live in, which is in the same neighborhood, has had foundation repair already. I was only able to talk one neighbor across the street, said he has had no problem with water.