"settling" building investment property

Member since 2024 · 8 posts · 3 votes

i was looking at two potential investment properties and both had floors that had slopes - they were not level. both of the agents said that the buildings (one a condo built in 1929 and one a house built in 1900) "settled" or were "settling." one of the agents told me i could repair it by tearing up the floor and installing a new sub-floor. is "settling" something i should just walk away from? is installing a new sub-floor a solution? and if it is, how big a job is that? thank you for any insights and advice anyone can give

0 Reply

169 views

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Richard F.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3mo
"Condos" were not a thing in 1929, they were first established in the US around 1960. Based on your statement, I would have to assume you are considering a single unit in an originally large, Victorian or other prominent style home that was converted into smaller units at some point.
As such, I wouldn't touch it for any price as a "condo". Regardless, it is typical for condo ownership to extend no further than the paint on the walls and ceiling, and the floorcoverings. Structure and subfloor are usually elements of the condo "common interest" areas, and their responsibility to repair/replace. Factually, you could not properly fix the "settling" legally in the condo, since you do not own the structure.
With regard to the 1900 house, it all depends. Which floor, and is there access below it? Or is it apparent the foundation is simply inadequate as many, depending on the area, are simply larger timbers layed on undisturbed earth. Some have crawl space, some have "Michigan" walls to create a basement.
What kind of slope are you seeing? A minor drop from the outer wall toward the inner, or vice versa? Big difference in the possible problem and repair. Or, is just a sag in the middle of one room? Probably easy to fix, but requires removing ceiling of room below.
0 Reply
Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
3mo
Quote from @Leo Cuomo:

i was looking at two potential investment properties and both had floors that had slopes - they were not level. both of the agents said that the buildings (one a condo built in 1929 and one a house built in 1900) "settled" or were "settling." one of the agents told me i could repair it by tearing up the floor and installing a new sub-floor. is "settling" something i should just walk away from? is installing a new sub-floor a solution? and if it is, how big a job is that? thank you for any insights and advice anyone can give

Yeah, this could be serious.
Is this a condo building or a site condo?
If a building you'll want to ask for recent engineering study to find out if structurally sound.
The house is easier to evaluate.
What type of foundation?
- Basement: you'll want to check the walls to see if straight & level. Then check floor joists are sagging or cracked. Not too difficult to address joists, but walls can be a nightmare!
- Crawl: Not much different than basement, but depends on accessible space. If not enough space all the work will have to be done by removed floors.
- Slab: walk away unless they give you the house for free - and even then might not be worth it. Would have to jack up walls of house and repour floor:(
- Other: ???
[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9469 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Leo Cuomo
OP
Member since 2024 · 8 posts · 3 votes
3mo
thank you for your information and insights - they are greatly appreciated
0 Reply
Troy DeLong
Real Estate Agent · Lansing, MI · Member since 2020 · 172 posts · 93 votes
3mo
@Leo Cuomo

Hey Leo. I'm an Agent / Investor / Builder out of the Lansing, MI area and we see quite a few older homes that have settling / foundation / floor framing issues. So, it's NOT always a deal breaker. BUT, what I would suggest is having at least two licensed CONTRACTORS (not inspectors, as they are not the same) and get their opinion's on it.
Installing new sub-floor does not solve floor slopes... I'm sure those Realtors you mentioned could be very knowledgeable in real estate, but they are more than likely NOT experts in construction and they are incentivized for you to purchase the house as-is.
This could be a simple fix where you need to jack up some floor framing and install some new posts / beams. Or, you could have major foundation settling that will cost $25k - $50k to repair.
If you love the property / investment, then get some estimates for repairs and build that into the offer / negotiations. Hope this helps!
- Troy
0 Reply
Leo Cuomo
OP
Member since 2024 · 8 posts · 3 votes
2mo
Hi Troy. Thank you for your post. Yes, that is very helpful as I learn about this issue and I appreciate your insight.
0 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.