Sagging Floor Deal 26k Ready to Move In or Rent
Originally posted by @Candice Co:
So I’m working on a deal for a 2 bdrm 1 bath house in a very decent area and decent school district. The floor saga over the crawl space 🤬. They were asking 35k but according to the county records it’s worth 29k. I submitted an offer for 26,500 with a contingency that the house would pass an inspection because the floor concerns me. It also has a broken window and that’s it. Everything else is great! Ready for move in. I going to rent it for $700 per month. Should I steer clear of this deal due to the floor? Have you all encountered this issue? Did I low ball them too bad? I’m only thinking of the repair costs of the floor.
Since you don't mention where the property is located it is a little hard to know the building style and soil conditions. However, if the house is Post & Pier, you can easily enough jack up the house at the appropriate spots and replace the posts so that the house is level. If the house is built on a concrete pad, run. ;-) You actually can have a company inject concrete under the slab but you need to know why it is sagging or it is likely to sag again. If the house has a full basement and the floor above is sagging, it's even easier. You can buy adjustable metal posts and place a few where needed.
The county records are only for tax purposes, they don't really tell you value. You need to find 3 properties that are like the subject property that Sold in the last 90 days and are within half a mile and compare the selling prices. Listing prices aren't used for comps. If you can't find that many like the subject or within half a mile or sold within 90 days, you take the next best properties until you are convinced you've done the best you can. An appraiser will do that for you and they charge anywhere from $200 to $500. If you are using a bank loan they will require an appraisal and they will order one for you. Bottom line is that a house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Mike M. Thank you!!! I passed on the deal because they wanted 35K firm. I wasn’t going for it.
