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Message
re: First time home buyer - is a foundation issue found during inspection a dealbreaker?
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:24 pm to Ross
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:24 pm to Ross
Ross, let me ask a few questions first. You're in North Alabama. Is the lot this home on level or hilly?
Cracks often happen. This is in no way an automatic deal breaker. There are solutions to the problems. Some not so expensive, some more.
Have you heard of helical piers? These can added under the foundation to create permanent support.
If the lot is hilly, perhaps there is a water issue associated with poor drainage of the higher areas of the property. You must divert water away from the foundation either with French draining, gutters, or building swales.
I only know of the company, Alabama Foundation Specialists. There are others, possibly cheaper, as well, but they can set you up with what that house may need. I think their footprint includes North Alabama.
Cracks often happen. This is in no way an automatic deal breaker. There are solutions to the problems. Some not so expensive, some more.
Have you heard of helical piers? These can added under the foundation to create permanent support.
If the lot is hilly, perhaps there is a water issue associated with poor drainage of the higher areas of the property. You must divert water away from the foundation either with French draining, gutters, or building swales.
I only know of the company, Alabama Foundation Specialists. There are others, possibly cheaper, as well, but they can set you up with what that house may need. I think their footprint includes North Alabama.
1
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:33 pm to Jizzy08
Do like a real baw would do and put some duck tape on it and pop open a natty lite.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:34 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
Ross, let me ask a few questions first. You're in North Alabama. Is the lot this home on level or hilly?
from front of house to back of house there is a one story differential.
quote:
Have you heard of helical piers? These can added under the foundation to create permanent support.
hadn't heard of them until just now, looked them up and they do look sturdy
quote:
If the lot is hilly, perhaps there is a water issue associated with poor drainage of the higher areas of the property. You must divert water away from the foundation either with French draining, gutters, or building swales.
I only know of the company, Alabama Foundation Specialists. There are others, possibly cheaper, as well, but they can set you up with what that house may need. I think their footprint includes North Alabama.
assuming the damage we saw is just cosmetic, I may make them the next phone call for the second opinion if they are up in the Huntsville area.
This post was edited on 4/29/19 at 4:37 pm
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:41 pm to Ross
Honestly that picture you posted doesn't look like a foundation type crack. Especially going into a crawl space.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:45 pm to Ross
They, (I'd recommend multiple estimates when the time comes) can fix anything.
But, there will be a cost. I doubt the crack is just cosmetic,but still no reason to lose sleep.
Again, anything can be fixed.
But, just be wary helical piers, etc. can run into thousands of dollars. You could be out $10 grand when n all is said and done.
Sounds like a lot, but if you get that much or more off the price, it's not so bizarre.
And do note about how the house is handling surface water. I cannot stress enough about making sure that water is diverted.
Many others in this thread live in flat Louisiana are not experienced with hills and how the lay of the land can and will affect a homes foundation
But, there will be a cost. I doubt the crack is just cosmetic,but still no reason to lose sleep.
Again, anything can be fixed.
But, just be wary helical piers, etc. can run into thousands of dollars. You could be out $10 grand when n all is said and done.
Sounds like a lot, but if you get that much or more off the price, it's not so bizarre.
And do note about how the house is handling surface water. I cannot stress enough about making sure that water is diverted.
Many others in this thread live in flat Louisiana are not experienced with hills and how the lay of the land can and will affect a homes foundation
Posted on 4/29/19 at 4:49 pm to Ross
If you have an underlying foundation problem, you will usually have more symptoms than a crack like that. For example, the doors in the house might not shut correctly. Or, you might find evidence of modifications to door frames. These are just a couple examples. You need an experienced engineer to assess the site and house. There is no book to tell you the exact cause of a crack.
Poor soil conditions usually do not result in vertical cracks like this. If it were a settlement crack, then you would see a vertical difference between the horizontal joints on either side of the crack. But again, usually settlement cracks are stair stepped.
If it's an expansion crack, then get the engineer to indicate such in a letter. At that point request the seller repair the crack and keep the letter for your records.
Poor soil conditions usually do not result in vertical cracks like this. If it were a settlement crack, then you would see a vertical difference between the horizontal joints on either side of the crack. But again, usually settlement cracks are stair stepped.
If it's an expansion crack, then get the engineer to indicate such in a letter. At that point request the seller repair the crack and keep the letter for your records.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 5:55 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
But, just be wary helical piers, etc. can run into thousands of dollars. You could be out $10 grand when n all is said and done.
He wouldn't actually be out of pocket. The seller would have to pay for the repair. I think the helical piers run $1200-$1500 each. Maybe more depending on the area.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 6:10 pm to Evolved Simian
quote:
I think the helical piers run $1200-$1500 each.
I thought less, like half that, but I'm not sure. Plus, you could need a number of them, like 5 or more in a corner of a foundation. They're spaced about 5 feet or so apart.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 6:12 pm to Ross
If the crack is hurting your chances of buying it, it’s a given it’s going to hurt your chances of selling it.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 6:32 pm to bendellee
quote:
If the crack is hurting your chances of buying it, it’s a given it’s going to hurt your chances of selling it.
Possibly true. But I offer two things:
1. Who buys house with the primary reason is resale? I know it's an underlying importance,but it leads to:
2. If you can buy cheap, then expect to possibly sell cheap. It all comes out in the wash.
Think of it like this, you go buy the smallest cheapest house in a neighborhood and feel all good about yourself for saving.
But if the time comes to sell, guess what house will still be the cheapest in the neighborhood?
Posted on 4/29/19 at 6:35 pm to Ross
Our garage had a little bit of foundation work needed when we bought this house. The seller discounted the sales price matching the cost of the repair. I also didn't have to pay interest on that amount for 20 years
This post was edited on 4/29/19 at 7:24 pm
Posted on 4/29/19 at 6:36 pm to Ross
Yep!
Posted on 4/29/19 at 7:14 pm to Ross
This story ended with the seller deciding to refuse to pay for structural engineer to do an assessment of the crack in the foundation so we walked away.
This post was edited on 4/30/19 at 8:04 am
Posted on 4/29/19 at 7:23 pm to Ross
quote:
This story ended with the seller deciding to refuse to pay for structural engineer to do an inspection so we walked away.
The inspection is for your protection, so the buyers typically handle all inspections. However, any inspection findings (repair costs, etc.) can be worked into whatever can be agreed upon between the buyer and seller.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 10:09 pm to Ross
For $500 I'd have paid for the structural report myself if I really liked the house.
Don't ever use AFS for anything. Those guys thrive on ripping off the uninformed. I can recommend several other residential foundation contractors in Huntsville if you need one.
Don't ever use AFS for anything. Those guys thrive on ripping off the uninformed. I can recommend several other residential foundation contractors in Huntsville if you need one.
Posted on 4/29/19 at 10:27 pm to Ed Osteen
Every house/slab settles. You typically see evidence of that in the first decade, and again between years 15-20.
If I see a house that’s been shored in south LA, I’d be less apprehensive about buying it than one that’s just sitting on some slab, waiting to crack, shift, and render useless the double pane insulated windows that they financed with LAS.
If I see a house that’s been shored in south LA, I’d be less apprehensive about buying it than one that’s just sitting on some slab, waiting to crack, shift, and render useless the double pane insulated windows that they financed with LAS.
This post was edited on 4/29/19 at 10:28 pm
Posted on 4/29/19 at 10:29 pm to BRgetthenet
Never paint your house again
Posted on 4/30/19 at 6:09 am to Ross
quote:
This story ended with the seller deciding to refuse to pay for structural engineer to do an inspection so we walked away.
Ross, was this house on little cove road?
Posted on 4/30/19 at 7:55 am to Ross
quote:
This story ended with the seller deciding to refuse to pay for structural engineer to do an inspection so we walked away.
Not to be insulting but you should've paid for it. Meaning that you are the customer, you can ride shotgun with the guy inspecting it and pick his brain in the process. However if I was the seller I'd be more than willing to pay 1/2, then if they say it's no big deal then he can have the report to show it to other prospective buyers in the event that you still walk.
I bought a different house a few months ago and paid for the inspection. I crawled all over the house with the guy and learned a lot. He pulled the cover off the electric panel and immediately knew who did the wiring and told me I would never have a problem with electric.... little things like that.
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