I am fairly new to this site, but have learned quite a bit. Here is my dilemna, found a house that has been on the market for 2+years. Asking price is $160K. When repaired should sell for $230K. Needs a roof which will cost $6K(I had my roofer do a drive by), I have been told it has foundation problems. I have yet to look at the house on the inside or anything more than looking from the street. What should I be looking for/having repair estimates look at specifically on foundation problems? What should I be looking at once I get to go inside?
Make an offer and then spend a couple of hundred bucks and have it inspected. A good general inspector should be able to point out basic foundation problems and give you some feeling how serious they are; depending on his findings, you may want to spend some more money to hire a foundation expert. If at all possible, be there for there the inspect and follwo the inspector(s).
Look for cracks in the sheetrock at the windows and doors. Also check for the interior door sticking and being cutoff at the top to keep it from rubbing. Settling of the foundation will case misalignment of the doors. I have seen some doors that looked like a chain saw was used.
If the foundation and soil conditions are too severe you may want to walk away as it may cost thousands to attempt to repair and it can never be put back in the original condition due to wood warping as it settles. You may have major plumbing concerns too if the settling is severe with crushed drains etc.
Be sure to get some professional help if you are uneasy about the condition.
I just bought a 3/1, 1,000 sq. ft., rental property with a slab foundation. Two owners back, the slab had to be fixed (jacked up, new footings, etc.). I bought the house with a lifetime warranty on the repair and a clean engineer’s report. The previous owner that had it done paid about $5,500 in 2002 for the reapirs with warranty and engineering report.