When I read properties having foundation problems, usually a sign of it being a costly fix-upper involved. Are these properties worth investors time & money regarding wholesaling?
I love these types of properties because most owners and investors will not touch them and it helps drive the price down. Properties with foundation problems can be worth the money…but you have to know beforehand what the likely repairs will cost because you don’t want to be buying a black hole for your investment cash. I’ve rehabbed 2 properties with foundation problems: 1) a cracked basement wall repaired using “rod and grout” for $1200 (professional mason) + $500 for engineering inspections and 2) a water logged crawl space foundation in a small addition that had a crumbled section from multiple freeze/thaw cycles over many years. I jacked up the house cleared out the bad foundation to the footing, replaced the block, and filled up the entire wall’s block core with concrete all for about $500 (did the work myself with help of 1 unskilled laborer)
Simply make sure you subtract enough from your offer price to make up for the VALUE (not cost) of the work including your time, effort, permits, inspections, etc, etc, etc to make it all worthwhile.
jmd_forest
Hi,
Properties with foundation problems can be a serious issue! I would never advice a new investor to purposely get into them as they can be expensive!
JMD_Forest had good experiences with some small limited area problems where things turned out well, however foundation repairs can be costly, and can require a number of technical specialties including civil & structural engineering, soils and compaction reports, injecting soils stabalizers, drilling caissons, driving pilings or placing pier posts and adding structural beams and supports.
A 1200 sq. ft. slab on grade home can cost $7k to $15k to re-level depending on how far off level the structure is! A similar home on a basement that has main floor leveling problems and requires poured pier posts and structural post and beam construction to level can run $10k or more!
I did a property in the hollywood hills that required drilled and poured caissons to bedrock that cost $80k to level the house! Depending on the lot? how level it is? whether the property is on a hill? The type of soil? Compaction? And depth to bedrock? Are all some factors of what caused the home to have foundation problems and all contribute to the cost of repairs.
If your thinking about buying something with structural foundation problems I would advice you to seek an engineering professional to make an assessment!
Good Luck,
GR
I know a guy in my area, that I have become quite cool with, that can level a house for way less than that. Most of the time all he wants is for me to buy him and his crew beer for the couple days they are on the job. lol. Beer = Huge discount. :beer
At least in this case. :biggrin