In escrow with foundation conundrum

[David Siegel]

We are in escrow and our inspection contingency ends on Sunday, Feb 6. We had our home inspection on Thursday, Feb 3 and the inspector included in his immediate recommended improvements:

"Substantial foundation cracking, deterioration and/or movement was observed in the foundation walls at the basement. This implies that structural movement of the building may have occurred."

We had one foundation repair company out at the property on Friday, Feb. 5 and his tone was very alarming, almost unprofessionally so. He noted that one room (12' x 20') was sloping 2 inches. The basement cement walls are bowing fairly drastically and there is evidence of a lot of cracks being patched recently. He told us to run. Then, he gave us back the $450 we paid his company to provide a report and said he didn't want to be involved in this. 

Result: no report, no quote

Another foundation repair consultant from a different company came out later that same Friday and had a different tone but essentially agreed that the home's foundation was questionable and that since it was built in 1950 it has clearly experienced some sinking since then and there's no way of telling if it's done sinking or how to anticipate what will happen next. Because it was recently flipped all evidence of movement would have been covered up while they were renovating. I asked him to provide a report or a quote. He said he couldn't really do so because there was no clear evidence of an issue to address besides the heavily sloping room and the bowing/cracking walls in the basement. 

Result: no report, no quote

We discussed with the second foundation guy the concept of asking for a $30K seller credit because there is evidence of issues with the foundation. 

We spoke to an REA friend and ran that by him and he said no way, not a good look to request a seller credit without a quote for repairs. Basically, don't ask for money back just because you're in an uneasy place. You need to show them a quote. I don't know if I fully agree given our experience. 

We are working on our Request for Repairs and really don't have any idea how to address the foundation issue. 2 foundation companies would not provide a quote or a report. Its highly unlikely that we will have someone able to see it before Sunday. 

Very eager to see how this would be handled by whoever took the time to read this whole thing. TIA for sharing your insights!