Possible Piering in Baement, Should I go for it?

Question

Howdy,I'm new to the site and this is my first Forum post. I am looking at purchasing a property to live in for a year and then rent. I will be doing this repeatedly to build my list of investment properties. I am interested in a home that I heard may have had piers int= the basement. I called the agent and it sounds as if the issue was really with the front porch allowing water under it and causing water to leak into the basement. I called the agent and acted like it was no big deal. I want to see the disclosures, but should I just bounce and keep looking? It's a great house and the price is perfect - surprisingly under what I would expect, which makes me suspicious. I would definitely have a structural engineer do an inspection if moving forward, but the question is...should I?Danke!

Carini Rochester · Answer

If you decide to further pursue this one you need a local structural engineer who can assess the already completed fix. That fix apparently is now concealed and may be almost impossible to assess unless there is some documentation of what was done, and if a permit was pulled, and did it pass the building dept's inspections. If it was fixed without an engineer's design, that would worry me. Was the recent work at least partly to hide the old work? I'm not saying its a hard pass. I'm saying it might be worth doing more research. You would probably need an accepted offer to give you an opportunity to have an engineer's inspection. You need a different agent if he feels it his job to steer to new construction and you are interested in existing stock.

Jamie Richter · Answer

Carini, Here's my dilemma with this situation: the agent I just started working with is my go-to for which properties are worth pursuing, however they prefer I go with a new build and the builder they prefer. Every other home I send them that I'm interested in, they find a problem with. At first I didn't question the assessments. However, when my agent said this basement was piered which meant the walls are "caving in," I called the listing agent and asked. That agent said something completely different. Their explanation had to do with the front porch settling and causing water to get into the basement. The agent said it had been fixed by the owners prior to the ones selling. Now, the current owners spent 30K to finish the basement professionally within the last year. My thought is, If the house is a hard pass, why would someone have put that kind of work into the home? Is my logic flawed?Thanks!

Carini Rochester · Answer

If there are a large stock of properties with fewer problems, then pass this one over. However, a property that others are passing by, may provide an opportunity for you. I would take a closer look and see if, indeed, this is a big enough problem that you need to avoid it, or, is it providing you with an opportunity that others are missing. Piers in a basement may indicate that there was a problem, but it's been correctly addressed. I think it's too early in your research to pass on this property so soon.