pier and beam foundation

[Brad Smith]

We have a contract on a house built in 1962 with a pier and beam foundation.  The piers are wooden and have some decay.  There is previous termite activity on the wood.  We are meeting with our real estate agent tomorrow to discuss negotiating the price based on repair estimates.  We have bought other "as is" properties and never negotiated the price. We basically knew what we were buying and, in the past, it was properties needing lots of work but the price reflected it.  Given the age of the house and the foundation construction type, I would expect some decay.  The market where this house is over prices all properties IMHO so we'd be shelling out a lot more but it's the exact location we've been looking into for most of 2018.  Few houses show up in this location.  So, I expect to pay more but don't want to make a bad decision.  We have the inspection which pointed out the problems but my plan is to get a foundation repair company out to give me their assessment and a bid for repairs which we would use to negotiate a price reduction.  Given the above, does this sound like a reason approach?  Any experience with pier and beam purchases that went unaddressed?

[Frank Wong]

Hi Brad,

I suggest you get 2 bids from different foundation companies.  I think getting a structural engineer to look at it and write up a report will be much stronger in your negotiation process. 

As for paying a little more to get the property in the "exact location, you have been looking for" I say go for it.  Life is short buy what you want.  Especially in the case of real estate. Location matters.  Don't settle for a different location or wait another year for a property to pop up in your exact location.  Buyer remorse is worse than spending a little more than what you want in my opinion.