My rental needs some foundation repair, trying to sell

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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My rental needs some foundation repair, trying to sell

Jordan Sitzler
Auburn, WA · Member since 2016 · 26 posts · 5 votes

I'm posting in the buying and selling section because my rental is on the market to sell.  Inspector came back and said that my house needs some attention underneath and that it needs to be done before selling.  I had a pending offer but the buyer walked away after getting this info.  

I had one company come out and take a look as the buyers agent had scheduled a quote with them before walking away.  They quoted me a rather large sum of money and I feel it may be a little too thorough or more than what is needed.  It's a 100+ year old home and has a drop of nearly 6 inches on one corner, 3 inches on another, and 4 on a 3rd.  There is no way to know if it has stopped settling as I have only owned it since January this year.

So my questions: do I need to do major repairs prior to selling the home such as lifting the post and beam foundation, or can I just shore up the posts underneath? Can I just discount the house to the sum of needed repairs and still have a buyer get FHA or VA with that kind of drop? And finally, any contractors and foundation people you know around Tacoma, WA would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM as well.

Thanks!

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Matthew Cullen
Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 4 votes
7y

Hey Jordan - I heard Matvey foundation repair does good work, it wasnt my property so take that as anecdotal. Just curious, did you waive inspection on the house when you bought it or was it missed by the inspector?

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  • Leah Stuever
    Realtor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 194 posts · 164 votes
    7y

    It likely wont qualify for FHA or CA without it being repaired. I dont know about conventional.

    0Reply
  • Jared McCullough
    Member since 2019 · 122 posts · 44 votes
    7y

    Little more detail on the type of foundation and around the cost that was quoted. I am not an expert but have had a little bit of unfortunate experience.

    0Reply
  • Dion McNeeleyPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Port Orchard, WA · Member since 2018 · 116 posts · 123 votes
    7y

    If this is a SFH I have seen a ton of cash offers go on places like this. So qualifying for a loan may not matter. I would have it listed and see what the level of interest is. You may not get as much as if you had the issue fixed. There are buyers out there who do not mind foundation work. Also I would not have any work done until you have at least three professional estimates done. Including these estimates in the listing could help narrow down the buyers to people less likely to walk away mid deal.

    Good luck. 

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  • Craig Tripp
    Contractor · College Station, TX · Member since 2017 · 61 posts · 49 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Jordan Sitzler: 

    Answers embedded below:

    So my questions:  do I need to do major repairs prior to selling the home such as lifting the post and beam foundation, or can I just shore up the posts underneath?  

    - “Major Repairs” is a very relative term and it depends on more than just a number of inches.  Never get focused on the amount of settlement, because the overall scope of work is what will determine the size of the job.  You mentioned 3 of at least 4 corners...so it’ll likely raise most of the house some varying amount tapered in all directions to make it level.

    Can I just discount the house to the sum of needed repairs and still have a buyer get FHA or VA with that kind of drop?

    - Repairs are never "needed" to sell a home, but may help it to sale faster/easier if done before hand. However, you don't get that money back the expectation is that your foundation works or is performing properly. It certainly could rule out VA/FHA based on their strict criteria. Still could be a fantastic pool of buyers looking to invest their own time/money to level it later.

    And finally, any contractors and foundation people you know around Tacoma, WA would be greatly appreciated.  Feel free to PM as well.

    - A bit out of my service area, unfortunately, but please let me know if there’s something more I can help with.  Foundations are what we love to bring stability and support to

    Thanks!

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  • Jordan Sitzler
    OP
    Auburn, WA · Member since 2016 · 26 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    I wish my foundation was as solid as the advice here :D  

    I don't think bringing the house to level is a good idea because I'm going to start cracking drywall, changing cabinets and countertops, etc etc.  Floor gets warped and funny things happen.  I just need it to be stabilized.

    I'm no foundation expert here but it's either a pier foundation or crawl space.  It has a crawl space with beams running the span of the house.  The beams rest on the foundation along the outer walls, but someone has added supplemental supports as piers all over the place underneath.

    Price to fix was quoted at 32k, disincluding any piers which they said were unnecessary.  Does not include pulling the county permit at 3500.

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  • Matthew Cullen
    Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    Hey Jordan - I heard Matvey foundation repair does good work, it wasnt my property so take that as anecdotal. Just curious, did you waive inspection on the house when you bought it or was it missed by the inspector?

    1Reply
  • Jameson Sullivan
    Real Estate Broker · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2016 · 545 posts · 252 votes
    7y

    I had Matvey come out to do foundation work on my house after I bought it. The sent out this middle aged eastern European dude that hand dug 10 or 12 post holes under my house and the re supported everything with steel instead of wood beams as were there originally. Each supporting post they dug holes for can be adjusted separately so you can adjust them if more settling occurs. They also ran some plumbing out from the corners of the home to run all the gutter water out and away from the foundation. All in it was 22k and I think 18 of it was for the foundation alone. I also got a 10% discount for paying in full. 

    No matter what you do, just make sure that there's no way the liability can come back to you later if the house crumbles on top of someone.

    1Reply
  • Andrew Hodgson
    Real Estate Broker · Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 79 posts · 55 votes
    7y

    @Jordan Sitzler

    I have also heard good things about Matvey from colleagues at my brokerage.

    Another company to check out is MC Squared Inc in Olympia. Though they advertise primarily as an engineering firm for new construction, they do foundation repair work-- I just called them to confirm :) 

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  • Craig Tripp
    Contractor · College Station, TX · Member since 2017 · 61 posts · 49 votes
    7y

    @Jordan Sitzler 

    Terms/names of your foundation are regional based on your location, but sounds like typical pier and beam to me.

    Level is out the window if you (or previous owners) have remodeled throughout the interior.  Stable and functional should be the goal, though that may take some explaining to new buyers.

    Side note: 10% (probably closer to 20% for just material and labor) permit fee is ridiculous, that wouldn’t cost me more than $100 in my area.

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  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    7y

    Floor jacks and some lumber could do wonders

    0Reply
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