Deciding whether to purchase a distressed property to renovate

[Thea Pagel]

Hi BP forum, I am meeting with my contractor tomorrow to walk through a 1920s raised basement bungalow. The house has been vacant for years and will need a full renovation. As I work through the numbers I want to make sure I evaluate the condition of the slab foundation. I have worked with my contractor before and know that I am in good hands with him. On the last project we did together I hired a structural engineer. I am trying to evaluate whether or not I need to hire a structural engineer and at what phase of the project I should do that. At this point, I am not sure that I can get the numbers to work. Obviously, the foundation is potentially a big line item. Does anyone have any advice on how to approach this? I am in an AE flood zone. I have read that soil quality effects the life span of the foundation but have not yet done any additional research. Thanks in advance for any insight you might have.