Approximate repair cost on sunken floor

[John Endicott]

I'm looking at a property that has sunken floor in the middle of the house to the point where it has separated from the interior walls. I've seen this happen before where a pipe from the sink in the kitchen had leaked for years and was neglated. My question is what is involved with a repair of type and approximately what would it cost? From inspection of the outside the exterior Foundation appears to be in good condition without cracks. Looking at the house from the street the Ridgeline on the roof is perfectly straight and none of the exterior of the house appears to be sagging. Asking price is $55k. Comps in the neighborhood go for around $120k and it's located in a nice quiet neighborhood. Then on the market for 400 Days.

[Allan Smith]

Yeah if you are just looking for additional context on what's up with it, this is usually due to lack of support by piers under that section of the floor, or damage to the flooring framing by water or termites.

As for lack of support by piers, that could be caused by a settling pier or two. Perhaps the crawl is always wet and the soil has shifted and the pier dropped. Could be as easy as shimming the pier, or as hard as pouring another footer and replacing the pier entirely (not usually necessary).

If the pier is good to go, the floor joists, girders, and subfloor sheets are not doing their job. Perhaps the pier is good as ever, but termites weakened the girder so the weight of the house started to crush those 2 x 12s or whatever they are leading to a sag.

Once you fix the piers and framing, be sure to investigate the cause for the problem as that can be just as expensive. Termites could be everywhere. Perhaps the whole crawl is a giant puddle and needs expensive water proofing, etc.