HELP!! - Foundation issue in Single Family Rental House

[Mike Obrien]

Hello,

I purchased an investment property in Largo, Florida about two years ago.

My tenant called me a few days ago and noted she heard a cracking sound and the tile's in the entry way started to lift.

I got a foundation contractor to come out to the house and he noted I have raveling soils as well as many other houses in my area and that my foundation is slightly compromised. He gave me the following options:

OPTION 1: $20,000 - Rip up the floor and pour chemical grout in that one area and retile the floor. He noted I may have issues in other areas of the house later on and need to do the same process.

OPTION 2: $55,000 - Lift the foundation of the house and do a new foundation around the perimeter of the whole parcel. He noted this is likely the best long term option as I should have no other issues moving forward.

I am confused and a little shocked as the inspection report from two years ago came back as structurally sound. The only comment from the inspector was one of the rooms had a floor that was slightly slanted but he said that is normal as the house was built in 1954 and that's normal in older houses.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Linda S.]

@Mike Obrien,

I have been dealing with a similar thing, and unless you can see a crack in the foundation, it may just be a very poor tile installation job.     If it's not 100% perfect, it will be prone to crack, especially if the tenants are heavier or are rough on the house.    It's amazing to me how hard people can be on houses, seriously I used to think tile was the strongest.. nope! 

Before you spend thousands and thousands on this, go out there-- see for yourself with a GC, is there an issue with the foundation, or could it be that maybe they dropped something, and are blaming the house so you don't take it out of their deposit?    

I don't know Florida, but it seems like if it's been fine, and magically it's an issue now-- I'm thinking the tenants maybe dropped something heavy or it was a poor install ation job, and are blaming the house so you don't make them pay for it.    

Option 3 is to remove the tile and add LVT, maybe $5K cost.