Flip Under contract.. Two big problems

[James Barnes]

Whats up BP. I currently have a 1947 home under contract to be flipped.The home was built on brick piers instead of on a foundation. The home seems stable but the home being on piers is definitely out of the normal in my area which concerns me for resale; we'd be targeting the first time home-buyer at a price point of 240k most likely. I've already had an expert out to look at it and he said if I'm wanting to install a foundation it would most likely be north of 20k; Lifting home, hand digging, installing foundation etc. This is not in the budget and is not an option.

Would you close on a home like this?

Would you be concerned with re-sale potential?

Cons of doing so?

Keep it as a rental utilizing the BRRRR strategy due to the unknown nature of resale?

Skirting around the exterior for rental?

[Darius Ogloza]

If I could get that kind of work done out here in Northern California for $20,000 I would be ecstatic!  Typical quote here is in the $50,000 range for a lift and foundation re-do.  

Seriously, I would invest in getting a respectable civil engineer to provide you with a written report regarding the foundation's stability, etc.  A professional opinion in writing should help assuage new buyer concern.

i assume you had no trouble in securing bank financing?  I would think that that would be your principal problem (or the problem faced by new buyers).  A lot of banks are gun shy about foundation-related issues.  But then, i live in seismically active country.