Dipped Floor on First Floor of 2 Family home

[Mahran Izoli]

Hi All, 

I just purchased a 2 family home in Providence, RI. Currently, the first floor has a some pretty substantial dips in it. I'm not sure if its the sub floor or the joists underneath. 

My question is: Should I go through the repair prior to renting the unit? Or should I wait until I have more cash saved to repair down the line. I don't want to risk spending too much time on it losing out on potential rental income. The unit is in decent shape and definitely livable. I've attached some photos. Would love to hear some opinions on what actions you all would take if in a similar situation. 

[Brian Dance]

@Mahran Izoli, Structural engineers look at two main things: (1) safety....i.e. are the joist(s) or its connection going to fail, and (2) deflection of the joist(s)...i.e. how much they dip. The joist(s) could be fine from the safety standpoint, but the fire, or time, could cause the joist(s) to deflect past its limits. This does happen over time and is probably not a big deal, but as Anthony mentioned above, it may cause some tenants to pass on your place. Your engineer can likely provide some recommendations on how to decrease (not eliminate) the deflection of the joist(s), by jacking up the original joist(s) as mentioned above and sistering another joist onto 1 or both sides of the existing. 

Hope this helps!