Foundation Repair Worth It?

Question

We moved into this single family home about 5 months ago. The inspection had revealed some cracks in the foundation, but nothing overly alarming. We plan to live here for the next 2-3 years and then sell it when the military moves our family again. We had a foundation company look at the home yesterday and there is about 1” difference in the highest and lowest part of the house. They are recommending piers for preventing future issues and quoted us 35k for the work. My question is: is this worth it? It’s a lot of money for us moving relatively soon and I don’t know what it would really provide in terms of value to the house. We were looking at adding a half bath but wouldn’t be able to do both with our current financial situation. I’m currently leaning toward the bathroom as being a better investment for this short term situation.

Jordan Malara · Answer

Hey @Lauren Peterson, hope you are doing well! There is some great advice here but wanted to also provide some local context. Most, if not all of the local foundation companies in Colorado Springs inspect and recommend based on arbitrary measurements. Most of the time they do not have a point of reference or historical information. They also do not often do any soil sampling or other testing when providing an initial bid. Essentially, they take some measurements around a house, claim there are serious issues, and then try to sell you on some expensive work that you may or may not need. It is fear based selling. I have seen it over and over again with the worst part being that often times it doesn’t even “fix” the issue. The area you are in does have seasonal shifts that these companies don’t account for so your house may shift a little in the winter but shift back in the summer. This is common. I don’t say all this to tell you that you don’t have any issues because I am not a structural engineer and I don’t know your properties specific information, but I do want to warn you that in these cases, it is more than worthwhile to be diligent, be patient, and be level headed. Have a structural engineer out to take a look and access. If structural work is recommended from them, ask for a time frame in which it needs to be fixed and their confidence level in the property needing repair.

Robin Searle · Answer

Call Chuck Milligan with Geoquest. You need a structural engineers opinion.  Not saying they aren’t honest but most if not all of the foundation companies in the Springs are not structural engineers and there is a profit motive that you have to be aware of. Chuck is very good and very honest and he has nothing to sell other than his expertise. I’ve used him on several listings. There are other great engineers in town as well. If they do recommend some work, then you can start talking with the foundation guys.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

This one is something now you have to disclose once you sell the place. The information you know now will have to be told to the new buyers, or if they do the inspection find out and investigate that you knew about it.. That could put you into a big predicament, and a lawsuit.

I would hold onto the place as long as possible and start to use it as a rental, that is a functionality of the house, not increasing the price a lot but also putting people who want to buy into a position that want you as the seller to fix it. The most appreciation in the market for you the better!

Gall Davidovitch · Answer

I recommend you to do a CC funding.

That way you won't pay for your own money and you can do your contraction and increase your ROI.

if you want more details I will be happy to connect you.

Shawn Parsh · Answer

Lauren,

I recently flipped a house that had foundations issues. I used the foundation issues and the condition of the house to lock in a purchase price well below what they were asking. However, before I did so I had my mason inspect the property and tell me what it would take to fix the issues. After the purchase I sent him in to make the repairs and three days later for less than 2,000 it was fixed. I then sold the home after the new buyer had an inspection and ran into no issues. So my suggestion would be to call a couple referred masons in your area and have them look at the problem and give their suggested solutions.

I personally would  not pay to have piers put in to fix what sounds like a minor foundation issue. The one inch difference in the wall will not stand out as much as a large pier which to me just screams foundation issue.

Travis Provin · Answer

I would suggest getting a quote from a structural engineer and then another quote from a foundation company. I ran into a similar issue with my home. Foundation company quoted me six piers for $17k. A structural engineer quoted me one and another foundation company did it for $2,800.

If you are going to sell it in a few years and the cracks were not alarming when you purchased it recently I doubt much will change in 2 or 3 years to warrant spending any money on it. But, you really need an engineers quote and another foundation companies quote.

Hamp Lee III · Answer

I would suggest getting a few more quotes and recommendations. As you plan to hold the property, it will need to be repaired at some point. Some additional quotes and information should make your decision clearer.

I hope this helps. I wish you all the best.

Foundation Repair Worth It?

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