Am I gonna get my money out of re supporting the houses posts?

Question

So I bought a house as a live in rehab and it son post and piers. I need to do SOMETHING with the foundation before I start tearing inside stuff apart and remodeling but heres my questions, I have had two guys out so far. The first guy said he could do a number of things in the 20k range as far as supporting the foundation extremely well but that he could also come in and jack up the house, replace a few posts and and that would even out my kitchen( which dips a couple inches) and would prolong the life of the foundation. The second guy came out and talked about installing 6 8x4 under the house and using metal supports resupport the house in between the three existing spots(the main beam and outside supports.) This second one would run about 18k but would come with a 75 year transferable warranty.

My question i do I go for the full shebang and eat into potential profit or will the extended lifetime of the home and the sturdiness of the foundation be enough to cover the investment?

I understand every home and area is different, but just as a general rule does anyone have any thoughts?

My question i do I go for the full shebang and eat into potential profit or will the extended lifetime of the home and the sturdiness of the foundation be enough to cover the investment?

I understand every home and area is different, but just as a general rule does anyone have any thoughts?

Jameson Sullivan · Answer

@Patsy Waldron Thanks for your input! My initial post was a little unclear, the 6 grand would effectively fix the issue I have now, however a second option is the 18000 dollar system that comes with the warranty that not only will fix my problem now, but any other additional probelms that may arise and thats why I am asking. The house is 115 years old and is bound to keep having problems if I dont just fix them now, so It probably makes more sense just to put in the extra up front so I can feel confident renting it or selling it in the future, right?

@Steven

Account Closed I appreciate your input, this is my first property and when I say it wasnt a screaming deal I don't mean it was a bad deal by any means just that I didnt aquire it through some sort of avenue like direct mail marketing where I bought it 40cents on the dollar, thats all. This is a mid-term hold for me, 3 to 5 years. Im going to live in it throughout that time and my goal was never to make a killing on this one, but rather use the funds I had to learn the process and have a home I can be proud of for a little bit of time rather than renting!

Cheers!

Patsy Waldron · Answer

I am not sure what you mean by getting your money back from something like this.... Fixing a structural issue won't get you additional dollars when you resell, but it will ensure that you DO sell as opposed to having a house that no one wants because structural issues were not done right! If you go with a low-cost half-measure, when you sell, the buyer's home inspector will definitely notice and point this out and your buyer will be out of there faster than you can say "wait".... So put the money in to secure the foundation/house and save elsewhere.

Do your research on each method and find out which one is the best option relative to cost, and go for that. "75-year transferable warranty" sounds pretty good...

Account Closed · Answer

should mention this deal is off of the MLS and was never a home run deal in the first place and that we live in an high seismic activity area! @Jameson Sullivan

If it is not a good deal then it is really not a good deal for you have to spend $20000 on structural. What are you looking for a flip or long term hold? . What would be your total rehab cost plus your purchase price ? add in your profit plus 10% for cushion will you make any money ? The $2000 difference between the 2 quotes can not be a deal breaker because your profit would be too small to begin with . Run your numbers

Patsy Waldron · Answer

@Jameson Sullivan

Your initial post mentions $20K and $18K as the two price points. I did not realize that there was a $6K option in play.... But the principle remains the same, don't play around with structural issues! Just pay the money to get it fixed right, and you won't need to worry about it anymore! Especially in a 115-yr-old house. It hurts to put money into something "hidden" that won't bring you more $$ down the road, but as with anything preventative measures, it's the $$ it's saving you by the worst-case scenario NOT happening (i.e. not selling the house, having the issue resurface after selling and the buyer suing you, etc) that matters.

Good luck with your rehab! I admire you for tackling a major rehab as your first project. I don't plan on taking on any projects involving structural issues until I have succeeded at the more pedestrian cosmetic stuff! ;-)

Jameson Sullivan · Answer

I should mention this deal is off of the MLS and was never a home run deal in the first place  and that we live in an high seismic activity area!

Am I gonna get my money out of re supporting the houses posts?

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