House blew up and foundation is left - Is this a deal?

Question

Hello, today I was offered a piece of land where the house blew up and only the foundation is left. The ARV is $170-180 in the neighborhood. I'm able to pick this up at $7,000. How much does it typically cost to build a home if the foundation is already there? Please advise if this is a deal to go for. Btw, land when available around that area in recent years sold for $70-80k.

Thank you.

Ann Bellamy · Answer

My first reaction was meth lab - which Don also touched on.  If that's the case, you could have environmental issues also, depending on if the meth lab was in the basement that's still left.  Plus you don't say what kind of foundation - everyone I think is assuming it's a slab, and that may not be the case, so please elaborate.

and I like Keith's cautions.....

Keith Barton · Answer

Concerned about the foundation.... Without having more informatin I too am concerned about the foundation. As you don't have listed where you are - and you did not state what kind of foundation it is - we have no idea if it is a slab or a basement foundation, no idea how old the foundation is, what construction materials, what construction quality, completely in-ground versus walk-out (if not a slab), what was the cause of the explosion, how bad was the explosion (did it vaporize the house or just start a fire that necessitated razing the house... and on, and on....

Even if the county approves re-using the existing foundation, I would not rely on the county inspector - after all, they just inspect things to code - the DO NOT inspect things as would a structural engineer. AND I WOULD STRONGLY suggest that if you plan to rebuild on the foundation you have it evaluated by a fully qualified, insured, etc... structural engineer who gives you a full written analysis. Even then, I would be very wary - the potential liability of rebuilding is staggering. Even if the foundation is perfectly sound and the new owners have some problem with the foundation: whether the problem is related to the explosion, your construction, or to something that happened AFTER they purchased the property - guess who's going to be on the hook? It is just too darned easy to blame ANY problems on the explosion. And, it will be too darned hard proving the explosion had nothing to do with any problems (yes I know, defendants in litigation "don't have to prove anything, the plaintiff has to prove their case...." Guess what, in a situation like this you WILL have to prove very convincingly the problem is not your fault.)

Moving on - If this deal really is good enough - save yourself the hassle and put in a new foundation....

Don Hines · Answer

Just curious.....
What made the house blow up? Gas leak? Methlab? I made my mother's oven blow up when I was a kid. She told me I could have blown the house up.
Don

Rusty Thompson · Answer

Something else you might consider is the age of the foundation & will the county let you re-build on it. If it was constructed before 1980 I would not be surprised if they make the new builder start from scratch since it no longer meets code. But for 7k its almost hard to loose.

Mike Morrison · Answer

Usually, if there was an explosion the slab has been compromised.Plumbing in concrete or under ground may be damaged.I would have real reservations about trying to re-use the slab.
Chris is correct determine site work costs.

Account Closed · Answer

around my area, i can build with nice finishes for 100/foot...call some GC's and ask for a quick ballpark

Aaron McGinnis · Answer

So let me toss this in here -

Considering the cost to build an entire house, the foundation actually isn't the largest cost driver - not by a long shot! At least, around here it isn't.

Consider that if the deal is good enough, it may be worth spending the extra $5-10k and putting in an entirely new foundation.

Heck, chances are you'll need to underpin/add to the foundation if it's a crawl space in order to fit the house you're going to build anyway. At that point, it's actually somewhat easier to just build a new foundation entirely.

Given that I also second everything said above about liability and the pitfalls of using an old foundational structure, my advice is to treat the lot as though you're going to clear it entirely and build a new house from scratch on it. At least, that's what I'd most likely do.

Brian Levredge · Answer

Typically when there is a fire on a structure like this, the local jurisdiction will condemn the property.  That means removing everything.  It sounds like the owner could have cut corners on the removal cost and left the foundation in place.  If you decide to proceed, check with the city/county to see if they've red tagged the property and what needs to be done to clear it up.

Concrete can be compromised pretty easily in a fire.  The heat can easily cause damage such as internal cracking/fracturing that might not show up until later, especially if you put a new load on it.  As far as costs are concerned, I can build a house in TN for $45/ft.  Building that same house, with the same finishes in SoCal will run me about $125/ft.

Ryan Csaftis · Answer

Sounds like a great deal! You didn't mention if the parcel was on city services, but if not, you will want to be sure there is a sufficient well and septic system.  It could be a nice benefit if the current foundation can be saved, as the project could be classified as a "remodel" instead of "new construction", saving you time and permit fees for getting the new house up.

Shawnn Lynch · Answer

Sounds like a sweet deal either way you look at it. You should have no problem using the original footprint with the officials, and with the required rebar, mesh, psi strenth of the footings/slab I doubt if there is a plumbing concern, especially pvc. As for the construction cost, acting as the gc yourself and hands on a house that size should run you about %58.00 a sq ft to build + lot cost. You need to keep the load bearing walls in the same location as the original home, so rebuild it around that understanding. Good Luck..

House blew up and foundation is left - Is this a deal?

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