Have you sold a house that is not level?

Question

I purchased a house in East Austin close to the airport to fix and resale. House on slab is not level... one bedroom in front corner of the house is higher than the rest of the house by about 3.5" to 4". Independent engineer says that even though the house is not level, the foundation is fine. All doors and windows open correctly, no cracks in foundation, etc.. just some sheet rock cracks. Engineer does not recommend repair - unless it's just for the sake of leveling the house. The resale values in this area aren't very high right now. Contemplating on whether to level the house and fix land grading/drainage issues which may end up costing $20K and doing some cosmetic updates or whether just to leave the house as is and do cosmetic fixes and just disclose to buyer that it is not level. In that case I would sell the house for about $220,000 being unlevel - which is a discount from $240,000 going market rate. Has anyone sold a house that is unlevel? My thought is that if the engineer says it's fine, then there is no real need to level the house, but for the fact that some people might not like the fact that it is uneven. I have never sold a house that was not level, but thinking about those first time home buyers that might appreciate being able to get into a house for under $240,000 in Austin. I'm just worried about leveling the house which will require interior piers and exterior piers and other damage that might occur after the house is lifted/leveled... for instance will the rock veneer fall off? Will the windows and doors no longer open and close? Will the tile in the shower and tubs fall off, etc... I want to do the right thing, but not sure what it is since engineer says it doesn't have any foundation problems. Do other's always level a house before reselling? Any advice?

Isaac Braun · Answer

I agree with @John Woodrich and @Jordan Moorhead. Ive seen many older homes that do not have level floors. Im speaking for the St. Cloud area specifically since that is what I am most familiar with, but I am sure this is an issue anywhere. Foundations settle over time, some more than others.

Quin Weidner · Answer

I remodeled a house out near Canyon Lake that was clearly a self-built house. It was not level and had some clear foundation issues.But when we went to lift the house and fix the foundation issues, we found there was no rebar at all in it! This meant we could only reinforce the slab, but not level the foundation completely. Have to disclose it all, but there are buyers that don't mind a bit of slant. You can always try and cover it with the flooring and/or slope some new mud depending on how much of an area you need leveled.

Cindy L. · Answer

Yes, the house just sold - i just updated the post. All went off well for both buyer an seller.

Cindy L. · Answer

Update... just closed on the house that I was talking about - did not end up leveling the house. Sold it with full disclosure of engineer's report to buyer regarding house being unlevel along with elevation measurements. I was a little nervous about it considering buyer was using FHA financing since FHA typically scrutinizes these types of things. It ended up appraising for more than I sold it for. Took a partial hit on the market value, but all worked out very well for both buyer and seller.

Costin I. · Answer

Did you rehab the house already or not? All the problems you mentioned are possible. More than that, the sewer line can separate in the process of leveling. Fixing that would not be too expensive...compared with the cost of tunneling to find out where the separation happened ($$$$).Lender won't approve loan for house with foundation issues?Anyone flipped a house with foundation issues?Foundation Problems 101 -- Buying a Place With a Foundation Problem

John Woodrich · Answer

@Cindy L. have you considered just leveling the floor in that room by installing new floor joists that are level?

John Woodrich · Answer

Unless you are investing in newer construction I think a level house would be pretty rare. In some instance being out of level is more noticeable.As Jordan mentioned some people will care and others won't. You can only sell it to one person and if your prices are correct it doesn't seem worth fixing. I wouldn't take on the construction risk if there was no profit to be gained.

Jordan Moorhead · Answer

I sold a duplex in Minneapolis that had at least that much elevation change from front to back.Some people will care, some won't. I lived in it for two years and didn't mind at all.

Ned J. · Answer

Standard in many homes in TX....they all settle due the make up of the soil. Good luck in finding one that is level.....Just sold a house in Kingwood and the buyers tried to hit me for 15k since the house wasn't level on the foundation inspection..... I laughed...pulled out my report from when I bought it 4 years earlier......and their numbers were better than mine !!! Said nope.....not a dime..... they bought it anyway. Nice try though....

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

We sold a house in 2016 that we had as a rental for 30 years just south of SanFrancisco. It was an old house from the 1930’s; pretty uneven floor and a sump pump in the basement. We thought about replacing it with a duplex-it is zoned R2-I ran the numbers several times; but decided it was better to let someone with more expertise enjoy that process. ;<)The property was in a 1031x so we replaced it with several way nicer investments in Wa. Thank you California!