Sagging Floors on a Miami 1920's Property (pictures included)

[Kenia Crevoisier]

Hi BP, 

My husband and I are currently under contract on a 4-unit property located in Miami, FL. We plan to house-hack this property (live in one of the units and rent the others for at least one year). We just finished doing the comprehensive and plumbing inspection last week and will need to decide if we want to move forward with this property soon.

There are two major repairs that I would like to get estimates on. The roof and electrics have been recently updated, but not the plumbing. Plumbing alone, we need to spend about $11K on "pipelining". The plumber suggested we do this work instead of replacing the pipes and he claims this lining will last up to 40 years. The current pipes are cast iron. 

We planned on fixing the pipes anyway so that was not a big deal for us. What worries us the most is the following. The property is a 1920s two-floor building. During the comprehensive inspection, we noticed one side of the building had sagging floors (the tiles were raised). This was most visible on the first floor, but you can also see the sagging on the second floor. We did no have access to the bottom of the building because it was closed off due to animals entering the bottom of the building at some point. We then had a plumber inspect the pipes and discovered with the sewer scope camera that the pipes under the building had cracks and one large hole (you could fit a hand in it). This got me worried since I am pretty sure the foundation is made of wood, however, the MLS states it is a CBS Construction (maybe this has nothing to do with the foundations). I started to wonder if the sagging floors could be due to deteriorating wood or a faulty floor joist/s. I've also read many investors warn about foundation problems. And since this is an OLD property, the problem most likely needs to be addressed ASAP.

We are going to speak with the seller to see if they could give us access to the foundation. A hole on the side of the building needs to be made to get access, not sure if they will agree to that. Below are some pictures to give you an idea of the sagging floors. Any advice, suggestions, or recommendations is greatly appreciated! 

[Will G.]

from what i can tell from pics, looks like a very limited amount of space in the crawlspace, which will make that impossible to repair from underneath, so removing tile and subflooring are in this buildings future to shore up/replace floor joists. An unvented crawlspace, if not air conditioned, will most likely be a nightmare, especially in hot humid climate. I would not touch a property like this, but if you really LOVE it, check with a crawlspace encapsulation company(if they exist there) and get a price to stop moisture rising from the ground and rotting your wood subfloor