Help! Need expert builder advise!!

jaserion · 07-06-2010, 10:03 AM

sup fellas,

i'm about to buy this house in the 800-900k range. this past weekend, i went to see it with my agent and found a several cracks on wall underneath deck. it looked like they did some work on it and owner's agent confirmed that they spent 40k to fix it.

now, i'm so worried about those cracks that i do want to go into contract with them.

any thoughts? or i'm just over reacting.

thanks.

ps. yes, i'll be 1st time home owner.

Feyd · 07-06-2010, 10:22 AM

If you like it go under contract. Once that happens an inspection will be ordered..... if the inspection goes poorly (assuming they find real issues) you will then be able to:

1. Renegotiate the sales price to cover the costs of repairing
2. Have the sellers fix it
3. Walk away

Try to bring a "foundation guy" with you to your inspection so that you can get a real idea of costs, etc.

Must be a hell of a first house at 900k. LOL.

Good luck.

FStop7 · 07-06-2010, 10:40 AM

For 900k I wouldn't go for it unless I was very certain everything was good.

Also can I live with you?

Seminole · 07-06-2010, 11:09 AM

Just a heads up, it's advice, not advise. Regardless, get an inspector to look at it. They'll tell you whats up.

kyleb350 · 07-06-2010, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feyd

If you like it go under contract. Once that happens an inspection will be ordered..... if the inspection goes poorly (assuming they find real issues) you will then be able to:

1. Renegotiate the sales price to cover the costs of repairing
2. Have the sellers fix it
3. Walk away

Try to bring a "foundation guy" with you to your inspection so that you can get a real idea of costs, etc.

Must be a hell of a first house at 900k. LOL.

Good luck.

^^ +1 on this. If this is truly as issue, the inspector will find this, but bring it up with the inspector to ease your issue with it.

Best time to buy ...ever!

Maestro · 07-06-2010, 12:46 PM

What you need to understand is why the cracks occurred in the first place. Some happen due to the house settling over times which is normal and usually stop and the only reason to fix them is to keep water and bugs and stuff from getting into the house over time.

A friend of mine just fix a crack in the wall and was there since the house was build 7 yrs ago and never got bigger or changed so it was caused by the house settling. He did the repair to keep water from coming in since he is about to finish his basement.

Now the other reason cracks show up is due to poor design or construction, so unless these were address they may come back as well. The other is what they call hydraulic pressure or the build up of water either against the wall or from underneath.

With that all said, I would get a certification from and Engineer stating the reason for the cracks and what was done to make sure they will not happen again, because you could be spending $40K in the future to fix the problem again. Also this is not something you pay for in a home inspection, and inspectors usually have not clue about this stuff, they will point it out to you and tell you it should be checked by a professional, so unless have something from a engineer with PE in his title I could not trust it.

I looked at a house once which had a 1/2 inch crack across the entire basement floor and asked the owner to get an engineers study why the crack happen and also have it repaired they refused and said if I wanted the engineering cert I would have to pay, so I walked away since they probably knew there was some bigger issue they did not want to spend the money to fix.

07-06-2010, 10:03 AM	#1
jaserion Captain 123 Rep 973 Posts Drives: BMW Onsh'mo... Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York iTrader: (0)	Help! Need expert builder advise!! sup fellas, i'm about to buy this house in the 800-900k range. this past weekend, i went to see it with my agent and found a several cracks on wall underneath deck. it looked like they did some work on it and owner's agent confirmed that they spent 40k to fix it. now, i'm so worried about those cracks that i do want to go into contract with them. any thoughts? or i'm just over reacting. thanks. ps. yes, i'll be 1st time home owner. __________________ 2015 F31 Sport Wagon 2014 Tesla Model S 2011 E93 M3 - Gone 2008 E92 M3 - Gone 2006 E90 325i - Gone
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07-06-2010, 10:22 AM	#2
Feyd Major 364 Rep 1,288 Posts Drives: a DEEZZULL Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (2)	If you like it go under contract. Once that happens an inspection will be ordered..... if the inspection goes poorly (assuming they find real issues) you will then be able to: 1. Renegotiate the sales price to cover the costs of repairing 2. Have the sellers fix it 3. Walk away Try to bring a "foundation guy" with you to your inspection so that you can get a real idea of costs, etc. Must be a hell of a first house at 900k. LOL. Good luck.
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07-06-2010, 10:40 AM	#3
FStop7 I like cars 338 Rep 5,051 Posts Drives: M6 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Newbury Park, CA iTrader: (3)	For 900k I wouldn't go for it unless I was very certain everything was good. Also can I live with you?
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07-06-2010, 11:09 AM	#4
Seminole Colonel 478 Rep 2,032 Posts Drives: Red Flyer Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 38.8977° N, 77.0366° W iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 E90 328i [7.00]	Just a heads up, it's advice, not advise. Regardless, get an inspector to look at it. They'll tell you whats up. __________________
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07-06-2010, 12:46 PM	#6
Maestro Major 1058 Rep 1,268 Posts Drives: 2007 335i Sedan, 2021 X3 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (0)	What you need to understand is why the cracks occurred in the first place. Some happen due to the house settling over times which is normal and usually stop and the only reason to fix them is to keep water and bugs and stuff from getting into the house over time. A friend of mine just fix a crack in the wall and was there since the house was build 7 yrs ago and never got bigger or changed so it was caused by the house settling. He did the repair to keep water from coming in since he is about to finish his basement. Now the other reason cracks show up is due to poor design or construction, so unless these were address they may come back as well. The other is what they call hydraulic pressure or the build up of water either against the wall or from underneath. With that all said, I would get a certification from and Engineer stating the reason for the cracks and what was done to make sure they will not happen again, because you could be spending $40K in the future to fix the problem again. Also this is not something you pay for in a home inspection, and inspectors usually have not clue about this stuff, they will point it out to you and tell you it should be checked by a professional, so unless have something from a engineer with PE in his title I could not trust it. I looked at a house once which had a 1/2 inch crack across the entire basement floor and asked the owner to get an engineers study why the crack happen and also have it repaired they refused and said if I wanted the engineering cert I would have to pay, so I walked away since they probably knew there was some bigger issue they did not want to spend the money to fix.
	Appreciate 0 Quote