Should you buy a house with previous foundation repair?

Question

My husband and I are looking to buy a house. We found the perfect house within our price range, which is on the low end. However, we discovered that there was previous foundation repair (the slab was leveled) in 1998. The owner claims he does not have the paper work nor remember who performed the work. We will have the house inspected in a couple of days by an inspector. We live in an area with high humidity and clay makes up the majority of the subsoil so it is common for houses to eventually have foundation problems. This house is an older house (built in 1974) and we were informed by our realtor that it is good that the foundation was previously repaired since it is an older house. However, we are worried that there may be problems in the near future and since the owner does not have paperwork we cannot call up the previous business that fixed the problem to repair it. Should you buy a house with previous foundation work?

Answer 1

First ask and take the advice of the building inspector - that is what you are paying him for.



Second if there are no noticeable problems after 10 years it is most likely ok.



Third I would not buy it on priciple - if the builder made that error , what others where made?

Answer 2

It is not in either the homeowner or the realtors best interest to give you details on the foudation repair..they both need to sell. They are also not qualified to do so. Let the home inspector (a neutral third party with expertise) do his job and give you a qualified finding on the status of the foundation. At that point you can decide if you want to take the risk.

Answer 3

Be careful about buying this house until you are fully confident that all is well with the foundation. The inspector will be a guidline to go by. He has the experiance to see what possible scenarios could take place, base your decision on what he says and get all the facts you can from him. Get a report in hand and file it away in a safe place. He should give you an inspection report.

Answer 4

I'd avoid that one. While a properly repaired foundation/slab is not an issue, this owner's 'inability to recall' raises a red flag.



If and when this owner's memory recovers sufficiently to inform you who did the work, it is then safer to proceed, as long as you can verify that the contractor is reputable and is still in business, such that any warranty will be honored.



Without such assurances it's quite possible that Uncle Festus and his Three Blind Nephews did the work, and it may well be shoddy. Insist on more assurances before you proceed.

Answer 5

Would a permit have been required to get the work done? If so, you could check with your local permits office and see if there is a record of what was done, who did it and the subsequent inspection of the work.



A good home inspector will let you know whether the work was well done or shoddy, which should be the deciding factor in whether you purchase or not.

Answer 6

formerly you purchase or sign something get countless reliable business enterprise expenditures from bonded contractors as to the cost to repair. Use those because of fact the muse for regardless of in case you will purchase or not. beginning place maintenance are severe priced and holiday upwards. this means that each and every wall above will unexpectedly choose maintenance besides after (in case you get it fixed in any respect) the beginning place is fixed.