Say you’ve just found your forever home— you’re ready to sell your starter home and move in. Or maybe you’re ready to take the plunge and buy your first house. Perhaps you’re dying to downsize to a little bungalow, filled with charm and unique architectural details, now that your family is grown and out of the house. Maybe you aren’t looking to move at all, but you’ve noticed some strange changes in your home. Regardless of your situation, foundation issues can wreak havoc in your home’s structure, not to mention the impact on the home’s value.
Homes settle and adjust to the land upon which they’ve been built and that can sometimes impact the structural integrity of the foundation, which plays a major factor in what your current or future home is worth. If your current or future home’s foundation is not up to snuff, it’s vital that the matter is addressed immediately!
Whether you are the homeowner or the buyer, it’s important to know the health of your foundation and how that can have a major impact on the value of your home.
How Your Foundation Can Impact Your Home Value
Does an issue with the foundation affect the value of a house? In a word, yes.
Increased groundwater or periods of drought can alter the soil the foundation of your home is built upon, foundations can crack or tilt, or underground erosion can endanger the integrity of your foundation. All of these problems can cause issues within the home: windows and doors may not line up, walls may crack, and floors may dip, causing bigger and more dangerous issues as foundational issues worsen.
What does this mean for the value of the home, whether you are hoping to buy or sell a home? Without making repairs, this can decrease the home’s value anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the issue.
Have no fear: everything is fixable. Here’s how you should handle the situation when issues with the foundation arise.
Buying a Home with Foundation Issues – Is It Worth It?
You’ve found your dream home: It has a newly renovated kitchen, the location is perfect, and you’re practically ready to move in at the first viewing. Unfortunately, you suspect that there are foundational issues— you see the floor dipping to one side or maybe there’s a door that’s hard to close. Do you need to say goodbye to your dream home if you see signs of foundation damage?
If a thorough home inspection finds issues with the foundation, you don’t have to give up on your dream home; that said, it is good to know what you are dealing with before you get too far into the home-buying process.
You may want to renegotiate the price of the home, or have the homeowner make the necessary repairs before you proceed with the sale. Regardless, the first thing you should do is to get an estimate or consultation to see what repairs to the foundation will cost and how complex they will be.
What to Do If You Own a Home With Foundational Issues
Every foundation settles a bit when a home is first built. Small cracks, less than a quarter-inch in size, may appear right after home is built— and that’s okay. These issues are very minor and easy to fix. However, if larger issues present themselves, these may require attention before you list your home.
Making repairs to your foundation when you first see them can ensure you are able to enjoy your home free of worry. It gives you the ability to add on a deck or patio or finish the basement without nasty surprises popping up later.
Mending a foundation may not be the most exciting home project, but it is definitely the most important one. Allowing a cracked or shifting foundation to get worse will only mean more headaches (and more money) for you down the road. Better to handle it quickly then let the issue continue to impact on your home. Also, be sure that you are maintaining the health of your foundation as best you can, with these tips to prevent further issues.
If you are planning to sell your home, you have two choices: you can either hire a certified, warranted company to make the repairs to the foundation yourself or you can disclose the information about the problems in the sale.
Perhaps a buyer is looking for a deal and happy to make improvements, or maybe they want to choose a foundation repair service themselves. Getting a consultation from a repair service and working with your realtor will help you figure out the best course of action for you.
At Edens Structural Solutions, we work with buyers and sellers constantly, and know exactly how to get a home’s foundation sale-ready. Ready to buy or sell your own home? Contact us first to schedule a consultation. Let us set you up with a proper “foundation” for a successful buying or selling experience, free from any additional surprises or hassle.
