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Old 06-20-2008, 12:21 PM
 
10 posts, read 60,227 times
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We finally found a home in Valley ranch(coppel ISD)that we fell in love with.Now the problem is in the sellers disclosure, we found that the seller has replaced 3 piers added under the garage. (2003?). I want to know if we should go head with a home inspection plus a structural examination or is it a waste of time.
the home has 2 stories and a 2 car garage and is 1995 built.
Pls help me decide
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Old 06-20-2008, 12:35 PM
 
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Is the garage attached? If it's not, don't worry about it!

If it is attached, then get a foundation repair guy out there. You should always have a home inspection. Always.
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Old 06-20-2008, 12:41 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,869,842 times
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Most likely the garage is attached. If your looking ANYWHERE out in that area get a good foundation report no matter if the sellers disclosure shows prior foundation work or not. The terrain out there is conducive to foundation problems and most builders did not use pier and beam and even if they did they just do a blanket depth on all foundations.
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Old 06-20-2008, 12:54 PM
 
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thanks for the responses..The garage is attached to the home.I want to know if i can consider the home or is it a bad choice. I dont want to waste a home inspection, if its a bad choice right in the beginning
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Old 06-20-2008, 01:07 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,869,842 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohhlalaa View Post
thanks for the responses..The garage is attached to the home.I want to know if i can consider the home or is it a bad choice. I dont want to waste a home inspection, if its a bad choice right in the beginning
Well, it does show the owners HAVE paid attention and they ARE disclosing it. You could end up liking and buying a house that the owners had not a clue what was going on or brushed everything off as "normal". OR, worse, the owners could have had MASSIVE foundation repairs and NOT disclosed it. There is a LOT worse that COULD be out there. I'd just get a foundation report to be on the safe side no matter what. That will give you a better idea of the WHOLE picture. Then go from there. If the WHOLE house/lot/price/floorplan/etc is working for you and YOUR family and the issue is resolved then it should be okay. Nothing is a 100% guarantee. When you do become a homeowner make sure you pay close attention to the movement of the ground and take good care of your foundation and yard to avoid future problems. Sometimes it is unavoidable but there are cases where it is not. Letting LARGE shrubs and trees grow right up next to the foundation is NEVER a good thing.
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Old 06-20-2008, 02:04 PM
 
1,101 posts, read 4,329,022 times
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If you decide to move forward with an offer on the house, you should definitely get an independent structural engineer (NOT a home inspector or a foundation company) during your option period.

The structural engineer can do a full foundation evaluation to find out how far the foundation is out of level (they typically use a spirit level to do this). For a typically sized house, this will probably run about $400 in addition to your normal inspection. That may seem like a lot, but if you really like the house, it is a small price to pay to avoid a much larger bill later. If the sellers are hungry, you might even be able to get them to pay for it.

Also, make sure the repairs were made by a company that is still in business and that the warranty for the work is in place.
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Old 06-20-2008, 03:38 PM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
4,207 posts, read 15,254,649 times
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The garage and patio foundations are poured at separate times when the house is built. It is normal that the garage will have cracks or settle more and will have more obvious cracks than the house itsef. 3 piers isn't much either.

It also won't be limited to homes in Valley Ranch either. You should do the mechanical home inspection and if that inspector sees that there are other places that may be suspicious then get a structural engineer NOT a foundation repair company.

Naima
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Old 06-20-2008, 03:45 PM
 
Location: The Big D
14,862 posts, read 42,869,842 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nsumner View Post
The garage and patio foundations are poured at separate times when the house is built. It is normal that the garage will have cracks or settle more and will have more obvious cracks than the house itsef. 3 piers isn't much either.

It also won't be limited to homes in Valley Ranch either. You should do the mechanical home inspection and if that inspector sees that there are other places that may be suspicious then get a structural engineer NOT a foundation repair company.

Naima

NO!!! The foundation for the garage is poured at the EXACT same time as the rest of the house. If it is not I'd run VERY FAST from that builder. The garage IS poured at the SAME TIME!

The driveway, patio and sidewalk may be poured at a different time but NEVER the garage as IT IS tied into the foundation WITH REBAR!!!! If this is not done you are asking for MAJOR PROBLEMS!!!
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Old 06-20-2008, 04:17 PM
 
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
4,207 posts, read 15,254,649 times
Reputation: 2720
You are correct, when they pour the concrete they do it at the same time as the main house but it also has the drop down and they don't let it cure as long as the main house foundation, it is also not as thick thus when you see cracks in the garage, it doesn't mean that the house itself has a problem.
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Old 06-20-2008, 04:40 PM
 
Location: DFW
40,952 posts, read 49,176,191 times
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If you will PM me the address I'll see what the disclosure says and what I can dig up on the house.
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