Foundation failure?? Help please... (Olathe: real estate, insurance, lawyer)

[cyerby]

I recently moved to Olathe from SC. Evidently the previous owner of the house covered up some foundation problems. It is going to cost $10-15k to fix it. Does anyone else have any expereince with this? I have no idea if it is really something I need to fix, or if it is OK to live with the cracks. Apparantly, one side of the house has settled a little over 2 inches. Since the previous owner covered up all the cracks inside the house and now they have re-opened, I am assuming the house is still moving. Also, the seller did not disclose any foundation problem, but it is obvious now that it was covered up. Do I have any recourse there? I am interested in any help you can provide.

Thanks!

[cyerby]

We have a side/side split level house. The side with the problem is the garage side, so there is a slab there for the floor, but that's not the problem. The slab floor has separated from the foundation wall because (I was told) the foundation wall has "failed" and it is "rolling out". The gap from the end of the slab floor to the wall is about 1/2 inch. To fix it, I was told I need to have 9-12 piers added to jack up the foundation wall, including the chimney which has a slight lean to it as well.

They could tell me anything, and I wouldn't know if it is the truth or not. It does seem like the house has shifted since I've moved in back in April. As I said, all the cracks have appeared. There is one really large crack in the sheet rock in the den, which shares a wall with the garge. It is not a little hairline crack like the others, it is about 3/16 of an inch wide at floor level. I made some measurements and marked some cracks so I can see how far things move. I am planning on at least waiting until spring before I do anything. I can live with cracks...I just need to know if there really is a deeper problem that needs to be fixed. I have no idea how to figure that out.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[quesera]

Have you contacted your real estate agent, yet? Did you insist on a home warrenty before the purchase?

Take pictures with a ruler against the cracks.
Take a copy of your foundation report, your seller's disclosure form, and any other pertinent information you can think of, to your lawyer for advice.

[TinaMcG]

The real estate agent will do no good. They're useless in situations like this. I know ours was. We won't ever be able to prove that the sellers' agent knew about the problem with our house, but we suspect she knew. The real estate agents only care about selling the house, collecting their commission, and moving on.

To the original poster:

Yes, you do have recourse, IF you can prove that the previous owners knew about the problem and did not fully disclose it in the Sellers' Disclosure Statement. Get an attorney who works on "bad house" cases. There aren't that many in the KC area, but there are some. (Actually, seeing the number of really badly built homes in Johnson County, any property attorney should be able to make a fortune here. I've never seen so much shabby construction work in my life.)

We live in Olathe, too, and what I did was contact the chief building inspector for Johnson County and he came out to look at the problem. He was very nice and extremely helpful. The building department should also have permits on file for any major repair work that was done, and if work was done and no permits were pulled, your sellers could be in very serious trouble.

If you had a home inspection, the foundation problems should have been noticed. If and when you decide to sue your sellers, include the inspector in the action.

Whether or not homes are always settling is not the issue. You bought your house without all the information you needed to make the right decision for your family. this was done ot us also, when our sellers failed to disclose an ongoing roof leak, which turned out to be a badly constructed chimney that cost us over $9000 and six months to resolve. Our sellers were bankrupt, but that didn't stop us. We went to bankruptcy court and sued to get permission to sue them for damages in state court -- and we won. Now we will continue to state court and see if we can get blood from a stone.

This is so maddening!! People sell homes in bad faith, and then those of us who are honest are left with property that is seriously devalued -- and when we turn around to sell, we will have to disclose all the ugly details. I am so very sorry this happened to you.

[cyerby]

Thank you for the info TinaMcG. I had not thought about the building inspector. I'll have to give him a call. I did have a home inspection, but all of the cracks inside were covered up. The inspector did note a couple of small cracks in the foundation. He told me if it were him, he wouldn't let the cracks stop the sale. Of course, that's not on report and I am sure it would be denied.

Since I am new to the area, I had no idea there are so many poorly constructed houses here. I guess I now know what "typical Olathe house". I heard that often while house hunting. I didn't know that meant stay away from this one! UGH! Our neighbor told me that the seller asked if they knew anyone looking for a house. He needed to sell fast. I guess he knew it wouldn't be long before the cracks that were covered up reappeared!

I do have to say that the company we had out to look at the problem seemed very professional. They could've told me I needed to pier the whole house, but they didn't. So, I was pretty happy with them. I just don't know if I need to act now, or if it's OK to wait.

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles too. I hope it works out for you. If you found a decent lawyer that might be able to help us, could you send me a private message?


Thanks again for the help.

[tiredofpiers]

I am having the same issues how are things coming along? My is house is near 151st & Ridgeview.

[Gaffer]

As an investigator (insurance) when I was looking for info on a particular subject I talked to neighbors and the ex wife (or hubby). You may find one or two that didn't like the seller and who the seller talked to aout the problem. If you get into a trial situation they will be invaluable in proving sellers previous knowledge of the defect.
Exs are particularly anxious to help any party v their ex.
Good luck!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by tiredofpiers

I am having the same issues how are things coming along? My is house is near 151st & Ridgeview.

Unfortunately, I am not surprised. It seemed like many of those houses in Olathe were constructed in a very short period of time with subpar quality construction.

[OA 5599]

Chances are the foundations failures were caused because the house was built on an expansive soil. Expansive soils are clay soils which expand and contract with seasonal changes in the amount of moisture in the soil. I'm betting your foundation is a slab-on-grade, meaning when the house was built the contractor simply scraped off a layer of top soil, put down a little bit of gravel, and poured the concrete for the foundation. These types of foundations are very popular because they are cheap.

There are a few things you need to know and can do.

1. If you are watering your lawn often during the summer months, it often makes the problem worse. The excess water allows the soil to swell more than it would otherwise, which leads to problems when it shrinks back down.

2. Trees often make the problem worse, especially large ones, because they suck the moisture right out of the soil, causing it to shrink even more.

3. Also check for rain spouts which empty by the side of your house, or any other source of water which causes it to pond near the edges of the foundation. Excess water will result in more shrinkage and swelling, which will continue to move your foundation around. Removing water sources won't fix the problem, but it will make it better and more livable.

4. You could just live with the problem, and expect the cracks to grow and shrink seasonally with changes in the amount of moisture in the soil. This is of course the cheapest way to go. However, the large problems start when the foundation cracks and takes out a sewer or water pipe with it, meaning you have to bust out the slap to fix the broken pipe. Additionally, the water from the pipe goes into the soil, causing it to swell even more.

I'm not familliar with the repair options for slab on grade foundations, however the best bet would have been to excavate a few feet of the expansive soil in the first place and treat it or replace it. Sadly, developers are in the business to make money and properly constructing a foundation cuts into their profit margins - even if it results in you having to get your house fixed a few years down the road.