Cracked slab (disclosure, settlement, price, inspection)

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

We want to sell our house, but discovered we have a cracked slab in the garage. What effect will this have??? Do we need to fix it first??

[ksabin]

How bad is the crack in the slab? I would get a quote to see the cost to fix it. Then you have to options fix it yourself or give a credit to the buyers. It might not be as bad as you think

Regards,
Keith

[Stu Barnes]

It depends on the size. It may be considered a material fact, which you would have to at least point out to potential buyers. If it is a small crack from settlement, that is something you can't avoid.

[momof2dfw]

Are you talking a small hairline crack? Or a large gapping crack? If it is a very small find hairline crack those are somewhat normal on some of our soils here in Texas (your in Houston ). Do you notice any other signs of potential foundation problems? Cracks in the sheetrock? Doors close/open properly? Windows close/open properly? Cracks in the brick/mortar? Can you see where anything on the exterior is pulling apart? Especially where two different materials meet like brick and wood/siding? If all you have is a fine hairline crack in the garage then your fine. If you notice anything else there could be a need for foundation work. Remember in Texas full disclosure is the rule. If you have ANY report done on the house including an engineers report on the foundation you MUST disclose it to the buyers.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

The crack is larger than a hair line crack. It's about 20 feet long and about 12 feet of that you could fit a dime into it, if it was smooth. It hasn't affected the doors or windows in the house.

[rubytue]

We got an estimate on this crack (extended the length of the garage). It was about $10k But that was for putting in piers, we thought it could possibly be mudjacked for cheaper. But we decided not to buy that house.

The house was listed at a very reasonable price, but sat on the market for a long time. I think the crack in the garage floor was a big turn off. But it is under contract now.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA

The crack is larger than a hair line crack. It's about 20 feet long and about 12 feet of that you could fit a dime into it, if it was smooth. It hasn't affected the doors or windows in the house.

On either side of the crack is the elevation different? Much like you see in the pic by the other poster? Being only a dime thickness is not a lot and w/o any other cracks or visible signs it is hard to say that it is really something to worry about. If you want reassurance you can have an engineer come out and see about doing a visual inspection. If they don't write a report you don't have to disclose it. But do know that if he says there is something probably wrong that potential buyers may notice it and want a report done. So you might be better off if they say it is a problem finding out how bad and a cost to fix. Typically in the Dallas area peirs run anywhere from $800-1000K each. It might only need two if any at all.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA

We want to sell our house, but discovered we have a cracked slab in the garage. What effect will this have??? Do we need to fix it first??

Is the garage attached to your home or is it a detached garage? If it's attached, is the crack headed toward your house? How old is your home? Could this crack be considering a "normal" settling for the age and location of your home? In other words, if I were to look at similar age homes in your neighborhood, would I find this to be an issue with those homes, too?

I know this seems like a lot of questions, but without additional info it's kind of hard to address whether or not you would want to consider selling with the garage "as is" vs repairing the crack. Of course, either way (even if you have it fixed), it is something that will have to be disclosed to potential buyers.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Is the garage attached to your home or is it a detached garage? If it's attached, is the crack headed toward your house? How old is your home? Could this crack be considering a "normal" settling for the age and location of your home? In other words, if I were to look at similar age homes in your neighborhood, would I find this to be an issue with those homes, too?

I know this seems like a lot of questions, but without additional info it's kind of hard to address whether or not you would want to consider selling with the garage "as is" vs repairing the crack. Of course, either way (even if you have it fixed), it is something that will have to be disclosed to potential buyers.

The garage is attached to the house. I really don't know if it's headed toward the house or not, I guess I'll have ask my husband. I know it gets small at goes away from the house. I think the house about 19 or 20 years old. I don't know if other homes here have it or not.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by rubytue

We got an estimate on this crack (extended the length of the garage). It was about $10k But that was for putting in piers, we thought it could possibly be mudjacked for cheaper. But we decided not to buy that house.

The house was listed at a very reasonable price, but sat on the market for a long time. I think the crack in the garage floor was a big turn off. But it is under contract now.

The crack in that picture appears to be in the driveway, as opposed to the garage. Cracks in the driveway are pretty common because driveways aren't as thick or as high a quality as the foundation of your house (in most cases, anyway). We have cracks in our driveway, but none in our foundation.