Repaired Foundation Affect Sales Price in Austin?

[eileenkeeney]

When a house does need foundation repair, does the value of houses (same area, same architecture) built by the same builder, that have not yet had foundation repair, go down in value?
Does anyone even check this sort of thing?

This has me thinking,
If I buy a house in a neighborhood that has a lot of houses with foundation repair, do I want to find out who the builder was on the houses, and maybe avoid houses in that area by that builder?

I wonder if there is a way to find out who the builder was, and how many houses done by that builder have had foundation repair?

In an area where foundation damage is common, a house with a repaired foundation that comes with a warranty, might be a better option than one that has had no damage repaired (and no warranty on the existing foundation).

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

Depends on the house...I don't think any buyer will be scared off because you replaced the 90 year old cedar posts with concrete piers in your central Austin bungalow!

Absolutely! Plus if the repair that was done comes with a warranty that transfers to the new owners, that is better then you normally get buying a previously owned home.

[twange]

Is there a particular area in general that is prone to foundation issues due to natural fault lines etc...? I had heard somewhere (maybe here on CD) that the area East of 35 between Oltorf/Riverside has these issues.

[eileenkeeney]

I was told that many of the houses in WellsBranch, that back up to the greenbelt, have had foundation repair.

I also noticed foundation repair being done, on a house in WellsBranch that does NOT back up to the greenbelt. The specific house was just North of Merrill, on Montoro, and had a property line that was up against the stone fence that goes along Merrill, but did not back up to the greenbelt.

Is there some kind of fault line in this area?

[CptnRn]

Most foundation problems in Central Texas are related to expansive soil types, clay soils, rather then fault lines, there are hardly any active fault lines in the area and almost zero seismic activity.

The zone identified as Blackland Prairie, East and Southeast of Austin, is made up of deep clay soils that have a huge range of movement as they expand and contract with moisture changes.

http://www.beg.utexas.edu/UTopia/ima...ysiography.pdf

Here is a more detailed map of Austin which shows where many of the clay soil areas are.

Soil map, Texas, Austin sheet: The Portal to Texas History

[FrozenCucumber]

In an area with known foundation problems, I would much rather buy a home with a newly piered foundation with lifetime transferrable warranty -- than one without. that is significant expense/risk taken out of an otherwise risky situation.

[verybadgnome]

I think it does. I know of a home in the Galindo neighborhood (78704) that lingered on the market for months, most likely because of the admitted foundation issues.