Foundation problems in Frisco (Richardson, Eldorado: real estate, foreclosed, selling a house)

[dkiran]

My husband and I are going to buy our first home in Frisco,Texas. The house was built in 2007 and it is something that my husband and I really liked. The sellers revealed that they fixed the foundation recently and the report of the repairs is available to us. Although, a lifetime warranty transfer is provided what worries me the most is if the repairs are found inadequate the problem may reappear a few years later especially with the soil shifting. Please advice if we can go ahead and live with the possibility of doing a foundation repair again.

[txgolfer130]

If it's been repaired and you can verify the warranty transfer...please verify, some assume and tell buyers that...then there should be no problem. There are only two types of homes in Frisco. Those that have foundation problems and those that will.

Having one that's had it fixed already would be a HUGE load off my mind in the Frisco area.

[LQQKOUT]

Plus some companies offer the transfer- but you MUST read the fine print. Sometime there is a time limit to transfer or a fee to transfer the warranty. As for foundation work, no foundation company can promise your soil won't shift. We live in Texas. The good thing is IF you have the warranty the areas they fixed are covered so long at is meets the warranty statement. I also know first hand foundation work is costly. So if it is already done, then you are ok. As Txgolf said Frisco has a lot of foundation issues. That are was farm land for centuries before the building bomb came.

[EDS_]

Pulling from across the thread:

1. It's absurd to say that all homes in Frisco will have foundation problems. That's simply an overstatement.

2. Call the repair co. and ask them to verify that the warranty is in force should you buy. These cos. go in and out of business on purpose quite often to avoid paying for warranty repairs made in the past.

3. Even if the warranty applies it will cover only the areas that were jacked/piered/leveled will be covered.

4. Pay a pro from another company to walk the foundation and interior with you.

[BeanyMalone]

I purchased a home recently in Richardson. It also had foundation work done recently. The sellers provided the statement of work, with transferable warranty. Since the work was done only few months previously, I was concerned they might have cheaped out since they knew they would be selling the house. So I hired my own independent structural engineer on my dime (about $500) as part of the home inspection process. He made his own onsite assessment both of the work that was done and additional work required. In his opinion, the work the sellers had done didn't fully address the problem. He recommended additional work, I received estimates from several foundation repair companies (all in about the $3500 range). Although the sellers did not want to make a price concession for the additional work, when presented with report from my structural engineer, they ultimately did. The money I spent on my structural engineer was the best $500 I spent in my life in terms of the knowledge and comfort it gave me. Of course, now it is on me to take care of the foundation.

So, if this is the house you really want, invest the money in an independent structural engineer. Compared to what you are paying for the house, the fee is peanuts. Your real estate agent (assuming you trust hiim/her) will likely be able to recommend one, or look on Angie's List. If the engineer says "okey dokey", you have peace of mind. If they have recommendations, you have knowledge to make an informed decision.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by dkiran

My husband and I are going to buy our first home in Frisco,Texas. The house was built in 2007 and it is something that my husband and I really liked. The sellers revealed that they fixed the foundation recently and the report of the repairs is available to us. Although, a lifetime warranty transfer is provided what worries me the most is if the repairs are found inadequate the problem may reappear a few years later especially with the soil shifting. Please advice if we can go ahead and live with the possibility of doing a foundation repair again.

Since we do not now all of your personal details, as well as the details of the home, it really is advice that nobody can provide you. You have had some very good advice provided here and I will reiterate one point. You apparently have concerns regarding the work performed on this foundation and I would highly advise you then to hire a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) to not only review the structure, but also to review any original PE report diagnosing and recommending a specific repair to ensure that the original PE's recommendations were followed and they were sufficient.

You should also obtain a copy of the following documents for your review and records should you decide to continue with the purchase.

• The original PE's foundation report.
• The original estimate from the foundation company to display the proposed work.
• The final bill for the work describing what was performed. Compare this to the estimate and original PE report to determine if the owner followed recommendations.
• Any post repair PE reports to ensure the foundation repair company performed the work properly.

Good luck on the home and do make sure you have it thoroughly inspected as well.

[dkiran]

Thanks Everyone for your inputs. I have a copy of the foundation report and it looks like they added 40 piers for the home. This seems like pretty extensive work.

Should I be concerned that there was such a lot of work or should I be relieved that because of such extensive work, future problems will be minimal and require little adjustment ?

Based on your advice, we asked an independent structural engineer to have a look at the house. Is there anything specific we should ask him ?

Apparently the warranty is backed by Texas Foundation Trust in case the company goes bankrupt. Is this trust reliable ?

Thanks again.

[nsumner]

Since the house was built in 2007, did the builder do the foundation repair? If should have been unless the house was foreclosed on at which point all warranties become void.

I really rarely see homes in Frisco with foundation problems unless they are those that were built by the cheap builders in the 90s and one particular subdivision along Eldorado between 2003-2007.

40 piers sounds like a lot but it also depends on the size of the home, does the report tell you what cause the foundation of a 5 year old home to shift? was there a plumbing leak?

You also need to be prepared to see cracks in the sheetrock inside the house during the next 2 seasons. It takes that long for the piers to settle. So you'll see cracks where there weren't any before as well.

As suggested before, if you decide to pursue it, get a mechanical inspection and a structural engineer to check the current stability of the home, it's well worth the peace of mind.

Naima

[dkiran]

Naima.. Thanks for that reply. As you guessed, the house is in Fairways subdivision on a golf course lot :-). We really loved that home which is why we the foundation issue did not immediately throw us off. The house itself is about two story 3182 sq ft and was built by Sumeer , who don't seem to have a great reputation.

We have both the home inspection and an SE inspection today. We should know more. The report did not identify the cause of the foundation issue.

Also, being a first time buyer we are nervous about living with a home that has had foundation work done.

[dkiran]

Also, would reselling a house in that subdivision be difficult ?