Strucutral Enginner - foundation inspection (Irving, Coppell: how much, house, buyers)

[nitynity]

How much does it cost to get a structural engineer to get a foundation inspection done on a residential property of 4000 sq ft. I made an offer to this house and the inspection revealed foundation issues. We requested to get an engineer perform an inspection but the seller refused to go with our chosen engineer. His rate is $450. Not sure if the price was the concern or the seller is hiding something and want to get one done cheap/through a friend etc. Any advice? Also the seller refuses to do a pool inspection done as well as per our request since there were some filter issues. How much does it cost if I were to bear the expense? Is it common to pick our own inspectors?

[mSooner]

I don't think the seller can refuse inspections, but they aren't required to pay for them. That cost usually falls on the buyer

$450 sounds reasonable

[nitynity]

Originally Posted by mSooner

I don't think the seller can refuse inspections, but they aren't required to pay for them. That cost usually falls on the buyer

$450 sounds reasonable

Thanks for the response mSooner. I paid for the home inspection ($600) out of pocket and it revealed foundation issues and was recommended review by a professional Structural Enginner. So we requested the seller to bear the cost for the Enginner inspection/fix. Isn't reasonable since if the issue is major and we choose not to move forward we dont lose more money on top of $600 spent already. Inaddition the seller has to fix the issue if the report is disclosed anyways. I dont want to spent $1000 bucks in case the contract falls through. Also the initial inspection revealed issues with pool as well and the seller wants us to pay for pool inspection as well. is this the standard?

[4Movingeast]

We were in the discussion process of making an offer on a house suspected of having foundation problems (lots of cracks in the walls and tile, some buckled wood floor in dining room). The sellers were confident a structural engineer inspection would reveal no major problems so they went ahead and paid for one to make available to all interested parties. It revealed the need for 19, yes nineteen, piers all around the house including the back patio. We immediately backed off, and were so happy to not have even wasted the option fee money.

Our realtor had advised us that upon finding structural issues, the norm in Coppell/ Irving where she sells and lists many homes is that the seller knows they will be in for most if not all of the cost. Maybe this is specific to her listings- but that is what she told us.

We have looked at many homes with pools and not one so far that I like. Every one of them is needing to be replastered or some work done on it. I know the advice is to buy a home with a pool, but we just made an offer on one today that checks everything else on our list except that and happens to be $120K under what we thought we would end up spending, so we are going for it. Don't care about the financial downside, we are putting one in, it will be done right, and the style we want, so that's how I am looking at it.

Best to you OP, and I hope it all works out.

[jdallas]

Yes, it's standard for the buyer to pay for all inspections because the property is likely being sold 'as-is'. If the inspection reveals specific defects and remediation options, then you enter into negotiations with the seller.
In your case, the generic home inspector wasn't qualified to make specific remediation options so you need more info.

[taroberts]

I paid $350 this spring.

[loves2read]

the larger the house, the bigger the fee--

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

The buyer usually pays for - and selects - any inspections s/he wants to have done.

[mSooner]

Thanks for the response mSooner. I paid for the home inspection ($600) out of pocket and it revealed foundation issues and was recommended review by a professional Structural Enginner. So we requested the seller to bear the cost for the Enginner inspection/fix. Isn't reasonable since if the issue is major and we choose not to move forward we dont lose more money on top of $600 spent already. Inaddition the seller has to fix the issue if the report is disclosed anyways. I dont want to spent $1000 bucks in case the contract falls through. Also the initial inspection revealed issues with pool as well and the seller wants us to pay for pool inspection as well. is this the standard?

At this point it is just a negotiating game. If the house is in a market hot enough, the seller might not be inclined to pay for a further inspection that he/she will then be required to disclose the results of to the next buyer should you back out. If there are other buyers waiting, they may just want to take their chances.

I wouldn't go with their person though--that doesn't sound like a good idea.

[4Movingeast]

Originally Posted by mSooner

At this point it is just a negotiating game. If the house is in a market hot enough, the seller might not be inclined to pay for a further inspection that he/she will then be required to disclose the results of to the next buyer should you back out. If there are other buyers waiting, they may just want to take their chances.

I wouldn't go with their person though--that doesn't sound like a good idea.

Great point! In the case with the house we were looking at, it went right back under contract (someone was willing to take the chance like you said) in about 3 days. I always love when realtors share this info with you expecting you to be sad, or annoyed. I felt nothing but relief! Somebody else's problem- not to mention hassle!