Will you buy a house with foundation issues in TX? (Dallas: lenders, houses)

[mSooner]

check plumbing system

If they didn't do a check of the plumbing system as part of the repairs, that could be a problem. The home we bought had foundation issues and that was done as part of the repair. The breakdown of the repair showed the plumbing costs as a large % of the total repair costs.

If by limited warranty, they mean that the warranty is limited to the repaired area, that is standard. It just needs to be transferrable to you.

[emylie]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Too many questions to evaluate.

How old is the repairs? Is the company still in business? Did they attach a Foundation engineers report?

You must have a rookie RE agent. They should have the knowledge to help answer all your questions.

A foundation that has properly been repaired should be better than when it was original.

The repairs are recent (September 2017) and the company is still in business. They did attach a foundation engineering report.
We have a real estate agent who was positive about that house but we did not feel comfortable to make an offer after reading the report.
There are too much recommendations, as I mentioned above, we need to check plumbing system, install guttering system, ...etc
According to the report, the soil in that area experience movement due to moisture fluctuations.
We did ask our realtor about that, and she said that it is very common in Texas and encourage us to go forward with the purchase if we are comfortable!!
We are not ready to pay more money for more repairs before we even move to the house!

[emylie]

Originally Posted by mSooner

If they didn't do a check of the plumbing system as part of the repairs, that could be a problem. The home we bought had foundation issues and that was done as part of the repair. The breakdown of the repair showed the plumbing costs as a large % of the total repair costs.

If by limited warranty, they mean that the warranty is limited to the repaired area, that is standard. It just needs to be transferrable to you.

The warranty would be transferrable to us if we bought the house!

[Rakin]

Sounds like you need to move on to another house.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You are going to have a hard time finding a house here that will NEVER have problems. Sooner or later, .ost do. Mine does but I water it and watch it. I get a new report every 3-4 yrs to make sure it's still OK.

[emylie]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Sounds like you need to move on to another house.

Exactly!

[emylie]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

You are going to have a hard time finding a house here that will NEVER have problems. Sooner or later, .ost do. Mine does but I water it and watch it. I get a new report every 3-4 yrs to make sure it's still OK.

I understand we will encounter problems down the road but honestly that home we don't regret it. It still on the market!

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by emylie

The repairs are recent (September 2017) and the company is still in business. They did attach a foundation engineering report.
We have a real estate agent who was positive about that house but we did not feel comfortable to make an offer after reading the report.
There are too much recommendations, as I mentioned above, we need to check plumbing system, install guttering system, ...etc
According to the report, the soil in that area experience movement due to moisture fluctuations.
We did ask our realtor about that, and she said that it is very common in Texas and encourage us to go forward with the purchase if we are comfortable!!
We are not ready to pay more money for more repairs before we even move to the house!

You don't want the house because of gutters? Have you looked around? Most houses have gutters. This is what helps prevent water from pooling around the foundation. The foundation company, more than likely, did a plumbing test. It's standard in every repair I've ever seen as they don't want to be responsible for an issue the next day since they have the warranty.

Originally Posted by Rakin

Sounds like you need to move on to another house.

More like, they need to move on to another state! What you're talking about "the soil in that area..." it's all over! The soil is the soil, and unless you move to the Hill Country, west of Austin, where you'll get limestone, it's going to be expansive clay soil. You need to read about it and learn how to deal with it.

[WorldKlas]

When I bought my first house in the DFW area — in West Plano, 1978 — I was totally paranoid about the foundation issue and also back then I had to have a wood shingle roof. I’d owned a few houses in the midwest, but was new to the DFW area. Back then a clear deliniator between a “custom” and “tract” house was that wood roof LOL!

Soooo in the end we bought a new house (in Ports O’ Call subdivision) because I was freaked out over foundation issues. The whole time I lived there I kept checking floors and doors in fears my foundation would crack. Now almost 40 years and about 40 houses later (I am an investor) I am soooo over it. But I understand how special that first house can be.

OP, I feel for you. The house is probably fine, but you will not feel comfortable living there so its best to move on.

[oldoak2000]

Originally Posted by emylie

I understand we will encounter problems down the road but honestly that home we don't regret it. It still on the market!

you shoulda make an offer that includes a cash rebate back to you (at closing) that covers costs of the gutters plus a few more thousand . . .