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Hello, all. I'm looking to buy a 65 year-old all-brick house with a block foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania. It also has a small frame-built addition and a two-level composite deck with wood framing. I did, however, notice some cracks in the brick. Also, in the block foundation under the porch (which abuts, but is separate from the block foundation of the house), I noticed one corner block has fallen away from the foundation and there's a step crack overlying that.
I have attached images of the cracks I saw. The crack with the vertical component that has red filling is directly underneath a window and lays over an area of glass block in the foundation wall. Directly overlying the window is the very wide step crack with gray filling.
The un-filled brick step crack is on the back of the house.
I did not find any interior cracks to correspond with the exterior ones nor was there evidence of any recent interior patch jobs. The floors are not noticeably slanted.
Is this sort of issue fixable for a reasonable (i.e. $20,000 or less) cost? If so, how likely is it that the fix would be permanent?
I would like to have a structural engineer evaluate the house to determine the extent of the problems; however, the seller isn't willing to allow that without an offer. I would, of course, make any offer contingent on inspection, but if it seems to everyone here that these problems are bad enough that it's worth walking away, I won't bother. Thanks in advance for any advice you're able to give.
PS - I do have more photos available of the house, but don't want to post them publicly such that the house's location could be identified. I can send additional images by PM if necessary.
Hello, all. I'm looking to buy a 65 year-old all-brick house with a block foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania. It also has a small frame-built addition and a two-level composite deck with wood framing. I did, however, notice some cracks in the brick. Also, in the block foundation under the porch (which abuts, but is separate from the block foundation of the house), I noticed one corner block has fallen away from the foundation and there's a step crack overlying that.
I have attached images of the cracks I saw. The crack with the vertical component that has red filling is directly underneath a window and lays over an area of glass block in the foundation wall. Directly overlying the window is the very wide step crack with gray filling.
The un-filled brick step crack is on the back of the house.
I did not find any interior cracks to correspond with the exterior ones nor was there evidence of any recent interior patch jobs. The floors are not noticeably slanted.
Is this sort of issue fixable for a reasonable (i.e. $20,000 or less) cost? If so, how likely is it that the fix would be permanent?
I would like to have a structural engineer evaluate the house to determine the extent of the problems; however, the seller isn't willing to allow that without an offer. I would, of course, make any offer contingent on inspection, but if it seems to everyone here that these problems are bad enough that it's worth walking away, I won't bother. Thanks in advance for any advice you're able to give.
PS - I do have more photos available of the house, but don't want to post them publicly such that the house's location could be identified. I can send additional images by PM if necessary.
These do appear to be signs of foundation movement and potentially improperly supported at one corner at least. Some have obviously been repaired while the ones that are open are unclear. Were these just not repaired or are they new signs of movement since the repair work on the others? Yes if you are interested in the home you should contact an Engineer for an evaluation. With that I would then contact several foundation repair companies for repair estimates to gain an idea of the cost.
Every contract SHOULD BE WRITTEN as contingent upon...
So, if the house meets ALL of your demands and your concerns are that of the brick/foundation/???- make an offer based on comps in the area minus say, $20k for possible brickwork and foundation work (I believe that's a realistic value- confirm with your agent. You do have an agent???). Your due diligence is usually 10days- get the people lined up BEFORE SUBMITTING the offer. If they accept, proceed if they don't then keep looking-
Do not; I repeat, DO NOT GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO A HOUSE! You will always spend more than you should
Thanks for the replies. We decided to walk away. The possibility of this being an on-going problem plus behavior on the part of the seller which indicated to us that they're hiding information made it seem like it isn't worth the headache, at any price.
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